Joseph Anthony Murphy was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

but raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He became a Jesuit priest and served, inter alia, as dean of the liberal arts college at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...

for eleven years and as

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

for the

Catholic 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 ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

(

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, being ordained

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 c ...

on March 19, 1924.

Early life and work

Joseph Anthony Murphy was born in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

County Louth, Ireland, December 24, 1857. He lost his mother at a young age and his father moved the family of three boys and seven girls to Chicago, where Joseph attended St. Ignatius College Prep and then entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(Jesuits) at St. Stanislaus Novitiate in

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 52,533, making it the ...

. His priestly studies were at

Woodstock College Woodstock College was a Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, when it moved to ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where he was ordained a priest on August 26, 1888. He then served at Detroit College as Prefect of Studies (1895–1905) and on the mission in British Honduras from 1905 until 1910 when he suffered a severe attack of tropical fever.

College dean and bishop

He returned to the States to become dean of the liberal arts college of Marquette University (1910–1921) and then for two years professor of philosophy at St. Louis University. He had been requesting reassignment to the

Jesuit mission The phrase Jesuit missions usually refers to a Jesuit missionary enterprise in a particular area, involving a large number of Jesuit priests and brothers, and lasting over a long period of time. List of some Jesuit missions * Circular Mission ...

and it came in the form of his appointment, at age 66, as Vicar Apostolic for British Honduras. He was consecrated bishop by Archbishop Glennon in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri, on March 19, 1924. He would preside from Holy Redeemer, the mother church in Belize with its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

dating back to 1858. His episcopacy would be marked by construction projects like that of Holy Redeemer Hall, the largest in Belize at the time,*Woods, Charles M. Sr., et al. ''Years of Grace: The History of Roman Catholic Evangelization in Belize: 1524–2014''. (Belize: Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan, 2015), 207-211. as well as by reconstruction after the

1931 Belize hurricane The 1931 British Honduras hurricane was the deadliest hurricane in the history of British Honduras (known as Belize since 1973), killing an estimated 2,500 people. The hurricane was first detected as a tropical wave off the west coast of Af ...

, a category 4 that killed approximately 2500 people.

Irish Catholic

Born just at the edge of Catholic Ireland, Murphy's zeal for Catholicism was deeply rooted in

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

ism and Irish-English relations. He refused to stand for the British National Anthem at public ceremonies, or to receive the Anglican bishop for a visit. Murphy seemed to relish the ceremonial of his office. He made a regal entry into Keckchi villages, carried on a chair on the shoulders of the

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

with palm leaves and banners waving around him."Bishop Murphy, SJ, welcomed in state by Keckchi Indians, British Honduras." ''Jesuit Missions'', July–Aug. 1931, cover. For his fiftieth jubilee as a priest Belize Town gave him a regal parade. Cardiac asthma brought on his resignation at the age of 80. He died in his sleep on November 25, 1939, in Milwaukee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Joseph Anthony 1857 births 1939 deaths Marquette University faculty Jesuit bishops Roman Catholic missionaries in Belize 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belize 19th-century American Jesuits 20th-century American Jesuits American Roman Catholic missionaries 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Jesuits in Belize Jesuit missionaries American expatriates in Belize Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Belize City–Belmopan