John Barry (July 16, 1799 – November 19, 1859) was an Irish-born

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 'pref ...

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 the second

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 ca ...

of the Diocese of Savannah,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

from 1857 to 1859.

Biography

Early life

John Barry was born in

Oylegate Oylegate or Oilgate (), also known previously as Mullinagore (), is a small village in Ireland, located about halfway between Wexford and Enniscorthy towns, in County Wexford. It had a population of 358 as of the 2016 census. Name The nam ...

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

, to Sylvester and Mary (Donohue) Barry. While still a seminarian in Ireland, Barry was recruited to immigrate to the United States and finish his theology studies in the

Diocese of Charleston The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston is an ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Roman Catholic Church in the Southern United States that comprises the entire state of South Carolina. Currently, the diocese consists of 96 parishes an ...

. Barry 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 va ...

to the priesthood by Bishop John England for the Diocese of Charleston on September 24, 1825. Barry was then sent to

(then part of the diocese), where he served as

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 Holy Trinity Parish in Augusta from 1830 to 1854. During the

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic of 1832, Barry converted his house into a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

. When the epidemic was over, it became an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

). He was appointed

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's ...

and superior of the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in 1844. When the Diocese of Savannah was erected in 1850, Barry was incardinated there from the Diocese of Charleston. He was named vicar general of the Diocese of Savannah in 1853.

Bishop of Savannah

On January 9, 1857, Barry was appointed to succeed Bishop Francis Gartland as

Bishop of Savannah The Diocese of Savannah is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southern United States comprising 90 of the southern counties of the state of Georgia.

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration 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 ca ...

on August 2, 1857, at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore from Archbishop

Francis Kenrick Francis Patrick Kenrick (December 3, 1796 or 1797 – July 8, 1863) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third Bishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia (1842–1851) and the sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese o ...

, with Bishops

Michael Portier Bishop Michael Portier (September 7, 1795, Montbrison, France – May 14, 1859, Mobile, Alabama) was a Roman Catholic bishop in the United States and the first Bishop of Mobile. He immigrated to the US in 1817, being ordained there. He lat ...

and

John Neumann John Nepomucene Neumann (german: link=no, Johann Nepomuk Neumann, cs, Jan Nepomucký Neumann; March 28, 1811 – January 5, 1860) was a Catholic priest from Bohemia. He immigrated to the United States in 1836, where he was ordained, joined t ...

serving as co-consecrators. In July 1859, Barry traveled to France for medical treatment. John Barry died on November 19, 1858, in Paris at the

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of the

Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as O.H.), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian they are also known commonly as the Fatebenef ...

. His remains were returned to Augusta, where he was buried at the Church of the Holy Trinity.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah

Episcopal succession