Edwin Vincent Byrne (August 9, 1891 – July 26, 1963) 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 ...

. He served in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, as Bishop of Ponce (1925–1929) and Bishop of San Juan (1929–1943), before returning to the United States as Archbishop of Santa Fe (1943–1963).

Biography

Edwin Byrne was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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 Francis Charles and Anna (née Carroll) Byrne. After graduating from Roman Catholic High School for Boys in Philadelphia in 1908, he studied 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 ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop Edmond Francis Prendergast on May 22, 1915. He then served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Philadelphia until 1917, when he became a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. From 1920 to 1923, he was

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

to Bishop

James Paul McCloskey James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince James ...

, of the Diocese of Jaro in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of Jaro in 1923. On June 23, 1925, Byrne was appointed the first

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Ponce in

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He received his episcopal

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 November 30 from Cardinal

Dennis Joseph Dougherty Dennis Joseph Dougherty (August 16, 1865 – May 31, 1951) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1918 until his death in 1951. He was made a cardinal in 1921. He was Philadelphia's longest-serving arc ...

, with Bishop John Joseph Swint and Bishop Andrew James Louis Brennan 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 ...

. After Archbishop Jorge José Caruana was made Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico, Byrne was named Bishop of San Juan on March 8, 1929. He became an

assistant at the Pontifical Throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the ...

in 1940. Byrne was appointed the eighth Archbishop of Santa Fe,

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, on June 12, 1943. During his 20-year-long tenure, he was instrumental in the construction of many churches and schools, and built up the diocesan clergy. In 1958, his decree that no Catholic girl should appear in a bathing suit in the

Miss New Mexico The Miss New Mexico competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Mexico in the Miss America pageant. Emille-Marie Enriquez was crowned Miss New Mexico 2024 on June 8, 2024, at the Flickinger Center in Al ...

pageant received national attention and stirred controversy; he never rescinded the ban. He condemned a "right to work" bill being considered in the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

. He also prohibited Catholic students from dating while attending high school, describing "

going steady Going steady is when two romantic partners agree to an exclusive relationship. Growing in prevalence in the United States after World War II, this pattern became mainstream in high schools and colleges in the 1950s. * Its popularity continued thro ...

, keeping steady company, necking and kissing" as "pagan" practices. He attended the first session of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

in 1962. Byrne suffered a

gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow Organ (anatomy), organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath t ...

attack on July 21, 1963, and was admitted to St. Vincent Hospital two days later. He underwent

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

for removal of the gallbladder on July 26, dying later that day. He was buried at

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi (), commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The cathedral was built by Archbi ...

in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

References

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Edwin 1891 births 1963 deaths Clergy from Philadelphia Participants in the Second Vatican Council St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni World War I chaplains United States Navy chaplains 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic archbishops of Santa Fe 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Puerto Rico Roman Catholic bishops of San Juan de Puerto Rico Roman Catholic bishops of Ponce