Floyd Lawrence Begin
Apollinarus University |
|---|
| Styles of Floyd Lawrence Begin | |
|---|---|
Your Excellency | |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
| Posthumous style | none |
Floyd Lawrence Begin (February 5, 1902 – April 26, 1977) was an
Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Oakland
in California from 1962 until his death in 1977. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1947 to 1962.
Biography
Early life and education
Floyd Begin was born in
St. Ignatius High School (Cleveland) in 1920[3]
Begin then studied for the
Apollinarus University.[1]
Priesthood
Begin was
ordained a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland in Rome on July 31, 1927.[4] Following his return to Ohio, he briefly served as administrator of St. Anthony Parish in Canton.[1] From 1930 to 1938, he served as secretary to Bishop Joseph Schrembs as well as vice-chancellor and pro-vicar general of the diocese.[2]
Begin became an Pius XI a papal chamberlain in 1934, and raised by Pius XI to the rank of domestic prelate in 1936.[1]
Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland
On March 22, 1947, Begin was appointed an
consecration on May 1, 1947. from Bishop Edward Hoban, with Bishops James A. McFadden and Joseph McGucken serving as co-consecrators.[4] Begin was named vicar general of the diocese in March 1948 and pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Cleveland in January 1949.[1]
During his tenure at St. Agnes, Begin advocated more services for and acceptance of
African Americans, who composed most of the parishioners at St. Agnes.[2] In 1954, he unsuccessfully tried to get a Knights of Columbus charter for an interracial council in Cleveland.[5] When the Knights of Columbus refused to give the charter, Begin declared, "The only reason they're being kept out is their color. Anyone who denies that is a pussy-footing liar."[5]
Bishop of Oakland
On January 27, 1962, Begin was appointed the first
bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Oakland by Pope John XXIII.[4] The diocese comprised Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, and included 386,000 Catholics.[5] His installation took place on April 28, 1962.[4] Between 1962 and 1965, Begin attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council
.
Death and legacy
Floyd Begin died on April 26, 1977. Archbishop Joseph McGucken said the funeral mass for Begin. Begin was buried in the Bishop's Crypt at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward, California. On November 2, 2008, his remains were re-interred in the mausoleum of the new Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Curtis, Georgina Pell (1961). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
- ^ a b c d e f "BEGIN, FLOYD L." Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
- ^ "Saint Ignatius High School". Archived from the original on 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
- ^ a b c d e "Bishop Floyd Lawrence Begin". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- ^ a b c "BISHOP FLOYD BEGIN, OF OAKLAND, IS DEAD; Sought K. of C. Charter in '54 for Cleveland Interracial Council". The New York Times. 1977-04-27.