Norbert Felix Gaughan (May 30, 1921 – October 1, 1999) was an American prelate 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 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 Greensburg in Pennsylvania from 1975 to 1984 and as bishop of the Diocese of Gary in Indiana from 1984 to 1996.

Biography

Gaughan was born on May 30, 1921, in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Pennsylvania. He was ordained a

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 ...

on November 4, 1945, for the Diocese of Greensburg.

Auxiliary Bishop of Greensburg

On April 2, 1975, Gaughan 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 ''Taraqua'' and auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg by

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 ...

. He was consecrated by Bishop William G. Connare; Bishop Cyril Vogel and Auxiliary Bishop

John McDowell John Henry McDowell (born 7 March 1942) is a South African philosopher, formerly a fellow of University College, Oxford, and now university professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Although he has written on metaphysics, epistemology, anci ...

were the principal co-consecrators.

Bishop of Gary

On July 24, 1984 Pope St.

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 ...

named Gaughan as the second bishop of the Diocese of Gary. In February 1992, Gaughan suffered a debilitating

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. Because of his health situation, Pope St. John Paul II appointed Bishop Dale Melczek on August 19, 1992, to be 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 ...

''sede plena'' of the diocese. On October 28, 1995, Pope St.

appointed Bishop Melczek to be the

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the Gary diocese. This meant that upon Gaughan's retirement, Melczek would succeed him immediately as the 3rd Bishop of Gary.

Retirement and legacy

On June 1, 1996. Pope St.

accepted Gaughan's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Gary. Gaughan spent his final years at Saint Anthony Home in

Crown Point, Indiana Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,884 per the 2023 American Community Survey. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became ...

. Norbert Gaughan died on October 1, 1999, in Crown Point. He was buried in the Saint Emma Convent cemetery in

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 14,976 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southeast of Pittsburgh, Greensburg is a part of the Greater Pittsbu ...

, after a funeral mass in Gary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaughan, Norbert Felix 1921 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Pittsburgh Roman Catholic bishops of Gary