Maurice F. McAuliffe

American Catholic prelate (1875–1944)

Maurice Francis McAuliffe (June 17, 1875 – December 15, 1944) was an American Latin Catholic prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the Diocese of Hartford in Connecticut, U.S., from 1934 until his death in 1944.

Biography

Maurice McAuliffe was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Daniel and Catherine (née Noonan) McAuliffe. He graduated from St. Peter's School, Hartford, staffed by the Sisters of Mercy, and Hartford Public High School in 1894, and attended Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for a year.^[1] He then continued his studies at the Grand Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Issy, France, and at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany.^[1] He was ordained to the priesthood on July 29, 1900.^[2]

Following his return to Connecticut, he was appointed to the faculty of St. Thomas Seminary in Hartford.^[1] He served as vice-president of the seminary from 1906 until 1921, when he was advanced to president.^[1] He was named a domestic prelate in 1924.^[1]

On December 17, 1925, McAuliffe was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Hartford and titular bishop of Dercos by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on April 28, 1926, from John Joseph Nilan, with John Murray and William A. Hickey serving as co-consecrators, at St. Joseph's Cathedral.^[2] He selected as his episcopal motto: In Caritate Dei (Latin: "In Love of God").^[3] Following the death of Bishop Nilan, McAuliffe was named the eighth Bishop of Hartford on April 23, 1934.^[2]

During his ten-year-long tenure, he established twenty-five parishes, nine parochial schools, and several junior high schools.^[1] He was also responsible for St. Joseph's College in West Hartford, Annhurst College in South Woodstock, St. Basil's College in Stamford, and Fairfield College Preparatory School in Fairfield. He organized the campaign to raise $1 million for improvements to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford.^[1] He also founded St. Joseph's Hospital in Stamford. McAuliffe was a supporter of the Legion of Decency/^[4]

McAuliffe was admitted to St. Francis Hospital on December 3, 1944, and placed in an oxygen tent.^[1] He later died at age 69.

McAuliffe Hall on the campus of Fairfield University is named in his honor as he sanctioned the creation of the university in 1941. The Knight of Columbus Council 3181 – Bishop Maurice F. McAuliffe in Windsor, Connecticut is also named in his honor.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Bishop M'Auliffe of Hartford Dies; Head of the Roman Catholic Diocese Since 1934 Had Been Priest 44 Years". The New York Times. 1944-12-16.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bishop Maurice Francis McAuliffe". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. February 25, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.^{[self-published source]}
^ "Former Bishops". Archdiocese of Hartford. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27.
^ McAuliffe, Maurice F. (July 12, 1934). "Official Episcopal Residence Hartford, Connecticut July 11, 1934". The Catholic Transcript (Press release) – via The Catholic News Archive.

External links

Archdiocese of Hartford

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by John Joseph Nilan	Bishop of Hartford 1934–1944	Succeeded by Archbishop Henry Joseph O'Brien

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford

Ordinaries

Bishops: William Tyler; Bernard O'Reilly; Francis Patrick McFarland; Thomas Galberry, O.S.A.; Lawrence S. McMahon; Michael Tierney; John J. Nilan; Maurice F. McAuliffe

Archbishops: Henry J. O'Brien; John Francis Whealon; Daniel Anthony Cronin; Henry J. Mansell; Leonard P. Blair

Coadjutor archbishops: Christopher J. Coyne

Auxiliary bishops

Joseph Francis Donnelly

Juan Miguel Betancourt

Churches

Cathedral: Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford

Basilica: Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Waterbury

Parishes: St. Joseph Church, Ansonia; St. Stanislaus Church, Bristol; St. Michael the Archangel Church, Derby; St. Adalbert Church, Enfield; St. Augustine Church, Hartford; Holy Trinity Church, Hartford; SS. Cyril and Methodius Church, Hartford; St. Stanislaus Church, Meriden; Holy Cross Church, New Britain; Sacred Heart Church, New Britain; St. Mary's Church, New Haven; St. Joseph's Church, New Haven; St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven; St. Mary Church, Newington; Church of the Immaculate Conception, Norfolk; Immaculate Conception Church, Southington; St. Joseph Church, Suffield; St. Casimir Church, Terryville; St. Mary Church, Torrington; St. Hedwig Church, Union City; St. Patrick - St. Anthony Church, Hartford; SS. Peter and Paul Church, Wallingford; St. Anne Church, Waterbury; Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Waterbury

Former parishes: St. Anne/Immaculate Conception Parish, Hartford; St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Waterbury

Education

Seminaries: St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield

High schools: Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall, Milford; Canterbury School, New Milford; East Catholic High School, Manchester; Holy Cross High School, Waterbury; Northwest Catholic High School, West Hartford; Notre Dame High School, West Haven; Sacred Heart Academy, Hamden; Sacred Heart High School, Waterbury; St. Paul Catholic High School, Bristol