William Howard Russell 1850. Initially sent by editor John Delane to Malta to cover British support for the Ottoman Empire against Russia in 1854, Russell despised the term "war correspondent" but his coverage of the conflict brought him international renown, and Florence Nightingale later credited her entry into wartime nursing to his reports. The Crimean medical care, shelter and protection of all ranks by Mary Seacole was also publicised by Russell and by other contemporary journalists, rescuing her from bankruptcy. Russell was described by one of the soldiers on the frontlines thus: "a vulgar low Irishman, [who] sings a good song, drinks anyone's
William Thomas Russell James until 1894, when he became private secretary to Cardinal Gibbons and curate at the Cathedral of the Assumption. In 1908, Russell was named pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. He there earned a reputation as an eminent preacher. In 1909, he inaugurated the Pan-American Mass, an annual liturgical celebration held at St. Patrick's on Thanksgiving. Before being discontinued in 1914, the Mass was attended by President William Howard Taft and representatives of 21 American republics. He was raised to the rank of Domestic Prelate by Pope Pius X in 1911, and named an honorary member of