Eugene Augustine Garvey (October 6, 1845 – October 22, 1920) was an American prelate 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 was the first Bishop of Altoona, serving from 1901 until his death in 1920.

Biography

Early life and education

Garvey was born on October 6, 1845, in Carbondale,

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 Michael and Catherine (née Boylan) Garvey. His parents were both Irish immigrants, and his father was a rope worker for the

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and later the Pennsylvania Coal Company. One of five children, Garvey had a sister Margaret (later Sister Eugenia) who joined the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

and became superior of their convent in

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. In 1850, Garvey moved with his family from Carbondale to nearby

Dunmore Dunmore from the or , meaning "great fort", may refer to: People * Dunmore (surname) * Earl of Dunmore, a title in the Peerage of Scotland, includes a list of earls * Countess of Dunmore (disambiguation), a list of wives of earls of Dunmore Pl ...

, later graduating from Scranton High School. After teaching for two years, Garvey entered St. Charles College, a

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

Ellicott City Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 75,947 at the 2020 census, making it the mo ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, in 1865 to begin his preparation for the priesthood. He completed his theological studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary 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 ...

. The

Diocese of Scranton The Diocese of Scranton () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868. ...

was created the year before his ordination and he accepted an invitation from Bishop

William O'Hara William O'Hara (April 14, 1816 – February 3, 1899) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of Scranton in Pennsylvania, serving from 1868 until his death in 1899. He founded St. Thom ...

to work in that diocese.

Priesthood

Garvey was ordained a priest on September 22, 1869, by Bishop O'Hara. His first assignment was as assistant pastor at the largely German-speaking parish of St. Mary's Church in Honesdale, with the additional duty of serving the English-speaking Catholics of St. Philomena's Church in Hawley. A year later in 1870, he was named pastor of Holy Ghost Church in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In December 1871, Garvey was appointed to replace Rev. Michael P. Stack as pastor of the Church of the Annunciation in Williamsport. Stack had been removed from his position by Bishop O'Hara due to his mismanagement of parish affairs, and subsequently spent the next decade in court fighting against the bishop. Despite taking charge amid a contentious situation, Garvey eliminated the parish's debt and built a new church, rectory, and parochial school, as well as Mount Carmel Cemetery and a convent for the

Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), founded as the Daughters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic religious teaching institute for women. The institute was founded in the Catalan city ...

. After 27 years at Williamsport, Garvey became

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 the Diocese of Scranton and pastor of St. John's Church in

Pittston Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city lies in the Wyoming Valley on the east side of the Susquehanna River and on the south side of the Lackawanna River. It is approximately midway between Wilkes-Barre, Pen ...

in March 1899. He was given the title of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

in 1900. Before his eventual appointment as bishop, his name had been proposed to succeed Bishop O'Hara of Scranton, Bishop Thomas McGovern of

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, and Bishop

Tobias Mullen Tobias Mullen (March 4, 1818 – April 22, 1900) was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania from 1868 to until his death in 1899. Biography Early life Tobias Mull ...

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

Bishop of Altoona

On May 31, 1901, Garvey was appointed the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Altoona by

. He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 8 from Archbishop

Sebastiano Martinelli Sebastiano Martinelli (20 August 1848 – 4 July 1918) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation of Rites. Early life Sebastiano Martinelli was born in Borgo Sant'Anna within the Archdiocese of Lucca ...

, with Bishops Michael John Hoban and John Edmund Fitzmaurice serving as co-consecrators, at St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton. He served as Bishop for 19 years, until his death at age 75. Garvey formally took charge of the Diocese of Altoona on September 24, 1901, when he was installed at St. John's Pro-Cathedral. The new diocese covered over 6,000 square miles in Central and Western Pennsylvania, including the counties of

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Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

, and

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taken from the Diocese of Pittsburgh and the counties of

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Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

, and Fulton taken from the Diocese of Harrisburg. In Garvey's first full year as bishop in 1902, the Diocese of Altoona contained 59 priests, 44 parishes, 23 parochial schools with 6,000 students, and a Catholic population of 44,000. By his final year as bishop in 1920, there were 148 priests, 91 parishes, 42 parochial schools with 11,369 students, and a Catholic population of 123,756. Garvey's health began to fail in 1917, and three years later he received Bishop

John Joseph McCort John Joseph McCort (February 16, 1860 – April 21, 1936) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Altoona from 1920 until his death in 1936. Biography Early life and education John McCort was born on February 1 ...

as a

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

with the right of succession. Nine months after McCort's appointment, Garvey collapsed and fell into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

. He died a few days later at his residence on October 22, 1920, aged 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garvey, Eugene A. 1845 births 1920 deaths St. Charles College (Maryland) alumni St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni People from Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Pennsylvania