Austin Bernard Vaughan (September 27, 1927 – June 25, 2000) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as

Auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...

from 1977 to 2000.

Biography

Early life

Austin Vaughn was born on September 27, 1927 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Having decided to become a priest, Vaughan entered St. Joseph's Seminary in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

. He then traveled to Rome to reside at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

while continuing his studies.

Priesthood

Vaughan was ordained a priest in Rome in the chapel of the Pontifical North American College on December 8, 1951, for the Archdiocese of New York by Archbishop Martin John O’Connor. He received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the college in 1952, then a doctorate from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome in 1954. Returning to New York, Vaughan in 1956 was named to the faculty of St. Joseph's Seminary where he taught theology. He was named rector of St. Joseph's in 1973.

Auxiliary Bishop of New York

On May 24, 1977,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

named Vaughan as an auxiliary bishop of New York and titular bishop of Cluain Iraird. He was consecrated bishop on June 29, 1977, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan by Cardinal

Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardinal in 1969. Cooke pre ...

. In December 1988, Vaughan was convicted of

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions, such as the United States and China. Typically, "disorderly conduct" is a term used to refer to any behavior that is considered unacceptable in a formal, civilized or controlled environment. ...

at a Women's Health Pavilion location in the New York City area during an anti-abortion protest. In 1990, Vaughan was arrested in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, for trespassing on the grounds of a women's health clinic that provided abortion services. While serving ten days in jail, he stated that New York Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

was in ''serious risk of going to hell'' for his support of women's abortion rights. In the Catholic New Yorker, January 1987, Vaughan described himself as "one of the most conservative bishops in the Catholic Church, USA. (He was entrusted with the translation into English from the Latin of official Vatican documents. But he went on to say in his Catholic New Yorker newspaper article that he was enthralled by his attendance at an Epiphany celebration, January 6, 1987. Vaughan died of a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

on June 25, 2000 in

Notes

1927 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Activists from New York City American anti-abortion activists American male non-fiction writers American Roman Catholic writers Catholics from New York (state) Clergy from New York City New York (state) Democrats Presidents of the Catholic Theological Society of America Roman Catholic activists {{US-RC-bishop-stub