John Selby Spence (May 19, 1909 – March 7, 1973) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as titular bishop of Aggersel and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. from 1964 until his death in 1973.

Biography

Early life

John Spence was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

on May 19, 1909. He attended St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, then went to the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

in Rome.

Priesthood

Spence was ordained in Rome by Cardinal

Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani (1 October 1871 – 13 January 1951) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, Vicar General of Rome, Secretary of the Holy Of ...

to the priesthood on December 5, 1933, for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Spence was incardinated, or transferred, to the new Archdiocese of Washington when it split from Baltimore. Spence also served as the archdiocesan director of education in 1948. As such, he was tasked by the archbishop with ending

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

at all of the archdiocesan schools. Spence was also the founding pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in

Chillum, Maryland Chillum is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, bordering Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County. In addition to being its own unincorporated neighborhood, Chillum is also a census ...

, in 1951 and pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Parish in Washington in 1958. Spence served as coordinator for the archdiocese for its participation in the

1963 March on Washington Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

, in which

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

gave his famous "

I have a dream "I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called ...

" speech.

Auxiliary Bishop of Washington

On March 17, 1964, Pope Paul VI appointed Spence as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington and as titular bishop of Aggersel; he was consecrated by Cardinal

Egidio Vagnozzi Egidio Vagnozzi (26 February 1906 – 26 December 1980) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the second president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1968 until his death, and was elevated to ...

on May 19, 1964.John Selby Spence
/ref> He remained pastor at Sacred Heart Parish. John Spence died in Washington on March 7, 1973, at age 63.

References

1909 births 1973 deaths Religious leaders from Baltimore 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States {{US-RC-bishop-stub