Today, we remember our second bishop, Bishop James Healy. As the son of an Irish Immigrant and a slave, Bishop Healy fought through adversity and discrimination for most of his life. As a black man, he could not go to school in his home state of Georgia, so his father sent him north, where he eventually enrolled as a student at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA (which was not a post-secondary school yet) and was baptized into the Catholic Church at the age of 14.
As Bishop of Portland, Bishop Healy was the first ever bishop of African American descent. His Irish heritage and fluency in French gave him a unique ability to connect with the Catholic community in Maine, which doubled in population due to an influx of Irish and Canadian immigrants. He was known to his people as a kind of beloved outcast.
Today, August 5th, is the 125th anniversary of Bishop Healy’s death. We pray for the repose of Bishop Healy’s soul, that he may rest in peace with the Lord whom he served so faithfully.
