Joseph Francis McGrath
Joseph Francis McGrath was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Baker City, Oregon from 1919 to 1950.Biography
Joseph McGrath was born in Kilmacow, County Kilkenny, Ireland and did his theological studies at the Grand Seminary of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 21, 1895. He served as a curate in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, before doing missionary work among the Native Americans in Northern Michigan for two years. He then went to Washington, where he served as a curate at the Cathedral of Seattle and afterwards as rector of in Tacoma.
On December 21, 1918, McGrath was appointed the second Bishop of Baker City by Pope Benedict XV. He received his episcopal consecration on March 25, 1919 from Bishop Edward John O'Dea, with Bishops Mathias Clement Lenihan and John Patrick Carroll serving as co-consecrators. He headed the diocese for thirty-one years, making him the longest-serving bishop in diocesan history. He died at age 79.
