John McEvilly (1818–1902) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 ...

clergyman who served as the

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church. Histor ...

from 1881 to 1902. He was born on 15 April 1818 in

Louisburgh Louisburgh () is a small town on the southwest corner of Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. It is home to Sancta Maria College and the Gráinne O'Malley Interpretive Centre. Transport Road access Louisburgh is located on the R335 regional r ...

, a small town near

Westport, County Mayo Westport (, historically anglicised as ''Cahernamart'') is a town in County Mayo in Ireland.Westport Before 1800 by Michael Kelly published in Cathair Na Mart 2019 It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on th ...

, Ireland., ''The Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, volume 2'', p. 233. He entered 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, ...

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

in January 1833, then sent to Maynooth College in September 1833, where among his contemporaries was the future Archbishop of Armagh Joseph Dixon. In 1842, McEvilly 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of the Archdiocese of Tuam. On 9 January 1857, he was appointed the Bishop of Galway by 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 Rome ...

and was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 22 March 1857 by the Most Reverend

John MacHale , native_name_lang = , title = Archbishop of Tuam , image = John MacHale.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , church = Roman Catholic Church , archdiocese = Tuam , elected = , appointed = , term_start = , term_end = , p ...

., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 430. While as Bishop of Galway, McEvilly was appointed the

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora in September 1866 and appointed

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

of Tuam on 11 January 1878. On the death of Archbishop MacHale, he succeeded as the

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of Tuam on 7 November 1881., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 444. He was instrumental in setting up St Joseph's Industrial School, Letterfrack, and he produced a number of well respected Bible commentaries. Archbishop McEvilly died in office on 26 November 1902, aged 84.

References

Bibliography

* * * 1818 births 1902 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Religious leaders from County Mayo People from County Galway Roman Catholic bishops of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Roman Catholic archbishops of Tuam Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth {{Ireland-RC-bishop-stub