Joseph Edward McCarthy

Joseph Edward McCarthy (November 14, 1876 – September 8, 1955) was the sixth Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, Maine (1932–1955).

McCarthy was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and was a childhood friend of Bishop John Murray.[1] After attending Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, he was ordained to the priesthood on July 4, 1903.[2] He then taught Greek and French at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield.[1]

On May 13, 1932, McCarthy was appointed Bishop of Portland, Maine, by Pope Pius XI.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 24 from Bishop Maurice F. McAuliffe, with Bishops John Joseph Nilan and John Bertram Peterson serving as co-consecrators.[2] His consecration was the first to be broadcast by radio in the United States.[1]

During the Great Depression, McCarthy used his power as a corporation sole to remove the burden of debt by offering the property holdings as security for a successful bond issue.[1] By 1936 he had stabilized the financial situation of the diocese.[3]

In 1938, he purchased the former home of Morris McDonald as his official residence.[1] He opened numerous elementary schools, high schools, and colleges during his tenure.[3] He received Daniel Joseph Feeney as an auxiliary bishop in 1946, delegating much of the administration of the diocese to Feeny due to his own declining health.[3] McCarthy died on September 8, 1955, aged 78. He is buried in his native Waterbury.[1]