Joseph Robert Crowley (January 12, 1915 – February 4, 2003) was an American Bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend from 1971–1990.

Biography

Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Joseph Crowley worked for five years at People's Trust and Savings Company in Fort Wayne. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II serving in both the North African and

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

campaigns. He attained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend by Bishop

John F. Noll John Francis Noll (January 25, 1875 – July 31, 1956) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Fort Wayne from 1925 until his death in 1956. Noll was active in national church organizations. In 1912, he foun ...

on May 1, 1953. As a priest he served at St. Peter's Church in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, St. Francis Xavier Church in Pierceton, St. Patrick's Church in Lagro, St. Joseph's Church in Fort Wayne and St. Matthew's Cathedral in South Bend. He also served on the diocesan board of directors, as assistant chancellor, consultor, director of religious instruction and vicar general among other responsibilities. In addition Crowley served as the editor of ''

Our Sunday Visitor Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) is a Catholic publishing company in Huntington, Indiana, which prints the American national weekly newspaper of that name, as well as numerous Catholic periodicals, religious books, pamphlets, catechetical materials, i ...

'' in Huntington, Indiana, moderator of the United States Bishops' Press Panel during the final session of the Second Vatican Council, and chairman of the

U.S. Catholic Conference 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 ...

's Committee on Communication. On June 16, 1971 Pope Paul VI appointed him as the Titular Bishop of ''Maraguia'' and Auxiliary Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend. He was ordained a bishop by Archbishop George Biskup of

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

on August 24, 1971. The principal co-consecrators were Bishops Leo Pursley of Fort Wayne-South Bend and Andrew Grutka of

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

. He continued to serve as auxiliary bishop and

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 St. Matthew's Cathedral until his resignation was accepted by Pope John Paul II on May 8, 1990. He died on February 4, 2003, at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowley, Joseph Robert 1915 births 2003 deaths People from Fort Wayne, Indiana People from South Bend, Indiana Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Catholics from Indiana