James Joseph Byrne

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For other men with this name, please see James Byrne.

James Joseph Byrne (July 23, 1908 - August 2, 1996) was a Roman Catholic Archbishop.

Styles of
James Joseph Byrne
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Monsignor
Posthumous style none



James Byrne was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. On June 3, 1933 Byrne was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul (now the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis). On May 10, 1947 Father Byrne was named an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese, as well as the titular bishop of Etenna.

On June 16, 1956 he was named the bishop of Boise, Idaho. He was formally ordained and installed as Bishop on August 29, 1956. He served as Bishop of this diocese until 1962.

Following the appointment of Archbishop Leo Binz to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul, Bishop Byrne was named the next archbishop of Dubuque on March 7, 1962. He was formally installed as Archbishop by the Apostolic Delegate on May 8, 1962. Archbishop Byrne would serve as the leader of the Dubuque Archdiocese for over 21 years.

Archbishop Byrne was present at all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council, which had taken place during his tenure as Archbishop. Following the council Archbishop Byrne was responsible for implementing the reforms of the council within the Archdiocese. During his time in office, Archbishop Byrne maintained a relatively low profile in the community. He was noted for asking Catholics to pray before the evening news, and had cards produced that people could place on top of their television sets.

Pope John Paul II accepted his retirement on August 23, 1983. Archbishop Daniel Kucera was named as the next Archbishop. Following his retirement, Archbishop Byrne remained in the Dubuque area. He died on August 2, 1996. He was buried in the mortuary chapel of Saint Raphael's Cathedral along with other deceased Bishops and Archbishops of the Archdiocese. Archbishop Byrne had earlier purchased a simple wooden casket from the monks of New Melleray Abbey and stored it at the Cathedral - this was the casket he was buried in. To date, Byrne is the last person to have been buried in the mortuary chapel of St. Raphael's Cathedral.

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Preceded by
Edward Joseph Kelly		 Bishop of Boise
1956–1962		 Succeeded by
Sylvester William Treinen
Preceded by
Leo Binz		 Archbishop of Dubuque
1962–1983		 Succeeded by
Daniel Kucera