Joseph Francis Maguire (September 4, 1919 – November 23, 2014) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

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 ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1977 to 1991. He previously serve as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts from 1972 to 1977.

Biography

Early life

Maguire was born on September 4, 1919, in the Roxbury section of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. After grammar school, he attended St. Columbkille High School in the

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

neighborhood. He attended

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1941. As a young man, Maguire played both hockey and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. Maguire then began his studies for the priesthood at St. John's Seminary in Boston.

Priesthood

Maguire 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 ...

a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston on June 29, 1945. After his ordination, Maguire had the following posts as assistant pastor in Massachusetts parishes: * St. Joseph's in Lynn * St. Anne's in

Readville Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after the mill owner James Read in 1847. It was part of Dedham until 1867. It is served by ...

* Blessed Sacrament in

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...

* St. Mary of the Hills in

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

From 1956 to 1959, Maguire served as a chaplain in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

and the

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is toda ...

. He served as priest-secretary to Cardinal

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 ...

and his successor, Cardinal

Humberto Medeiros Humberto Sousa Medeiros, GCIH (October 6, 1915 – September 17, 1983) was a Portuguese-American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1970 until his death in 1983, and was created a cardinal in 1973 ...

, between 1962 and 1971. Maguire was

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. John the Baptist Parish in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, from 1971 to 1972.

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

On December 1, 1971, Maguire was appointed auxiliary bishop of Boston and

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 ''Mactaris'' by

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 ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration 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 February 2, 1972, from Cardinal Medeiros, with bishops Jeremiah Minihan and Thomas Riley serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

Bishop of Springfield

Maguire was named

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of the Diocese of Springfield on April 13, 1976 by Paul VI. Upon the resignation of Bishop Christopher Weldon, Maguire succeeded him on October 15, 1977. As bishop, Maguire created a program to train

permanent deacons A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

for parish service. He also established the Apostolate for Black Catholics. He recruited 300 lay members from the diocese to visit the sick and disabled at home or in institutions. Maguire received the Human Relations Award in 1986 from the

National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

Retirement and legacy

On December 27, 1991,

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 Maguire's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield. In 2005, he underwent

aortic valve replacement Aortic valve replacement is a procedure whereby the failing aortic valve of a patient's heart is replaced with an artificial heart valve. The aortic valve may need to be replaced because: * The valve is leaky (aortic insufficiency, also known as ...

and bypass surgery. In 1993, the Maguire Center for Health, Fitness and Athletics at

Elms College The College of Our Lady of the Elms, often called Elms College, is a Private college, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic in Chicopee, Massachusetts. History The Sisters of St. Joseph and the Diocese of Springfield co-founded Elms as a g ...

in Chicopee, Massachusetts, was named for Maguire. In 2012 it was revealed that Maguire and former Springfield Bishop Thomas Dupre approved a $500,000 settlement in a sexual abuse case. The plaintiff, Andrew Nicastro, claimed that he was sexually abused as a minor by Alfred F. Graves, a diocesan priest, from 1982 to 1985. According to the lawsuit, Maguire had transferred Graves to another parish after a sexual abuse accusation in 1976. Graves was barred from ministry in the 1990's and

defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or d ...

in 2006. At the time of the settlement, Maguire made this statement:

I only wish that in 1976 as a new bishop, I could have foreseen the true nature of one who violated our trust with such devastating harm to his victims.

Joseph Maguire died in Springfield at age 95 on November 23, 2014. In remarks to Jobserve.org after Maguire's death, Springfield Bishop

Mitchell T. Rozanski Mitchell Thomas Rozanski (born August 6, 1958) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, Archdiocese of St. Louis in Missouri since 2020. He prev ...

said:

"From the time of his arrival ... Bishop Maguire quickly became the 'people's bishop' and was known for his priestly ministry, which extended to attending numerous parish and diocesan events," iobserve.org said. "He had the ability to not only remember names of people, but also recall personal and family details. He also was a regular visitor at area hospitals at all hours of the day and attended many wakes."

References

External links

Springfield Diocese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Joseph Francis 1919 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts) alumni United States Army chaplains Roman Catholic bishops of Springfield in Massachusetts Military personnel from Massachusetts