John McEvilly (1818–1902) was an Irish

Roman 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 ...

clergyman who served as the

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ) is an Episcopal polity, archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Cathol ...

from 1881 to 1902. He was born on 15 April 1818 in Louisburgh, a small town near

Westport, County Mayo Westport (, historically anglicised as ''Cahernamart'') is a town in County Mayo in Republic of Ireland, Ireland.Westport Before 1800 by Michael Kelly published in Cathair Na Mart 2019 It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the ...

, Ireland., ''The Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, volume 2'', p. 233. He entered the

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

in January 1833, then was sent to

Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was of ...

in September 1833, where among his contemporaries was the future Archbishop of Armagh Joseph Dixon. In 1842, McEvilly 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the Archdiocese of Tuam. On 9 January 1857, he was appointed the Bishop of Galway 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 ...

and 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 ...

on 22 March 1857 by the Most Reverend John MacHale,

., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 430. While as Bishop of Galway, McEvilly was appointed the

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora in September 1866 and appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Tuam on 11 January 1878. On the death of Archbishop MacHale, he succeeded as the

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

of Tuam on 7 November 1881., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 444. He was instrumental in setting up St Joseph's Industrial School, Letterfrack, and he produced a number of well respected Bible commentaries. Archbishop McEvilly died in office on 26 November 1902, aged 84.

References

Bibliography

* * * 1818 births 1902 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Christian clergy from County Mayo People from Louisburgh, County Mayo Roman Catholic bishops of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Roman Catholic archbishops of Tuam Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Irish biblical scholars Roman Catholic biblical scholars {{Ireland-RC-bishop-stub