Matthew Francis Brady Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:His Excellency, The Most Reverend
Matthew Francis Brady
Bishop of Manchester
Church:Roman Catholic Church
See:Diocese of Manchester
Term:November 11, 1944 - September 20, 1959
Predecessor:John Bertram Peterson
Successor:Ernest John Primeau
Ordination:June 10, 1916
Ordained By:John Joseph Nilan
Consecration:October 26, 1938
Consecrated By:Amleto Giovanni Cicognani
Birth Date:15 January 1893
Birth Place:Waterbury, Connecticut, US
Death Place:Manchester, New Hampshire, US
Previous Post:Bishop of Burlington (1938-1944)
Education:American College of the Immaculate Conception
St. Bernard's Seminary

Matthew Francis Brady (January 15, 1893  - September 20, 1959) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in Vermont (1938–1944) and bishop of the Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire (1944–1959).

Biography

Early life

Matthew Brady was born on January 15, 1893, in Waterbury, Connecticut, to John and Catherine (née Caffrey) Brady.[1] After attending St. Thomas Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, he studied at the American College of the Immaculate Conception in Leuven, Belgium. Returning to the United States, Brady entered St. Bernard's Seminary in Rochester, New York.

Priesthood

Brady was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Hartford by Bishop John Nilan on June 10, 1916.[2] During World War I, Brady served as a chaplain in the United States Army from 1916 to 1918. After his discharge from the army, he did pastoral work in the Diocese of Hartford, and served as a professor at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Connecticut, from 1922 to 1932.

Bishop of Burlington

On July 30, 1938, Brady was appointed the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Burlington by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on October 26, 1938, from Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, with Bishops Maurice F. McAuliffe and Joseph McCarthy serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington, Vermont.[3]

Brady organized branches in his diocese of the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Youth Organization, and erected about a dozen new parishes in Fairfax, Gilman, North Troy, Orleans, and South Burlington, all in Vermont.[4]

Bishop of Manchester

On January 17, 1945, Brady was installed as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Manchester.[5] He presided over a period of unprecedented growth in the diocese, founding 27 parishes in 11 years and authorizing the construction of nearly 50 churches and numerous schools, convents, and other facilities.[6] The number of parishioners increased by 50,000, and the number of priests and religious from around 650 to over 1,600. For all these accomplishments he was nicknamed "Brady the Builder."

Death and legacy

Matthew Brady died in Manchester on September 20, 1959, at age 66. Bishop Brady High School in Concord, New Hampshire, and Brady Hall at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, are named in his honor.

Notes and References

  1. News: Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. Most Reverend Matthew Francis Brady, Fourth Bishop of Burlington.
  2. News: Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Bishop Matthew Francis Brady.
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/1938/10/27/archives/consecrated-as-bishop-the-most-rev-m-f-brady-heads-diocese-of.html "Consecrated as Bishop; The Most Rev. M. F. Brady Heads Diocese of Burlington", The New York Times, October 27, 1938
  4. News: Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE BURLINGTON.
  5. https://irp.cdn-website.com/d20c3c5e/files/uploaded/History%20of%20the%20Cathedral.pdf Kelley, Richard. "Important Dates in the History of St. Joseph's Cathedral Parish", Saint Joseph Cathedral, Manchester, New Hampshire
  6. News: Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester. Decades of Expansion and Growth (1933-1965): The Era Before the Second Vatican Council. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111008141830/http://www.catholicnh.org/about-us/125th/archive/history-of-our-diocese/#1933. 2011-10-08.