Bishop James A. Healy Papers

Born near Mason, Georgia, on April 6, 1830 to Michael and Mary Eliza Healy, James Augustine Healy was the eldest of 10 children. Michael Morris Healy was an Irish-born former soldier and immigrant, and he married Mary Eliza Healy, a mixed-race enslaved woman. Because their marriage and children were considered illegitimate, Michael and Mary sent their children to northern schools for their education. By 1844, the Healy brothers were sent to the new Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA. James was the valedictoiran in the College's first graduating class in 1849. It was there that James decided to enter the priesthood.

James Healy first entered the seminary in Montreal, then later enrolled in the Seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris. In 1854 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, he was ordained, becoming the first African American to be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. He spent the next 21 years in service to the Catholic Church by working within the Diocese of Boston.

In 1875, Healy ws named by Pope Pius XI as successor to Bishop David Bacon, who was head of the Diocese then comprising of Maine and New Hampture. When he succeedeed Bacon as Bishop of Portland, Maine, Healy became the first Catholic Black bishop in the United States.

During his 25-year tenure as diocesan bishop, Healy established an impressive record as leader and builder. With the Catholic population growing in the Northeast, many new institutions, communities, and buildings were established under Healy's tenure. He was also a leader in the larger Catholic hierarchy and government within America, as well as a social activist in favor of indigenous rights and child labor laws.

Bishop Healy died on August 5, 1900. Instead of being laid to rest in the Portland's Cathedral vault, Healy chose to be buried in a simple grave at Calvary Cemetery, marked with a Celtic Cross to remember his Catholic-Irish ancestry.