Francis Eric Irving Bloy (December 17, 1904 - May 23, 1993) served as the third Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles from April 21, 1948, until December 31, 1973.

Biography

Bloy was born in Birchington, England as the son and grandson of Anglican priests. His family moved to the U.S. when he was age seven. He attended high school in Arizona and continued his studies at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

before transferring to the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. He hoped to become a diplomat and entered the

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

School of Foreign Service. However, he later decided to enter the clergy and enrolled in the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...

. In June 1928 he was ordained deacon by Bishop Frederick Foote Johnson of Missouri. In 1929, Bloy graduated from the seminary, married Frances Forbes Cox and was ordained priest in June by Presiding Bishop John Gardner Murray. He also became pastor of All Saints' Church in Reisterstown, Maryland where he served four years. At his ordination, he became the fifth generation of clergy in his family. In 1933, Bloy and his wife moved to La Jolla,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where he joined the staff of St. James Church. He became Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in Los Angeles in 1937 and held the post for 11 years until he was named bishop of Los Angeles. At the time of his consecration, the diocese had 70,000 members and when he retired, the membership had doubled and he had overseen the creation of 42 new churches and a diocesan budget that grown 400 percent. After the

Watts Riots The Watts riots, sometimes referred to as the Watts Rebellion or Watts Uprising, took place in the Watts neighborhood and its surrounding areas of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. The riots were motivated by anger at the racist and abus ...

, the bishop helped provide funding for youth of the area to establish an auto repair shop. In 1958, he was instrumental in establishing an extension campus in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

of the

Church Divinity School of the Pacific Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It is one of the nine seminaries in the Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the ...

(CDSP) for students unable to study at the school's Berkeley campus. When CDSP was unable to continue funding the extension in 1962, Bloy had the Diocese assume control of the school and in 1970 merged it with the

Claremont School of Theology Claremont School of Theology (CST) is a private graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the thirteen official theological schools of the United Methodist Church, and also has close r ...

. The resulting institution was renamed ''Bloy House'' and continues to provide training for Episcopal clergy. Bloy taught himself

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and became an authority on Eastern religions. He also enjoyed astronomy and fishing. In planning for his retirement, he and his wife purchased a home in the hills overlooking Pasadena so he could stargaze from his yard, however Mrs. Bloy died within two weeks of his retirement date. The Bloys had no children.

References

1904 births 1993 deaths People from Birchington-on-Sea English emigrants to the United States Episcopal bishops of Los Angeles 20th-century American clergy {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub