Church Roman Catholic Church Predecessor Michael O'Connor See Erie Ordination April 1, 1838 | Name Joshua Young Consecration April 23, 1854 Successor Tobias Mullen | |
In office April 23, 1854 – September 18, 1866 Born October 29, 1808
Acton, Maine ( 1808-10-29 ) Died September 18, 1866, Erie, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Joshua Maria Young (October 29, 1808 – September 18, 1866) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania from 1854 until his death.
Life and church
He was born in Acton, Maine, to Jonathan and Mehetable (née Moody) Young. One of ten children, he had three brothers and six sisters. Raised as a Congregationalist, he belonged to a prominent New England family of Harvard graduates and Protestant ministers. At age eight Young was sent to live with his uncle in Saco, and later became a printer's apprentice for the Portland-based Eastern Argus newspaper in 1823. He was editor of The Maine Democrat for about a year after his apprenticeship. After a co-worker lent him Catholic books, Young decided to convert to Catholicism and received a conditional baptism in October 1828. Following his conversion, he changed his name to Joshua Maria in honor of the Virgin Mary.
In 1830 he went to study for the priesthood at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he hoped the climate would be more congenial with his health. He briefly continued to work in publishing, and was employed with The Catholic Telegraph. After completing his theological studies at Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, Young was ordained a priest by Bishop John Baptist Purcell on April 1, 1838. He then labored as a missionary in the West before becoming pastor of St. Mary's Church at Lancaster, Ohio. He also attended the First Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1852 as a theologian to Bishop Purcell.
On July 29, 1853, Young was appointed the second Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania by Pope Pius IX. He received his episcopal consecration on April 23, 1854 from Bishop Purcell, with Bishops Martin John Spalding and Louis Amadeus Rappe serving as co-consecrators. He was an opponent of slavery during the Civil War (1861–1865), and witnessed the 1859 discovery of oil in Titusville, which forced him to erect numerous churches to accommodate the settlers along Oil Creek and the Allegheny River. At the beginning of Young's tenure, the diocese contained 28 churches and 14 priests; by the time of his death, the number of churches and priests were both over 50. He established several Catholic schools and orphanages, and a hospital. He also introduced into the diocese the Sisters of St. Joseph from Buffalo, New York.
Young died suddenly at his residence in Erie, at age 57.