Edward Celestin Daly


Edward Celestin Daly, O.P. was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Des Moines from 1948 until his death in 1964.

Biography

Edward Daly was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to James and Elizabeth Daly. He attended Boston College from 1912 to 1914, and made his profession as a member of the Order of Preachers in 1915. He studied philosophy and theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. At age 26, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John T. McNicholas on June 12, 1921.
Daly then studied canon law at the Catholic University of America until 1923, when he became secretary and archivist of the Apostolic Delegation. During this period, he earned a Master of Sacred Theology from Rome in 1936 and also served as professor of canon law at the Dominican House of Studies.
On March 13, 1948, Daly was appointed the fourth Bishop of Des Moines, Iowa, by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 13 from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Archbishops Henry Rohlman and Leo Binz serving as co-consecrators. He was named an Assistant at the Pontifical Throne in May 1958.
He attended the first three sessions of the Second Vatican Council.
After attending its third session, he was killed when his plane, TWA Flight 800, crashed shortly after takeoff at Fiumicino Airport near Rome.