Robert Francis Joyce (October 7, 1896—September 2, 1990) was an 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 ...

. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Burlington The Diocese of Burlington () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church for Vermont in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston. The Diocese of Burlington was erected on July 29, 1853, by Pope ...

in Vermont from 1956 to 1971.

Biography

Robert Joyce was born on October 7, 1896, in

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, to Patrick Joseph and Ellen (née Connor) Joyce. After graduating from

Proctor High School Proctor High School is a 912 secondary school in Proctor, Minnesota, United States that was established in 1912. Situated in the Duluth–Superior area, Proctor High School and the connected A.I. Jedlicka Middle School serves about 1,000 student ...

, he studied at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

in Burlington and the Grand Seminary of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec. Joyce 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 for the Diocese of Burlington by Bishop Joseph John Rice on 26 May 1923."Obituary; Robert F. Joyce, Catholic Bishop, 93", ''The New York Times'', September 5, 1990
/ref> Joyce then did pastoral work in the diocese until 1927, when he became

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

of the Cathedral High School in South Burlington, Vermont. He resumed his pastoral ministry in 1932. Joyce enlisted in the US Army Chaplain Corps in 1943, serving there until 1946. He later served as a pro-

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

and diocesan director of the

Holy Name Society The Society of the Holy Name, formally known as the Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of God and Jesus, is a Roman Catholic confraternity of the laity and is one of several which are under the care of the Dominican Order. It is open to all C ...

Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Burlington

On July 8, 1954, Joyce was appointed

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 Burlington and

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 ''Citium'' by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. 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 28, 1954, from Bishop Edward Ryan, with Bishops

Matthew Brady Matthew Brady (1799 – 4 May 1826) was an English-born convict who became a bushranger in Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania). He was sometimes known as "Gentleman Brady" due to his good treatment and fine manners when robbing his victims. ...

and Bernard Flanagan 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 ...

. After the death of Bishop Ryan, Pius XII named Joyce as the sixth bishop of Burlington on December 29, 1956. He was installed on February 26, 1957. Joyce attended 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 ...

in Rome from 1962 to 1965, and served on the National Board of the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

for 10 years. Joyce was the first clergyman elected as a trustee at the

. On December 14, 1971, Pope Paul VI accepted Joyce's resignation as bishop of Burlington. Robert Joyce died in Burlington on September 2, 1990, at age 93. He was buried at Resurrection Park in

South Burlington, Vermont South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292, making it the sec ...

Legacy

In 1979 the University of Vermont established the Bishop Robert f. Joyce Distinguished Professorship in Gerontology.Blow, David. "Joyce, Robert F.", ''The Vermont Encyclopedia'', (John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth, eds.) UPNE, 2003, p. 174

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Robert Francis 1896 births 1990 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Burlington Participants in the Second Vatican Council People from Proctor, Vermont 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States University of Vermont alumni World War II chaplains United States Army chaplains American expatriates in Canada American school principals