Skip to main content

John Barry

Second Bishop of Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A.; b. 1799 in the parish of Oylegate, Co. Wexford, Ireland ; d. in Paris, 19 November, 1859. He was accepted as an ecclesiastical student by Bishop England, and was ordained priest at Charleston, S.C., 24 September, 1825. After ministering for several years in Georgia, in which State he opened the first Catholic day school at Savannah, he was made Vicar-General of the Diocese of Charleston and superior of the seminary in 1844, while still retaining charge of the parish at Augusta, Georgia. In 1853 he was appointed Vicar-General of Savannah, under Bishop Gartland, and when, in 1854, that prelate died of yellow fever, he was named administrator of the diocese, and as such attended the Eighth Provincial Council of Baltimore, in May, 1855. He was then appointed to the vacant see and consecrated at Baltimore, 2 August, 1857. He governed the diocese with energy and was especially notable during his missionary labours for his charity and zeal in several yellow-fever epidemics. Ill health forcing him to make a visit (July, 1859) to Europe, he died at the house of the Brothers of St. John of God , in Paris, 19 November, 1859, having lost is reason some time before his death. His body was brought back to Savannah for burial, in September, 1865.

More Catholic Encyclopedia

Search the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Browse Encyclopedia by Alphabet


Catholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.

Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.

No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.

Browse the Catholic Encyclopedia by Topic

Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912

Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online


Newsletter Sign Up

Daily Readings

Reading 1, Sirach 4:11-19
Wisdom brings up her own children and cares for those who seek ... Read More

Psalm, Psalms 119:165, 168, 171, 172, 174, 175
Great peace for those who love your Law; no stumbling-blocks ... Read More

Gospel, Mark 9:38-40
John said to him, 'Master, we saw someone who is not one of us ... Read More

Saint of the Day

May 22 Saint of the Day

St. Rita
May 22: St. Rita was born at Spoleto, Italy in 1381. At an early age, ... Read More