John Cunningham (22 February 1938 – 1 December 2021) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

who served as

Bishop of Galloway The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7 ...

from 2004 to 2014.

Biography

Cunningham Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people sharing this surname A–C *Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player * Abe Cunningham, American drummer *Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...

was born in

Paisley, Renfrewshire Paisley ( ; ; ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Water, a tributary of the River ...

, Scotland, on 22 February 1938. He was educated at

St Mary's College, Blairs St Mary's College, Blairs (commonly known as Blairs College), situated near Aberdeen in Scotland, was from 1829 to 1986 a junior seminary for boys and young men studying for the Priesthood (Catholic Church), Roman Catholic priesthood. Part o ...

and St. Peter's Seminary, Cardross. Later he was a student of the

Scots College, Rome The Pontifical Scots College (Italian: ''Il Pontificio Collegio Scozzese'') in Rome is the main seminary for the training of men for the priesthood from the dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. It was established, in response to the ...

from where he attended 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 ...

. 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 on 29 June 1961. From 1967 to 1981, he was extramural

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Canon Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

at St Peter's College,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He was parish priest at St Patrick's,

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

from 1992 to 2004 and was appointed

Papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

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 1994. From 1997 to 2004 he was

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 Paisley The Diocese of Paisley () is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Erected on 25 May 1947 from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, the diocese covers the historic county of Renfrewshire (now the l ...

. He was made a Prelate of Honour in 1999. On the day

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and was ...

retired on 7 April 2004, Cunningham was appointed the

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 Galloway The Diocese of Galloway was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the pre-1689 Scottish Church. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Galloway and was centred on Whithorn Cathedral. In the Middle Ages, there was only one arc ...

by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. He was

consecrated 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 (a ...

to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on 28 May 2004, the principal

consecrator 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 Churches ...

being Cardinal

Keith O'Brien Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien (17 March 1938 – 19 March 2018) was a senior-ranking Catholic Church, Catholic prelate in Scotland. He was the Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh from 1985 to 2013. O'Brien was the leader of the Catholi ...

Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh The Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh is the ordinary of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The archdiocese covers an area of 5,504 km2. The metropolitan see is in the City of Edinburgh where the archbishop's seat (''cathe ...

with co-consecrating bishops

, Bishop

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of Galloway and

John Mone John Aloysius Mone (22 June 1929 – 14 October 2016) was the third Roman Catholic Bishop of Paisley. Early life John Mone was fourth of the six children of Arthur Mone and Elizabeth Dunn. Born in Glasgow, he was raised in the Crosshill distri ...

Bishop of Paisley The Bishop of Paisley is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Paisley in the Province of Glasgow, Scotland. The diocese covers an area of and is the smallest by area in Scotland. The see is in the town of Paisley where the bishop's seat is lo ...

. Cunningham retired on 22 November 2014 when

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

' appointment of William Nolan as his successor was announced. He died on 1 December 2021, at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, John 1938 births 2021 deaths People from Paisley, Renfrewshire 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland Bishops of Galloway (Roman Catholic, Post-Reformation) Roman Catholic bishops of Paisley Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Scottish Roman Catholic bishops Alumni of the Scots College, Rome