James Augustine Healy

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James Augustine Healy

Born April 6, 1830
Georgia, United States
Died August 5, 1900

James Augustine Healy (April 6, 1830 - August 5, 1900) was the first African-American Roman Catholic Bishop in the United States.

Healy was one of five children born to Michael Healy, an Irish-born plantation owner, and Mary Eliza Healy, a former mulatto slave. Under the laws of Georgia their marriage was illegal and all of their children technically slaves. Healy was born in Macon, Georgia, the family sending James and brothers Hugh and Patrick to Quaker schools in Flushing, New York and later to the newly-opened College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. James graduated valedictorian of the College's first graduating class in 1849.

Following graduation James wished to enter the priesthood. However he couldn't study at the Jesuit novitiate in Maryland as it was a slave state, so with the help of John Bernard Fitzpatrick, the founder of the College of the Holy Cross, James entered a Sulpician seminary in Montreal to train for the priesthood. In 1852, he transferred to study at Saint Sulpice seminary in Paris, working toward a doctorate and a career as a seminary professor. However he had a change of heart and decided to become a pastor. He was ordained as a priest on June 10, 1854 of Boston, Massachusetts at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, becoming the first African-American to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest.

When he returned to the United States he became an assistant pastor in Boston. In 1866 Healy became the pastor of St. James Church, the largest Catholic congregation in Boston. In 1874 when the Boston legislature was considering taxation of churches, Healy defended Catholic institutions as vital organizations that helped the state both socially and financially. He also condemned the laws that were already in place, which were generally enforced only on Catholic institutions.

His success in the public sphere led to his appointment by Pope Pius IX to the position of second bishop of Portland, Maine. Healy was officially ordained as Bishop of Portland on June 2, 1875, becoming the first African-American ordained Catholic Bishop. During his time in Maine Healy oversaw the establishment 60 new churches, 68 missions, 18 convents and 18 schools.

Although acutely aware of racism Healy turned down several opportunities to condemn it on a public stage, he refused to participate in organizations that were specifically African-American. He declined to speak at the Congress of Colored Catholics in 1889, 1890, and 1892.

The Archdiocese of Boston, Office for Black Catholics awards the Bishop James Augustine Healy Award to dedicated Black parishioners.

His younger brother Patrick Francis Healy was the first African-American to earn a PhD.

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