John Joyce Russell

Who was John Joyce Russell?

John Joyce Russell was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as Bishop of Richmond from 1958 to 1973.

John Russell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to John and Mary Russell. He received his early education at Calvert Hall and Loyola High School. From 1912 to 1917, he studied at St. Charles College in Ellicott City. He earned his Master of Arts degree from St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore in 1919, and a Doctor of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome in 1923. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 8, 1923.

Following his return to Baltimore, Russell served as a curate at St. Martin Church from 1923 to 1937. He also served as diocesan director of Catholic Big Brothers and of the Holy Name Societes. From 1929 to 1946, he was diocesan director of the Catholic Evidence Guild. He was pastor of St. Ursula Parish in Baltimore from 1937 to 1946, and was named a domestic prelate in 1945. He then served as pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. and diocesan director of Catholic Charities. From 1948 to 1950, he was pastor of the Church of the Nativity.