Coleman Carroll

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Archbishop Coleman Francis Carroll
Senior posting

Denomination	Catholic Church
See	Miami
Title	Archbishop of Miami
Period in office	August 15, 1958 thru July 26, 1977
Consecration	November 10, 1953
Predecessor	None
Successor	Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy
Religious career
Priestly ordination	June 15, 1930
Previous bishoprics	Titular Bishop of Pitanae, Bishop of Miami
Personal
Date of birth	February 9, 1905
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of death	July 26, 1977

Coleman Francis Carroll (February 9, 1905 – July 26, 1977), was the first Bishop and later Archbishop of Miami, Florida. He died holding this position on July 26, 1977 at the age of 72.

1 Background
2 Episcopacy
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Background

Archbishop Carroll was ordinated a priest in 1930 within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. He was the second of three children, his father dying when he was only 17 years of age. While within the Diocese of Pittsburgh, he served as a parish priest until 1953^[1] ^[2].

[edit] Episcopacy

Father Coleman Carroll was appointed an Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Pittsburgh by Pope Pius XII on August 25, 1953. He was ordained and installed two months later on November 10, 1953. Amleto Cardinal Giovanni served as Principal Consecrator with John Cardinal Dearden and Bishop Michael J. Ready serving as Principal Co-Consecrators^{[citation needed]}.

On August 13, 1958, Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Carroll the first Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Miami. This occurred just two months before the death of Pius XII. He would be installed with the founding of the diocese on October 7, 1958^[3].

At this point, the Diocese of Miami included the sixteen lower counties in Florida, with a population of only 200,000. Encompassing one half of the state, he would lay the foundation which would allow the Catholic church to grow through thousands of Cuban refugees, the American Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam and the reformations of the Second Vatican Council. He created the Catholic Service Bureau, now known as Catholic Charities, to serve as a social network that to this day rivals that of the State of Florida^[4]. In addition to charitable activities he was a collector of fine art, thanks to the significant patronage of heiress Mary Louise Maytag. He amassed perhaps the largest collection of the works of the famous French academic painter Vibert, whose ribald, anti-clericalist paintings of bishops and cardinals in compromised situations reportedly delighted the stolidly conservative Carroll (this collection was later given to the seminary Carroll founded, St. John Vianney College in Miami).

In 1968, due to an increasing population, the decision was made to divide the Diocese of Miami. All told, Bishop Carroll lost eight counties to the newly created Diocese of Orlando and Diocese of St. Petersburg. However, Miami would would be made an Archdiocese by Pope Paul VI and be named Metropolitan See for all of Florida. In response, Coleman Carroll became an Archbishop on March 2, 1968^[5].

Less than ten years later, Archbishop Carroll took ill. In response, Bishop Edward McCarthy from the Diocese of Phoenix was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Miami in 1976. Ten months later, on July 26, 1977, Archbishop Carroll died^[6]. Upon his death, Carroll was automatically succeeded by Edward McCarthy as Archbishop of Miami. He was buried three days later in Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Miami^[7].

At the time of his death, the Archdiocese of Miami had grown to encompass 700,000 Catholics within eight counties.

In 1994, in the final year of his tenure, Archbishop Edward McCarthy started the process of construction for a new high school in southwest Miami-Dade County. Opened in August 1998, the facility was dedicated by Archbishop John C. Favalora in honor of the founder of the Archdiocese. Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School stands attempting to uphold the motto of its namesake, "First the Kingdom of God"^[8].