Edward Thomas Hughes (November 13, 1920 – December 25, 2012) 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 Bishop of Metuchen,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

from 1987 to 1997.

Biography

Hughes was born in Lansdowne,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, to Charles and Kathryn (née Mingey) Hughes. He was the grandson of Irish immigrants. He attended

West Philadelphia Catholic High School West Catholic Preparatory High School is a co-educational Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 45th and Chestnut Streets, the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia. ...

, and studied for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest for the

Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Archdiocese of Philadelphia () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia originally included all of Pennsylvania and Dela ...

on May 31, 1947. After his ordination, he taught at St. James High School in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

and later served as

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

of Catholics schools from 1961 until 1970, when he was named

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Our Lady of Fatima Church in

Secane Secane is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, Ridley Township and Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United State ...

. On June 14, 1976, Hughes was appointed

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 Philadelphia and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Segia'' by

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 ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on the following July 21 from Cardinal

John Krol John Joseph Krol (October 26, 1910 – March 3, 1996) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (1953–19 ...

, with Bishops

Gerald Vincent McDevitt Gerald Vincent McDevitt (February 23, 1917 – September 29, 1980) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1962 until his death in 1980. Biography Gerald ...

and John Joseph Graham serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. As an auxiliary bishop, he continued to serve at Our Lady of Fatima Church. Hughes was appointed the second Bishop of Metuchen in New Jersey on December 11, 1986, and was installed on February 5, 1987. He reached the retirement age of 75 on November 13, 1995. When his resignation was accepted by the Holy See on July 7, 1997, he became bishop emeritus. He was outspoken in his beliefs against racism and abortion. Hughes continued to perform confirmations and celebrate Masses throughout the Diocese of Metuchen for many years after his retirement. He died on December 25, 2012, at the age of 92. In November 2020, a Vatican investigation into the case of defrocked former cardinal

Theodore McCarrick Theodore Edgar McCarrick (July 7, 1930 – April 3, 2025) was an American Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal who was Archbishop of Newark from 1986 to 2000 and Archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006. In 2019, McCarrick was defrocked by Po ...

identified Hughes as one of three bishops who "provided inaccurate and incomplete information to the Holy See regarding McCarrick’s sexual conduct with young adults" when McCarrick was a candidate for the post of Archbishop of Washington in 2000, though Hughes' conclusion was that it would be "unwise to consider the Archbishop for any promotion or additional honor".

References

External links

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops press release (July 8, 1997) – Bp. Hughes Resigns in Metuchen; Msgr. Vincent Breen is Successor
Reports on closing remarks by Hughes. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Edward T. 1920 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni American people of Irish descent