Patrick Joseph James Keane (January 6, 1872 – September 1, 1928) was an Irish-born prelate 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 ...

. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Sacramento The Diocese of Sacramento () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archd ...

in California from 1922 until his death in 1928. Keane previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the same diocese from 1920 to 1922.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Ballybunnion Ballybunion or Ballybunnion () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Wild Atlantic Way, from the town of Listowel. As of the 2022 census, Ballybunion had a population of 1,618. Name The Placenames Database of I ...

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 ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, Keane studied in 1890–1895 at St. Patrick's College in

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

and

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 ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he was granted a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

in 1896.

Priesthood

He was ordained a Catholic

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 ...

for the

Archdiocese of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Arquidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the Unit ...

on June 20, 1895. For the next 25 years he was involved in parish work. His first assignment, St. Patrick's Parish in San Francisco. The pastor of St. Patrick's, Father Peter Grey had high praise of Keane to Archbishop Riordan. In 1900, Keane was transferred to St. Joseph's Parish in San Francisco. The pastor of St. Joseph, Father Patrick Scanlon died May 31, 1904. Keane served nearly six years under the new pastor, Father Patrick Mulligan at St. Joseph. On March 6, 1910, Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan of San Francisco named Keane, Administrator of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral Parish in Oakland. On July 30, 1915, Archbishop Edward Hanna appointed Keane, second pastor of St. Francis de Sales.

Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Sacramento

On September 10, 1920,

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

named Keane the

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 ''Sebaste in Palaestina'' and auxiliary bishop of Sacramento. He was consecrated a bishop on December 14, 1920, by Archbishop Hanna. The co-consecrators were Bishops John Cantwell and

Thomas Grace Thomas Grace may refer to: * Thomas Grace (Archdeacon of Ardfert) (1770–1848), Irish priest * Thomas Grace (Archdeacon of Marlborough) (fl. 1873–1890), Anglican priest in New Zealand, son of the above * Thomas Grace (bishop of Sacramento) (1 ...

. On December 27, 1921, Bishop Grace died. On March 17, 1922, 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 ...

named Keane as the third bishop of Sacramento. During the six years he was Bishop of Sacramento, Keane was instrumental in the formation of the parochial school system. He also founded several new parishes and followed a directive from 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 ...

to recruit new priests and vocations from the local diocese.

Death and legacy

Patrick Keane died in Sacramento on September 1, 1928, at the age of 56.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Patrick Joseph James 1872 births 1928 deaths Christian clergy from County Kerry Roman Catholic bishops of Sacramento Irish emigrants to the United States Catholic University of America alumni Alumni of Carlow College 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Ballybunion