Joseph Michael McGee (13 December 1904 – 4 April 1983) was a Scottish

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 ...

clergyman who served as the

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 1952 to 1981.

Life

Born in the parish of Monzievaird and Strowan,

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, Scotland on 13 December 1904, 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 25 May 1929. He 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 ...

on 19 July 1952, and

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 11 November 1952. 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 ...

was Cardinal

William Godfrey William Godfrey (25 July 1889 – 22 January 1963) was an English Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1956 until his death, and was elevated to the Cardinal (Catholicism), ...

, Archbishop of Westminster, and the principal co-consecrators were Bishop

James Donald Scanlan James Donald Scanlan (24 January 1899 – 25 March 1976) was a Scottish Roman Catholic prelate, who served first as the Bishop of Dunkeld, then Bishop of Motherwell, and ultimately Archbishop of Glasgow. Born in Glasgow, Scanlan intended to stud ...

of Dunkeld (later Archbishop of Glasgow) and Bishop

Edward Wilson Douglas Edward Wilson Douglas (26 August 1901 – 12 June 1967) was a Scottish Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the first Bishop of Motherwell from 1948 to 1954. Life Born in Glasgow, Scotland on 26 August 1901 in the parish of Holy Cross, Edwa ...

of Motherwell. He attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

from 1962 to 1965. He retired on 4 April 1981 and assumed the title 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. He died on 5 March 1983, aged 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Joseph 1904 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland Bishops of Galloway (Roman Catholic, Post-Reformation) Scottish Roman Catholic bishops