Moses Elias Kiley (November 13, 1876 – April 15, 1953) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-born

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

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. He served as the

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 ca ...

of the Diocese of Trenton in New Jersey (1934–1940) and the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee ( la, Archidiœcesis Milvauchiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It encompasses the City of Milwaukee, a ...

in Wisconsin (1940–1953).

Biography

Early life

Moses Kiley was born on November 13, 1876, in

Margaree Margaree is a settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's At ...

, on

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, to John and Margaret (née McGarry) Kiley. He received his early education at a grade school in

Baddeck, Nova Scotia Baddeck () is a village in northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated in the centre of Cape Breton, approximately 6 km east of where the Baddeck River empties into Bras d'Or Lake. Local governance is provided by the rural municipality ...

. When Kiley was 16, the family immigrated to the United States, moving

Somerville Somerville may refer to: *Somerville College, Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford Places *Somerville, Victoria, Australia * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia * Somerville, New Zealand, a subur ...

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 ...

. He financed his higher education by working as an errand boy at a

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

shop in Somerville established by his older brothers. He also worked as a floorwalker at a department store in

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 ...

and as a trolley motorman. In 1903, Kiley enrolled at the College of St. Laurent in Montreal, Quebec. After three years in Montreal, he began his studies for the priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1906. The following year, Kiley was sent to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he resided at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

. While in Rome, he earned a doctorate in philosophy from the Pontificial University of St. Thomas in 1909, and a doctorate in theology from the

Pontifical Urban University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

in 1911.

Priesthood

Kiley 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 Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

in Rome on June 10, 1911. Following his return to the United States, he was assigned as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St. Agnes Parish in

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, where he remained for five years. In 1916, he established the Mission of the Holy Cross for homeless men. That same year, he was named the first archdiocesan director of

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

, a post which he held until 1926.Kiley was elevated to the rank of

monsignor 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 ...

in 1924. From 1926 to 1934, he served as

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Bishop of Trenton

On February 10, 1934, Kiley was appointed the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Trenton by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

. He received his episcopal

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 March 17, 1934, from Cardinal

Raffaele Rossi Raffaele Rossi (28 October 1876 – 17 September 1948) - born Carlo - was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church and professed member from the Discalced Carmelites. Rossi served in the Sacred Consistorial Congregation in the Roman Curia f ...

, with Cardinal

Carlo Salotti Carlo Salotti (25 July 1870 – 24 October 1947) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Congregation of Rites from 1938 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate ''in pectore'' in 1933. Bi ...

and Archbishop Thomas Walsh 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, ...

, at the

Church of Santa Susanna The Church of Saint Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian ( it, Chiesa di Santa Susanna alle Terme di Diocleziano) is a Roman Catholic parish church located on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, Italy. There has been a titular church associated to its site ...

in Rome. His most notable achievement in Trenton was refinancing $10,000,000 of church obligations.

Archbishop of Milwaukee

Following the transfer of Archbishop

Samuel Stritch Samuel Alphonsius Stritch (August 17, 1887 – May 27, 1958) was an American Cardinal prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1940 to 1958 and as pro-prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Pro ...

to the Archdiocese of Chicago, Kiley was appointed the sixth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

on January 1, 1940. Kiley was installed at the

Church of the Gesu Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in Milwaukee on March 28, 1940. During his tenure in Milwaukee, Kiley earned a reputation as a conservative leader and stern administrator. He oversaw an extensive renovation of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, which suffered major damage from a fire in 1935. He rebuilt the St. Aemillian Orphanage in Milwaukee, which had also suffered major fire damage in the 1930s. Kiley also renovated St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin, converted Pio Nono High School into a

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

, and created a Catholic Family Life Bureau in 1948. Moses Kiley died on April 15, 1953, at St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, at age 76.

References

External links

Official site of the Holy See
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiley, Moses E. 1876 births 1953 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic archbishops of Milwaukee Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Baddeck, Nova Scotia People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia People from Somerville, Massachusetts Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Roman Catholic bishops of Trenton St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni Catholics from Massachusetts