Edmund Francis Gibbons (September 16, 1868 – June 19, 1964) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

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. He served as Bishop of Albany from 1919 to 1954.

Biography

Edmund Gibbons was born in White Plains, New York, to James and Joanna (née Ray) Gibbons, who were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrants. His father was a laborer who helped build the

New York State Capitol The New York State Capitol, the seat of the New York state government, is located in Albany, the capital city of the U.S. state of New York. The capitol building is part of the Empire State Plaza complex on State Street in Capitol Park. Housi ...

. After graduating from Niagara University in 1887, he studied at the Pontifical North American College in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

from 1887 to 1893. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood on May 27, 1893. He then served as

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to Bishop Stephen V. Ryan (1893-1896),

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of Catholic schools in the Buffalo Diocese (1900-1916), and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Vincent's Church in

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(1904-1915). He was pastor of St. Teresa's Church in Buffalo from 1916 to 1919. On March 10, 1919, Gibbons was appointed the sixth Bishop of Albany by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 25 from Archbishop

Giovanni Bonzano Giovanni Vincenzo Cardinal Bonzano PIME (27 September 1867 – 26 November 1927) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Delegate to United States from 1912 to 1922, and was elevated to the cardinalate ...

, with Bishops John Grimes and Thomas Walsh serving as co-consecrators. He guided the diocese through the Great Depression and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and oversaw a great increase in religious vocations and parishes. He also established The College of Saint Rose, Siena College, Mater Christi Seminary, 22

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s, 82 grade schools, and the diocesan

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, ''The Evangelist''. After thirty-five years as bishop, Gibbons resigned on November 10, 1954; he was named

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of ''Verbe'' on the same date. He later died at age 95.

References

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Edmund 1868 births 1964 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Albany Niagara University alumni People from White Plains, New York 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent