Michael Joseph Keyes, S.M. (February 28, 1876 – August 7, 1959) was an Irish-born 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

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 ...

who served as

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 Savannah The Diocese of Savannah () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southern Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia in the United States.

in Georgia from 1922 to 1935. He previously served as director of Marist College at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

in Washington, D.C.

Biography

Early life

Michael Keyes was born on February 28, 1876, in

Dingle Dingle ( or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula (known in Irish as ''Corca Dhuibhne''), it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

in Ireland on February 28, 1876. He attended Christian Brothers schools in Dingle, then became an assistant teacher at one of the schools for three years. Keyes immigrated to the United States in 1896, teaching for several years at All Hallows College in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. While in Utah, Keyes became acquainted with several Marist Brothers priests who motivated him to join the priesthood. Keyes moved to Washington, D.C., in 1901 to join the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

congregation. He spent the next six years preparing for the priesthood by studying philosophy and theology.

Priesthood

Keyes 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 by Bishop Alfred Curtis in Washington for the Marist Brothers on June 21, 1907. After his ordination, he took a position teaching

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...

and

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 the Marist College of the Catholic University of America. He eventually became director of the college. Keyes became an American citizen in 1921. In early 1922, Keyes was appointed as secretary to Cardinal

Giovanni Bonzano Giovanni Vincenzo Cardinal Bonzano PIME (27 September 1867 – 26 November 1927) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Delegate to United States from 1912 to 1922, and was elevated to the cardinalate ...

, the apostolic delegate to the United States

Bishop of Savannah

On June 27, 1922, Keyes was appointed as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Savannah by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration 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 October 18, 1922, from Archbishop Michael Curley, with Bishops Denis J. O'Connell and Patrick Joseph Barry serving as

co-consecrators 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 Churche ...

. On July 11, 1934, Keyes asked parishioners in his diocese to sign a pledge from the

Legion of Decency The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was an American Catholic group founded in 1934 by the Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content i ...

to protest "...vile and unwholesome motion pictures." Keyes's resignation as bishop of Savannah for health reasons was accepted by Pius XI on September 23, 1935; he was named

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of '' Areopolis'' on the same date. After his health improved, Keyes moved back to Washington, D.C., to teach moral theology again at Marist College for the next 23 years. Michael Keyes died in

Providence Hospital Providence Hospital may refer to: *Providence Hospital (Columbia, South Carolina) *USA Health Providence Hospital in Mobile, Alabama * Providence Hospital (Southfield), Michigan *Providence Hospital (Washington, D.C.) in Washington, D.C. *Providence ...

in Washington, D.C., on August 7, 1959, at age 83.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah

Episcopal succession

1876 births 1959 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Savannah, Georgia People from Dingle {{US-RC-bishop-stub