William Joseph Hafey (March 19, 1888 – May 12, 1954) 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 'pre ...

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 ...

who served as bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh in North Carolina (1925–1937) and bishop of the

Diocese of Scranton The Diocese of Scranton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868. The seat of the bishop is St. Peter's Cathedral in th ...

in Pennsylvania (1938–1954).

Biography

Early life

Hafey was born on March 19, 1888, in

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. ...

, to James and Catherine (née Mulcahy) Hafey. He attended Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he obtained 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 year ...

degree in 1909. From 1909 to 1910, he studied at

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

in Washington, D.C., then attended Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Hafey 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 ...

to the priesthood by Bishop Owen Corrigan for the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...

on June 16, 1914. He served as a curate at St. Joseph's Parish in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

until 1920, when he became chancellor of the archdiocese.

Bishop of Raleigh

On April 6, 1925, Hafey was appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh by Pope Pius XI. He received his

episcopal consecration 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 ...

on June 24, 1925, from Archbishop Michael Curley at the Baltimore Cathedral. Bishops Thomas O'Leary and Michael Keyes, were co-consecrators.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Scranton

Hafey was named coadjutor bishop of Scranton and titular bishop of ''Appia'' on October 2, 1937 by Pius IX. He automatically succeeded Bishop Thomas O'Reilly as the fourth bishop of Scranton on March 25, 1938. Hafey created new parishes, multiplied the number of buildings, and increased the number of priests and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

. He was also dedicated to social needs such as education, healthcare, and youth activities.

Death and legacy

William Hafey died in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

, on May 12, 1954, at age 66.

Bishop Hafey High School Bishop Hafey High School was a Roman Catholic high school of the Diocese of Scranton, located in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. By order of Bishop Martino, the high school was closed in June 2007. The school's mascot was the Viking. The school's colo ...

in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, was named in his memory. In 1958, the newly established Knights of Columbus Bishop Hafey Council 4507, of

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ...

was named in memory of Hafey.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of RaleighRoman Catholic Diocese of Scranton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafey, William Joseph 1888 births 1954 deaths Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh College of the Holy Cross alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Mount St. Mary's University alumni People from Chicopee, Massachusetts University of Scranton trustees Roman Catholic bishops in North Carolina Catholics from Massachusetts 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 20th-century American academics