Chaplain (
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
) John Richard McNamara,
USN
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
(September 4, 1927 – April 16, 2001) was an American Navy officer who served as the 17th
Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy
The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy (CHC) is the highest-ranking military chaplain in the United States Navy and head of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. As part of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Department of ...
from 1985 to 1988. He was awarded the Bronze Star for service with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam.
In Memoriam Bishop John McNamara
/ref>
Background
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, McNamara earned a B.A. degree from the College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
in 1948 and a M.A. degree from Saint John's Seminary in 1952. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
by Archbishop Richard Cushing
Richard James Cushing (August 24, 1895 – November 2, 1970) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing's main role was as fundraiser and builder ...
on January 10, 1952.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 an ...
of 'Risinium' and auxiliary bishop of the Boston Archdiocese and was ordained on May 21, 1992.[John Richard McNamara]
/ref> He chose ''To echo Christ'' as his episcopal motto.[ He resigned on October 12, 1999, and died on April 16, 2001.][
]
Military career
McNamara was commissioned in the United States Naval Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...
on May 7, 1962. He ministered to the 3rd Marine Division
The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...
in Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
and Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
from June 1965 to March 1966. McNamara later served aboard and . He was promoted to commodore on December 1, 1983.[
]
See also
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, John R.
1927 births
2001 deaths
College of the Holy Cross alumni
Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts) alumni
Clergy from Boston
United States Navy chaplains
United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War
United States Navy admirals
Chiefs of Chaplains of the United States Navy
20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops
United States Navy reservists