James Henry Ambrose Griffiths (July 16, 1903—February 24, 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

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

from 1950 to 1964.

Biography

Early life and education

James Griffiths was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, to James Henry and Helen Agatha (née O'Neil) Griffiths. He received his early education at St. Augustine's Academy from 1915 to 1919. He then attended St. John's University in Brooklyn, where he earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1923. He studied for the priesthood at the Almo Collegio Capranica and the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

, both 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 ...

. He received a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian in 1927.

Ordination and ministry

Griffiths 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 in Rome on March 12, 1927. Following his return to New York, he was assigned as a curate a
St. Joseph's Church
in Babylon, where he remained for one year. He then served a
Our Lady of Mercy Church
in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

(1928–29) and a
St. Augustine's Church
in

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush A ...

(1929–31). In addition to his pastoral duties, he was an instructor of

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

scripture at the Dominican Normal School in

Amityville Amityville () is a village near the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 9,523 at the 2010 census. History Huntington settlers first visited the Amityville area in 1653 due ...

from 1927 to 1929. Griffiths was named secretary (1929) and later auditor (1931) of the diocesan tribunal. From 1935 to 1943, he was vice- chancellor of the

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. ...

. He also served as diocesan censor of books. He was named a

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 1938, and raised to the rank of domestic prelate in 1944. One of the co-founders of the

Canon Law Society of America The Canon Law Society of America or CLSA is a professional association dedicated to the promotion of both the study and the application of canon law in the Catholic Church. The Society's membership includes over fifteen hundred men and women who ...

, he served as its president from 1941 to 1942. Following the United States' entry into

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 ...

in 1941, Griffiths was charged with the supervision of chaplains from the Diocese of Brooklyn. He also directed the work of the

Vatican Information Service The Vatican Information Service (VIS) is an official, free news service of the Holy See Press Office, founded in 1991 in the Vatican City during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. It transmits news on a daily basis at 3 p.m. local Rome time ...

in the diocese, transmitting messages monthly to and from persons in enemy-occupied countries. In November 1943, he was named chancellor of the

Military Ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military ...

, serving Catholics in the U.S. armed forces throughout the world.

Auxiliary Bishop of New York

On October 15, 1949, Griffiths was appointed auxiliary bishop of the

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 '' Gaza'' by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on January 18, 1950, from Cardinal

Francis Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...

, with Bishops

Thomas Edmund Molloy Thomas Edmund Molloy (September 4, 1884 – November 26, 1956) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Brooklyn from 1921 until his death in 1956. Biography He was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, the fourth ...

and William Richard Arnold serving as co-consecrators, at St. Patrick's Cathedral. As an auxiliary bishop, he continued to serve as chancellor of the Military Ordinariate, a post which he held until 1955. In March 1952, Cardinal Spellman appointed Griffiths to the board of archdiocesan

consultor A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

s. The following year, he was named to the Committee on Moral and Spiritual Resources of the International Information Administration, a federal agency that handled overseas information and

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

. In September 1955, Griffiths became

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. Monica's Church in New York City. He represented the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and was its permanent observer at the Economic and Social Council. He was also a member of the New York City Commission on the United Nations and assistant bishop for United Nations Affairs on the administrative board of the

National Catholic Welfare Council The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) was the annual meeting of the American Catholic hierarchy and its standing secretariat; it was established in 1919 as the successor to the emergency organization, the National Catholic War Council. It co ...

. During 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 ...

, he was named as one of the five members of the United States Bishops' Commission on the Liturgical Apostolate to study the introduction of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in parts of the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

and other sacraments. Griffiths died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the rectory of St. Monica's Church, at age 60.

References

External links

Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
official website

GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, James Henry Ambrose 1903 births 1964 deaths People from Brooklyn St. John's University (New York City) alumni Participants in the Second Vatican Council American military chaplains World War II chaplains

Chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...