Eugene A. Garvey

Who was Eugene A. Garvey?

Eugene Augustine Garvey was an Irish American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of Altoona, Pennsylvania.

One of five children, Garvey was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, to Michael and Catherine Garvey, who were Irish immigrants. He was raised in nearby Dunmore, where he received his early education. After graduating from Scranton High School, he studied at St. Charles College in Ellicott City, Maryland and at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Pennsylvania.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop William O'Hara on September 22, 1869. He then served as a curate in Hawley before being transferred to Athens in 1871. He was pastor of Annunciation Church in Williamsport from 1871 until 1899, when he became vicar general of the Diocese of Scranton and rector of St. John's Church in Pittston. He was named a monsignor in 1900.

On May 31, 1901, Garvey was appointed the first Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Altoona by Pope Leo XIII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 8 from Archbishop Sebastiano Martinelli, O.S.A., with Bishop Michael John Hoban and John Edmund Fitzmaurice serving as co-consecrators, at St. Peter's Cathedral. He served as Bishop for 19 years, until his death at age 75.