William Joseph Condon
William Joseph Condon was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Great Falls from 1939 until his death in 1967.Biography
William Condon was born in Colton, Washington, to Patrick and Mary Elizabeth Condon. He graduated from St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California, in 1917. He was ordained to the priesthood on October 14, 1917. He then served as a curate at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane until 1918, when he furthered his studies at Gonzaga University.
Condon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gonzaga in 1919, and then served as pastor of in Waterville for four years. From 1923 to 1929, he was rector of Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral. While serving as pastor of in Spokane between 1929 and 1939, he was also secretary to Bishop Charles Daniel White, and chancellor and vicar general of the Diocese of Spokane.
On August 5, 1939, Condon was appointed the third Bishop of Great Falls, Montana, by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 18 from Bishop Charles White, with Bishops Joseph Francis McGrath and Edward Kelly serving as co-consecrators. He was installed in St. Ann's Cathedral on October 26, 1939. He led the diocese for twenty-seven years, the longest-serving bishop of the diocese. Between 1962 and 1965, he attended the Second Vatican Council.
Condon died at age 72, and is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Great Falls.
