Michael Joseph Begley (March 12, 1909 – February 9, 2002) was an American prelate 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 was the first bishop of the

Diocese of Charlotte The Diocese of Charlotte (''Dioecesis Carolinana'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Southern United States. It consists of 46 counties in western North Carolina, divided into ten vicariates. ...

in North Carolina, serving from 1972 until 1984.

Biography

Early life

Michael Begley was born on February 12, 1909, in

West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,835 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is also known as "West Si ...

, to Dennis and Anna (née Moynahan) Begley. Dennis Begley came to the United States from

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

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 ...

. Michael Begley received his early education at West Springfield public schools and at Cathedral High School in Springfield. He studied at

Mount St. Mary's College Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles (known as Mount St. Mary's College until January 2015) is a private, Catholic university primarily for women, in Los Angeles, California. Women make up ninety percent of the student body. It was found ...

in Emmitsburg, Maryland, obtaining 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 1930.

Priesthood

Begley 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 ...

to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas O'Leary on May 26, 1934, for the Diocese of Raleigh. After his ordination, Begley served in pastoral assignments at Basilica Shrine of St. Mary Parish in Wilmington, North Carolina and at St. Edward Parish in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

. Begley then 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. Therese Parish in

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina Wrightsville Beach is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. Wrightsville Beach is just east of Wilmington and is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The town c ...

, Immaculate Conception Parish in Wilmington (1938–1942), and at St. Leo the Great Parish in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. (1942–1955). He earned a

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social wor ...

degree from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in 1949, and was named a

domestic prelate Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

by the Vatican in 1954. In 1955, Begley became the first pastor of St. Ann Parish in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. He was later made superintendent of Raleigh's Catholic

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

and pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

Bishop of Charlotte

On November 30, 1971, Begley was appointed as the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Charlotte 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 January 12, 1972, from Archbishop

Luigi Raimondi Luigi Raimondi (25 October 1912 – 24 June 1975) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1973 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in ...

, with Bishops Vincent Waters and George Lynch 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, ...

. He selected as his motto: ''"Diligimus Fratres"'' ("We Have Loved the Brethren"). I n addition to his duties as a diocesan bishop, Begley also served as chair of the Catholic Committee on Appalachia. In this capacity, he led 26 other bishops from 13 states in issuing a joint pastoral letter "This Land is Home to Me" on the state of the poor in the region. A supporter of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, Begley endorsed the 1984 execution of serial killer

Velma Barfield Margie Velma Barfield ( née Bullard; October 29, 1932 – November 2, 1984) was an American serial killer who was convicted of one murder, but who eventually confessed to six murders in total. Barfield was the first woman in the United States to ...

, noting, "The state has a right to decide on the death penalty and this is one instance when they chose that right."

Retirement

Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Begley submitted his letter of resignation to

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 ...

in March 1984. The pope accepted his resignation on May 29, 1984, and he was succeeded by Monsignor John Donoghue. Michael Begley died on February 9, 2002, at the Maryfield Nursing Home in High Point, aged 92. He was a cousin of Bishop

William Joseph Hafey William Joseph Hafey (March 19, 1888 – May 12, 1954) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh in North Carolina (1925–1937) and bishop of the Diocese of Scranton in Pennsylvania (1 ...

, and baptized Bishop Peter Jugis as a child.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begley, Michael Joseph 1909 births 2002 deaths People from West Springfield, Massachusetts Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte Roman Catholic bishops in North Carolina Catholics from Massachusetts 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States