John James Rudin, M.M. (November 27, 1916 – June 14, 1995) was an American-born

Catholic 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 ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and

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 ...

. As a member of the

Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America Maryknoll is a name shared by a number of related Catholic organizations, including the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers (also known as the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America or the Maryknoll Society), the Maryknoll Sisters, and the Mary ...

(Maryknoll), he was engaged in education in the United States before he was assigned to the missions in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. He served as the Bishop of Musoma from 1957 to 1979.

Early life and education

John Rudin was born in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

, to John J. and Mary A. (Kelley) Rudin. He was educated in the local public schools in Pittsfield. He studied for the priesthood at Maryknoll Apostolic College and was ordained a priest at the Maryknoll Seminary in Ossining, New York, on June 11, 1944.

Priesthood

After his ordination, Rudin earned a

Licentiate in Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He taught Latin and liturgy for two years at the Maryknoll Apostolic College before being assigned to the Collegio Maryknoll 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 ...

where he earned a Doctorate in Moral Theology from 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 ...

in 1948. Rudin served as 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 ...

of the Maryknoll Junior Seminary in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

, for three years before he joined the Maryknoll Seminary Faculty to teach moral theology in 1951. He also served as the seminary's Vice-Rector for three years. In 1954, Rudin was assigned to lead Maryknoll's new mission field in Tanzania. He was appointed as the Society's Superior for Africa in 1956. On July 5, 1957

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

appointed him as the first bishop of the Diocese of Musoma.

Episcopacy

John Rudin was consecrated a bishop in an open-air liturgy on October 3, 1957, by Bishop Joseph Blomjous,

M. Afr. , image = Cardinal Lavigerie.jpg , caption = Charles Lavigerie , abbreviation = M.Afr. , nickname = White Fathers , formation = , founder = Archbishop Charles-Martial Allema ...

Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest cit ...

. The principal co-consecrators were Bishop Edward McGurkin, M.M. of

Shinyanga Shinyanga, also known as Shinyanga Mji in the local Swahili language, is a city in northern Tanzania. The city is the location of the regional headquarters of Shinyanga Region as well as the district headquarters of Shinyanga Urban District. The ...

and Auxiliary Bishop Maurice Otunga of

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Kenya by population, third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victor ...

. Rudin attended all four sessions of the

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

. During the Council he served on the committee working for greater unity between the Churches of East and West Africa. In 1976, he believed the diocese was firmly established and a missionary bishop was no longer needed. His resignation was not accepted, however, and he continued to serve the diocese, until his resignation was finally accepted by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on January 12, 1979.

Later life and death

After he returned to the United States, Rudin was engaged in pastoral work from 1980 to 1988, including a stint with the

Glenmary Home Missioners Glenmary Home Missioners, also known as The Home Missioners of America Inc.; Latin: ''Societas Missionariorum Domesticorum Americæ''), is a Catholic society of priests and brothers founded in 1939 to serve the spiritual and material needs of peo ...

in the

Diocese 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.

. He then worked with the Maryknoll Development Department until he suffered a fall in 1993 and was confined to a wheelchair. He moved to the St. Teresa Residence in Ossining where he remained until his death. He died on June 14, 1995, at Phelps Memorial Hospital in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...

, at the age of 78. His funeral Mass was celebrated in the Queen of Apostles Chapel on June 20, 1995. He was buried in the Maryknoll Center Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudin, John James 1916 births 1995 deaths People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts Maryknoll bishops Maryknoll Seminary alumni Catholic University of America alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni American Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Tanzania 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Tanzania Participants in the Second Vatican Council American expatriates in Tanzania Catholics from Massachusetts Roman Catholic bishops of Musoma