Joseph Crescent McKinney (September 10, 1928 – June 9, 2010) was a late 20th-century and early 21st-century

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

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He served as auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Grand Rapids The Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids ( la, Dioecesis Grandcataractensis) is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in western Michigan, in the United States. It comprises 80 parishes in 11 counties in West Michigan. It is a suffragan see to ...

in the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

from 1968-2001.

Biography

Early life and ministry

Joseph McKinney was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

to Joseph and Antoinette McKinney. He was the oldest of four children. He grew up attending St. Mary’s Church and was educated at the parish grade school. He attended high school at St. Joseph Seminary in Grand Rapids and college at the Seminaire de Philosophie in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. McKinney studied for the priesthood at the

Pontifical Urban University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

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 received 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 ...

. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Grand Rapids on December 20, 1953 at the Chapel of Propaganda Fide. From 1953-1962 Father McKinney served on the faculty of St. Joseph Seminary. From 1962-1968 he served as a parish priest in Indian River, Mt. Pleasant and Conklin.

Auxiliary Bishop of Grand Rapids

On July 24, 1968 Pope

Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named McKinney

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 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lentini and the Auxiliary Bishop of Grand Rapids. He was ordained a bishop by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

John Francis Dearden John Francis Dearden (October 15, 1907 – August 1, 1988) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Detroit from 1958 to 1980, and was created a cardinal in 1969. He previously served as Bishop of Pittsbur ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

on September 26, 1968. Bishops

Allen James Babcock Allen James Babcock (June 17, 1898 – June 27, 1969) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the seventh Bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan from 1954 to 1969. Biography Early life Babcock was born on June 17, 1898, in ...

of Grand Rapids and

Charles Salatka Charles Alexander Kazimieras Salatka (February 26, 1918 – March 17, 2003) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in Oklahoma from 1977 to 1992. Salatka was the first bishop ...

of Marquette acted as principal co-consecrators. In addition to Bishop Babcock, he served as auxiliary bishop to Bishops

Joseph M. Breitenbeck Joseph Matthew Breitenbeck (August 3, 1914 – March 12, 2005) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan from 1969 to 1989, having previously served as an auxiliary b ...

and

Robert John Rose Robert John Rose (February 28, 1930 – March 2, 2022) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Rose served as bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord in Michigan from 1981 to 1989 and as bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan ...

. As auxiliary bishop, McKinney served as diocesan

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 ...

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 Cathedral of Saint Andrew, as a member of the diocesan College of Consultors, as well as other boards and committees of the diocese. While auxiliary bishop 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 St. Stephen’s Church in

East Grand Rapids East Grand Rapids is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,694. The city is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is surrounded by Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Township, b ...

, Holy Trinity Church in

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and Our Lady of Consolation Church in Rockford. He also served as the national liaison to the

charismatic renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Cath ...

for the Catholic bishops of the United States. On October 3, 2001, 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 ...

accepted Bishop McKinney’s resignation as auxiliary bishop. He had served the Grand Rapids diocese for 33 years in that capacity. Following his retirement, Bishop McKinney continued to assist the diocesan bishop in liturgical ceremonies and in whatever way needed. He died at the age of 81 after an extended illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinney, Joseph Crescent Clergy from Grand Rapids, Michigan 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops 1928 births 2010 deaths Pontifical Urban University alumni