View source for Francis McNeirny

{{Short description|American clergyman}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Francis McNeirny
| image       = Bishop Francis McNeirny.jpg
| birth_date  = {{Birth date |1828|04|25}}
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1894|01|02|1828|04|25}}
}}
'''Francis McNeirny''' (April 25, 1828 &ndash; January 2, 1894) was an American clergyman of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] who served as [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany|Bishop of Albany]] from 1877 until his death in 1894.

==Biography==
Francis S. McNeirny was born in [[New York City]], and received his early education at a private school run by a Mr. Sparrow, a Catholic teacher.<ref name=odonnell>{{cite book|last=O'Donnell|first=John Hugh|title=The Catholic Hierarchy of the United States, 1790-1922|place=Washington, D.C.|date=1922}}</ref> In September 1841, he was sent to study under the [[Society of Saint-Sulpice|Sulpicians]] at the [[Collège de Montréal|College of Montreal]].<ref name=shea>{{cite book|last1=Shea|first1=John Gilmary|authorlink1=John Gilmary Shea|title=The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States|year=1886|publisher=Office of Catholic Publications|location=New York}}</ref> He graduated with distinction in 1849, and then made his theological studies at the [[Grand séminaire de Montréal|Grand Seminary of Montreal]].<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|date=1894-01-03|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Death of Bishop McNeirny}}</ref> While still a scholastic, he served as procurator of the Grand Seminary for a year and then as [[professor]] of [[belles-lettres]] at the College of Montreal for two years.<ref name=shea/>

After completing his studies, McNeirny returned to New York and was [[Holy Orders|ordained]] to the [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priesthood]] by Archbishop [[John Hughes (archbishop)|John Hughes]] on May 21, 1842.<ref name=hierarchy>{{cite news|work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org|title=Bishop Francis McNeirny|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmcneirny.html}}</ref> He then worked as a [[curate]] at [[St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, New York|St. Patrick's Cathedral]], and served Archbishop Hughes as his [[Personal assistant|private secretary]] and [[master of ceremonies]].<ref name=shea/> He became [[Chancellor (ecclesiastical)|chancellor]] of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York|Archdiocese of New York]] in 1857.<ref name=odonnell/> He also served as [[pastor]] of St. Mary's Church in [[Rondout, New York|Rondout]].<ref name=nytimes/>

On December 22, 1871, McNeirny was appointed [[coadjutor bishop]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany|Diocese of Albany]] and [[titular bishop]] of ''Rhesaina'' by [[Pope Pius IX]].<ref name=hierarchy/> He received his [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|episcopal]] [[consecration]] on April 21, 1872, from Archbishop [[John McCloskey]], with Bishops [[John Loughlin (bishop)|John Loughlin]] and [[David William Bacon]] serving as [[Consecrator|co-consecrators]], in St. Patrick's Cathedral.<ref name=hierarchy/> He was charged with the administration of the diocese on January 18, 1874, and later succeeded Bishop [[John J. Conroy]] as the third [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany|Bishop of Albany]] on October 16, 1877.<ref name=hierarchy/>

Although Albany lost territory with the erection of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg|Diocese of Ogdensburg]] in 1872, McNeirny greatly increased the number of priests, churches, and parochial schools.<ref name=shea/> He also secured the services of the [[Third Order of Saint Dominic|Dominican Tertiaries]], [[Good Shepherd Sisters|Sisters of the Good Shepherd]], and [[Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer|Redemptorist Fathers]] for the diocese.<ref name=catholic>{{cite news|work=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]|title=Albany|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01256a.htm}}</ref> One of his greatest achievements was the enlargement and completion of the [[Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Albany, New York)|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception]] by the addition of an [[apse]] and the erection of new [[Sacristy|sacristies]] and a tower.<ref name=catholic/> In 1880 he approved [[Lucy Eaton Smith]] to found her Diocesan community, the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de' Ricci.

Bishop McNeirny died from [[pneumonia]] at his residence in Albany, aged 65.<ref name=nytimes/>

==References==
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{{succession box | title=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany|Bishop of Albany]] | before=[[John J. Conroy]] | after=[[Thomas Martin Aloysius Burke]] | years=1877&mdash;1894}}
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{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany}}
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York}}

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[[Category:1828 births]]
[[Category:1894 deaths]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Albany]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States]]