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Vincent Joseph McCauley | |
|---|---|
| Bishop Emeritus of Fort Portal | |
| Province | Mbarara |
| Diocese | Fort Portal |
| Installed | July 2, 1961 |
| Term ended | November 16, 1972 |
| Predecessor | Serapio Bwemi Magambo |
| Successor | Robert Muhiirwa Akiiki |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 24, 1934 |
| Consecration | May 18, 1961 by CardinalRichard James Cushing |
| Rank | Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vincent Joseph McAuley (1906-03-08)March 8, 1906 |
| Died | November 1, 1982(1982-11-01) (aged 76) |
| Buried | Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Nationality |  American |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Styles of Vincent Joseph McCauley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
| Posthumous style | Servant of God |
Vincent Joseph McCauley,CSC (March 8, 1906 – November 1, 1982) was an Americanprelate of theRoman Catholic Church. A member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, he was the firstBishop of Fort Portal, having served as the ordinary of the diocese from 1961 to 1972. Later, he served as executive director of theAssociation of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa from 1972 to 1979. AServant of God, his cause for beatification was introduced in theCongregation for the Causes of Saints in August 2006.
McCauley, the eldest of six children, was born inCouncil Bluffs, Iowa, to Charles McCauley and Mary Wickham. His father was a wire chief forAmerican Telephone & Telegraph inOmaha, Nebraska, and his mother took care of the home. The family prayed the rosary daily. Active in St. Francis Xavier Parish in Council Bluffs, his father was a member of theKnights of Columbus, and his mother was active in the altar guild and various prayer circles. These groups later assisted McCauley during his missionary efforts during troubled periods of theGreat Depression andWorld War II.[1]: 9–16
McCauley attendedCreighton Preparatory School, where he excelled in sports, especially baseball, playing semi-professional baseball in Omaha to earn extra money. He graduated in 1924 and entered atCreighton University's College of Arts and Letters as part of the class of 1928, but in November 1924 left Council Bluffs to join the Congregation of Holy Cross.[1]: 17–18
July 1, 1925, McCauley entered the novitiate, professing first vows on July 2, 1926. He then professed perpetual vows on July 2, 1929, and graduated from theUniversity of Notre Dame in June 1930. He then went to the Foreign Missionary Seminary inWashington, D.C. He was ordained a deacon on October 1, 1933. He was ordained a priest on June 24, 1934, by BishopJohn F. Noll at theBasilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame.[1]: 18–19
McCauley trained at the Foreign Mission Seminary to serve as an overseas missionary. After his 1934 ordination, the Congregation of Holy Cross, with the economic hardship of the Great Depression, had insufficient funds to send McCauley overseas. He became a member of the faculty at the congregation's seminary inNorth Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and the seminary's director of maintenance. He was responsible for its relocation to the estate ofFrederick Lothrop Ames Jr. inEaston, Massachusetts in 1935. This estate becameStonehill College in 1948.[1]: 20–22
A recovering economy allowed McCauley to be assigned to East Bengal, a territory that roughly corresponds to modern day Bangladesh. McCauley departed along with another Holy Cross priest and two Holy Cross brothers aboard theRMS Franconia (1922) on October 12, 1936. He arrived inDhaka on November 16, 1936.[1]: 35
From 1936 to 1939 McCauley was assigned to Bandhura to work in education, teaching inBandura Holy Cross High School and forming catechists. In 1939, McCauley was assigned to evangelize theKuki people in theMymensingh District. While there, he contractedmalaria and spent several months of 1940 recuperating.[1]: 37–47
On October 1, 1940, he was appointed rector and superior of Little Flower Seminary in Bandhura. His health remained fragile, with frequent relapses of malaria and other tropical maladies.[1]: 50
In December 1943, while on a trip to Dhaka, a severe case ofphlebitis caused a two-month hospitalization. Eventually, during World War II, Holy Cross persuaded the U.S. Army to provide medical evacuation for McCauley. He was flown back to the U.S. and began an extended period of recovery.[2]
In June 1945, McCauley began as assistant superior of the Foreign Mission Seminary in Washington, D.C., where he had studied. In 1946, he was appointed superior and rector, a post he held for six years.[1]: 63
In 1952, he was appointedprocurator for the missions. During this period he began treatment at theMayo Clinic forskin cancer. As the chief fundraiser for Holy Cross Missions in Bengal, he bragged that he would log 80,000 miles annually to preach missions and raise funds.[1]: 70
Along with Fr. Arnold Fell, CSC, McCauley was sent to Uganda on a fact-finding mission. They were sent to recommend if the Congregation of Holy Cross should assume responsibility for a mission in Uganda within the kingdoms ofBunyoro andToro. McCauley supported the proposal; superiors in the order agreed, and plans were drawn up to send a group ofreligious to serve in Uganda.[1]: 78–79
Despite concerns about his health, McCauley was selected to lead the mission, along with three newly ordained Holy Cross priests: Francis Zagorc, Robert Hesse, and Burton Smith, although they had been selected for service in Bangladesh and had already sent their trunks there.[1]: 84
The Holy Cross religious arrived inEntebbe International Airport on November 4, 1958. Holy Cross served in the northern portion of the diocese, in and aroundFort Portal.[1]: 102 After three years to become established, Holy Cross and McCauley created theRoman Catholic Diocese of Fort Portal.[1]: 114
After setting up the Holy Cross mission in Uganda, Vincent McCauley was appointed as the first bishop of Fort Portal. He was consecrated a bishop at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame in May 1961, and installed as bishop of Fort Portal two months later.Uganda, a protectorate of Britain]], gained its independence in 1962, followed by violent conflicts, which affected the mission. McCauley's policy was to adapt Christian teachings and practices to cultures (iinculturation and to promote the local church and local clergy[citation needed].
McCauley attended all four sessions of theSecond Vatican Council, which influenced his attitudes. In the mid-1960s, McCauley was an advocate for refugees fromRwanda, theCongo, and theSudan. He had to overcome conflict among the tribes of his diocese. McCauley also led and supported the development of religious congregations of women, and promoted their movement into new areas of ministry.[citation needed] He was also involved in education. During his tenure he suffered from repeated problems with skin cancer, malaria, and other ailments.
In 1964, during the Second Vatican Council, McCauley became chairman of theAssociation of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA). He guided the association through its first three triennial plenary meetings, and arranged the basic organization of AMECEA and its departments. He also established the Gaba Pastoral Institute for the formation of catechists. When his chairmanship ended in 1973, he replaced Flynn as secretary-general.[citation needed] McCauley, in assuming the new responsibility, moved from Fort Portal toNairobi.
Bishop McCauley suffered from facial skin cancer for much of his adult life. In all, he had more than fifty surgeries. As he grew older, additional health concerns emerged. In September 1976, a plastic aorta was inserted into his heart at the Mayo Clinic. Beginning in July 1982, he began to suffer acutepulmonary hemorrhages. In October 1982, he returned to the U.S. for treatment. McCauley died while undergoing risky exploratory surgery on November 1, 1982, and was buried in the Holy Cross community cemetery at Notre Dame on November 4.[1]: 333
In August 2006, the cause for canonization of Bishop McCauley, CSC was introduced in the Congregation of Saints. As "Servant of God" Bishop McCauley's case was continuing to be reviewed as of 2022[update].[3]
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