William Jerome McCormack (January 24, 1924 – November 23, 2013) 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

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who served as

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

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...

from 1987 to 2001.

Biography

Early life

William Jerome McCormack was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on January 23, 1924, the son of William J. McCormack and Irene Curry McCormack. Raised on the

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of Manhattan, Williams attended several private schools. After spending one year at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in Williamstown, Massachusetts, he left college to join the U.S. Coast Guard. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, McCormack spent four years serving on a ship in the

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. After his discharge from the Coast Guard in 1945, McCormack started working for the Transit-Mix Concrete Corporation, a large provider of concrete in New York City that was run by his father. In 1954, Williams entered

St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,760 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscans established the university in 1858. In ath ...

in St. Bonaventure, New York, to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree. Having decided to become a priest, he then began studying at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, New York.

Priesthood

McCormack was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York on February 21, 1959, at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo, New York, by Bishop Joseph A. Burke. The archdiocese assigned McCormack as parochial vicar at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in the

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. In 1961, McCormack left St. Mary to become assistant director of the archdiocesan office of the

Society for the Propagation of the Faith The Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: ''Propagandum Fidei'') is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in ...

(the Society). Three years later, he was named director of that office. In 1968, McCormack was also named director of the archdiocesan Office of World Justice and Peace. Cardinal Terence Cooke named McCormack in 1970 as vice chancellor of the archdiocese and chair of the Building Commission. While running the Building Commission, McCormack constructed the Terence Cardinal Cooke Building in Manhattan, which housed the archdiocesan offices. He also constructed Cathedral High School for girls in Manhattan and St. John the Evangelist Church in Manhattan. In 1980, McCormack left his archdiocesan jobs to serve as national director of the Society.

Auxiliary Bishop of New York

McCormack was appointed auxiliary bishop of New York 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 ...

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on December 23, 1986 by

Pope 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 ...

. He was consecrated by the pope at

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in Rome on January 6, 1987. He was allowed to remain national director of the Society.

Death

McCormack retired as auxiliary bishop of New York on October 30, 2001. He also resigned as national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He died at the Mary Manning Walsh Home in Manhattan on November 23, 2013.

References

External links

New York Archdiocese
20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops 1924 births 2013 deaths {{US-RC-bishop-stub