Joseph Patrick Delaney (August 24, 1934 – July 12, 2005) was the second

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

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 Fort Worth in the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Born in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

, Delaney was ordained a priest for the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River The Diocese of Fall River () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdioce ...

on December 18, 1960. In 1971, he was incardinated into the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville The Diocese of Brownsville (, ) is a Latin Church diocese in southeastern Texas in the United States. The Diocese of Brownsville is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. The dioc ...

. On July 10, 1981, he was named bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth The Diocese of Fort Worth () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in North Texas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio. The Diocese of Fort Worth was erected on August 9, 1969. ...

and was consecrated on September 13, 1981. He died while in office.Bishop Joseph Patrick Delaney †
/ref> Bishop-elect Kevin W. Vann was to be consecrated the next day and become coadjutor to Bishop Delaney; that ceremony went on as scheduled with Bishop Vann immediately becoming bishop of the diocese.

Notes

1934 births 2005 deaths People from Fall River, Massachusetts 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Massachusetts 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States {{US-RC-bishop-stub