Joseph Edward McCarthy

Who was Joseph Edward McCarthy?

Joseph Edward McCarthy was the sixth Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland.

McCarthy was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, and was a childhood friend of Bishop John Murray. After attending Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, he was ordained to the priesthood on July 4, 1903. He then taught Greek and French at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield.

On May 13, 1932, McCarthy was appointed Bishop of Portland, Maine, by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 24 from Bishop Maurice F. McAuliffe, with Bishops John Joseph Nilan and John Bertram Peterson serving as co-consecrators. His consecration was the first to be broadcast by radio in the United States.

During the Great Depression, McCarthy used his power as a corporation sole to remove the burden of debt by offering the property holdings as security for a successful bond issue. By 1936 he had stabilized the financial situation of the diocese. In 1938 he purchased the former home of Morris McDonald as his official residence. He opened numerous elementary schools, high schools, and colleges during his tenure. He received Daniel Joseph Feeney as an auxiliary bishop in 1946, delegating much of the administration of the diocese to Feeny due to his own declining health.