John Aloysius Duffy (October 29, 1884 – September 27, 1944) 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 of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse in New York from 1933 to 1937, and as bishop of the

Diocese of Buffalo The Diocese of Buffalo is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is a suffragan diocese within the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of New York. The Diocese of Buffalo includ ...

in New York from 1937 until his death in 1944.

Biography

Early life

John Duffy was born on October 29, 1884, in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. As a young man, he worked as a boilermaker in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

and Bayonne. Churchofourladyofgrace

Duffy was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Newark on June 13, 1908. Duffy then served as

assistant 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 ...

at the

Church of Our Lady of Grace (Hoboken, New Jersey) The Church of Our Lady of Grace is a Roman Catholic church built between 1874 and 1876. It is situated in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It is a Gothic-style church designed by Francis G. Himpler and William J. Whyte. Lo ...

, professor of literature and languages at Seton Hall University, and instructor in Church history at the

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

seminary.Duffy was named a

domestic prelate Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

, and served as

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and vicar general for the diocese. As vicar general, Monsignor Duffy was instrumental in the establishment of Queen of Angels, the first parish for people of color in the Newark diocese. He was the diocese's apostolic administrator between the death of John O'Connor and the appointment of Thomas Walsh, and served as pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Jersey City.

Bishop of Syracuse

On April 21, 1933, Duffy was appointed the fourth

Bishop of Syracuse The Archdiocese of Siracusa, also known as Syracuse, ( la, Archidioecesis Syracusana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It became an archdiocese in 1844.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 fro ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on June 29, 1933, from Archbishop Walsh, with Bishops James Griffin and

Alphonse Smith Alphonse Eugene Smith (February 7, 1928 – January 3, 2002) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and third baseman. He played for twelve seasons on the Cleveland Indians (1953–57, 1964), Chicago White Sox (1958–62), Ba ...

serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. He selected as his episcopal motto: ''"Wisdom from Above."'' In 1934, when fan dancer Sally Rand was scheduled to appear in Syracuse, the Bishop said, "I must regard the presence of the Rand woman on the stage as an act of public defiance of the Catholic people of Syracuse."

Bishop of Buffalo

Pius XI named Duffy as the seventh Bishop of Buffalo on January 9, 1937. He was installed on April 14, 1937. In 1939 and 1940 he served as secretary of the National Catholic Welfare Council.''Our Bishops Speak'', National Catholic Welfare Conference, Bruce, 1952, p. 389
/ref> During his tenure, he established the Diocesan Fund for the Faith for those left in need because of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, erected

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the sparsely settled areas of the diocese, and organized the

Catholic Youth Organization Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It would become a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War ...

, Bishop's Committee for Christian Home and Family,

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) is a catechesis program of the Catholic Church, normally for children. It is also the name of an association that traditionally organises Catholic catechesis, which was established in Rome in 1562. Rel ...

, and Newman Clubs. John Duffy died on September 27, 1944, at age 59, and was buried next to his parents in

Holy Name Cemetery Holy Name Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery in Jersey City, New Jersey administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. It was established in 1866 and at the end of calendar year 2002 has accepted 264,984 burials. The cemetery parcel i ...

in Jersey City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, John Aloysius 1884 births 1944 deaths Clergy from Jersey City, New Jersey Seton Hall University faculty Roman Catholic bishops of Syracuse Roman Catholic bishops of Buffalo 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from New Jersey American boilermakers