Type: | Archbishop |
Honorific-Prefix: | Archbishop Emeritus |
John Joseph McCarthy | |
Archbishop Emeritus of Nairobi | |
Church: | Roman Catholic Church |
Archdiocese: | Nairobi |
See: | Nairobi |
Metropolis: | Nairobi |
Appointed: | 25 March 1953 |
Ended: | 24 October 1971 |
Successor: | Maurice Michael Otunga |
Ordination: | 24 June 1925 |
Other Post: | President of Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (1969–1970) |
Birth Name: | John Joseph McCarthy |
Birth Date: | 28 April 1896 |
Birth Place: | Doonegan, Milltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland |
Death Place: | Kimmage Manor, Dublin, Ireland |
Nationality: | Irish |
Religion: | Roman Catholic |
Alma Mater: | University College Dublin |
Bishop John Joseph "J.J." McCarthy C.S.Sp. (27 April 1896 – 13 January 1983),[1] was an Irish born, Holy Ghost Father, who served as Bishop to Nairobi, Kenya.[2]
Born 28 April 1896 in Doonegan, Milltown Malbay, County Clare, 'J.J' was a student at Rockwell College, before going on to Kimmage Manor to train as a priest. He studied at St. Marys, and University College Dublin (obtaining a BA), and was a prefect in Blackrock College. At Rockwell, he played rugby and also played rugby in Blackrock. He was ordained in 1925, and following ordination, he went on his mission to East Africa.
He was ordained bishop in 1946 with the old title of Vicar Apostolic of Zanzibar (succeeding another Irish Spiritan John William Heffernan) and Titular Bishop of Cercina. In 1953 he was appointed Archbishop of Nairobi, and position he held until his retirement in 1971.
He served as president of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1969 to 1970.[3]
He retired in 1972 and returned to Ireland, where he lived in Kildare for a time before moving to Kimmage Manor, where he died in 1983.