Floyd Lawrence Begin (February 5, 1902 – April 26, 1977) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 the

Diocese of Oakland The Diocese of Oakland ( la, Diœcesis Quercopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern California. The diocese comprises Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Th ...

in California from 1962 until his death in 1977. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1947 to 1962.

Biography

Early life and education

Floyd Begin was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

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, the eldest of three children of Peter H. and Stella Agnes (née McFarland) Begin. He received his early education at the parochial schools of St. Columbkille and St. Thomas Aquinas Parishes. Begin attended Cathedral Latin High School in Chardon, Ohio (1916–20) and St. John Cathedral College (1920–22) in Cleveland. He graduated from St. Ignatius High School (Cleveland) in 1920 Begin then studied for the priesthood at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he served as assistant to the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

during his studies. He earned a Doctorate in Philosophy and Doctorate in Theology from the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

. In 1930, Begin received a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Apollinarus University.

Priesthood

Begin 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 ...

a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland in Rome on July 31, 1927. Following his return to Ohio, he briefly served as administrator of St. Anthony Parish in Canton. From 1930 to 1938, he served as secretary to Bishop

Joseph Schrembs Joseph Schrembs (March 12, 1866 – November 2, 1945) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan for five months in 1911, as bishop of the Diocese of To ...

as well as vice- chancellor and pro-

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

of the diocese. Begin became an '' officialis'' of the diocesan tribunal in 1938. He served as director of both the Diocesan Council of Catholic Men and the seventh National Eucharistic Congress. Begin was also chaplain of the Rosemary Home for Crippled Children in Euclid. Ohio, and diocesan

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

for

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

. He was named by Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

in 1934, and raised by Pius XI to the rank of domestic prelate in 1936.

Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland

On March 22, 1947, Begin was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Cleveland and

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 Sala by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on May 1, 1947. from Bishop Edward Hoban, with Bishops James A. McFadden and Joseph McGucken serving as co-consecrators. Begin was named vicar general of the diocese in March 1948 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. Agnes Parish in Cleveland in January 1949. During his tenure at St. Agnes, Begin advocated more services for and acceptance of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s, who composed most of the parishioners at St. Agnes. In 1954, he unsuccessfully tried to get a

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

charter for an interracial council in Cleveland. When the Knights of Columbus refused to give the charter, Begin declared, "The only reason they're being kept out is their color. Anyone who denies that is a pussy-footing liar."

Bishop of Oakland

On January 27, 1962, Begin was appointed the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the newly erected Diocese of Oakland by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

. The diocese comprised

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, and included 386,000 Catholics. His installation took place on April 28, 1962. Between 1962 and 1965, Begin attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

Death and legacy

Floyd Begin died on April 26, 1977. Archbishop Joseph McGucken said the funeral mass for Begin. Begin was buried in the Bishop's Crypt at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward, California. On November 2, 2008, his remains were re-interred in the mausoleum of the new Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begin, Floyd Lawrence 1902 births 1977 deaths Religious leaders from Cleveland Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Participants in the Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States