John Joseph Snyder (October 25, 1925 – September 27, 2019) 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 as the eighth

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 St. Augustine The Diocese of St. Augustine () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church, located in the northeastern section of Florida in the United States. It includes the cities of St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Gainesville. Th ...

in Florida from 1979 to 2000. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the State of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, co ...

in New York from 1972 to 1979

Biography

Early life

Snyder was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on October 25, 1925, to John Joseph and Katherine Walsh Snyder. He attended St. Bartholomew and St. Andrew Avellino schools before studying for the priesthood at Cathedral College in Brooklyn and Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, New York. Snyder was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Brooklyn on June 9, 1951, by Bishop Thomas Molloy. After serving for six years at St. Mel Parish in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

, Snyder was appointed assistant secretary (1957–1968) to Bishop Bryan J. McEntegart and then secretary (1968–1972) to Bishop Francis J. Mugavero.

Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

On December 13, 1972,

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 ...

appointed Snyder as an

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 the Diocese of Brooklyn. He was consecrated on February 2, 1973, at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn. Mugavero served as

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, ...

, with bishops John Boardman and Paul Hagarty serving as principal co-consecrators.

Bishop of St. Augustine

In October 1979,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Snyder as bishop of the Diocese of Saint Augustine, where he was installed on December 5, 1979. His episcopal motto was "Peace in Christ".

Retirement and legacy

As required by

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 ...

, Snyder submitted his resignation on his 75th birthday on October 25, 2000. Pope John Paul II accepted Snyder's resignation on December 12, 2000. Snyder was elected diocesan administrator on December 15, 2000, by the diocesan college of consultors and served as administrator until August 21, 2001, when Monsignor Victor Galeone was consecrated bishop. Bishop John J. Snyder High School in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, is named after him. Snyder celebrated an annual

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

at the school. He also went to most of the home sports games. John Snyder died in Jacksonville on September 27, 2019, at age 93.

Episcopal succession

References

External links

Official biography including photos, pastoral statements and homilies

Diocese of St. Augustine, FloridaThe St. Augustine Catholic, Diocesan Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, John J. 1925 births 2019 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Saint Augustine 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States