Church Roman Catholic Church Ordination June 10, 1916 Successor Ernest John Primeau | See Manchester Name Matthew Brady | |
 | ||
In office November 11, 1944—September 20, 1959 | ||
Predecessor John Bertram Peterson | ||
Matthew Francis Brady (January 15, 1893 – September 20, 1959) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Burlington (1938–1944) and Bishop of Manchester (1944–1959).
Biography
Matthew Brady was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, to John and Catherine (née Caffrey) Brady. After attending St. Thomas Seminary in Hartford, he studied at the American College of the Immaculate Conception in Leuven, Belgium, and at St. Bernard's Seminary in Rochester, New York. Brady was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John Joseph Nilan on June 10, 1916. During World War I, he served as a chaplain in the United States Army from 1916 to 1918. He then did pastoral work in the Diocese of Hartford, and served as a professor at St. Thomas Seminary from 1922 to 1932.
On July 30, 1938, Brady was appointed the fourth Bishop of Burlington, Vermont, by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 26 from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Bishops Maurice F. McAuliffe and Joseph Edward McCarthy serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. He organized branches of the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Youth, and erected about a dozen new parishes in such places as Fairfax, Gilman, North Troy, Orleans, and South Burlington.
Brady was named the fifth Bishop of Manchester, New Hampshire, by Pope Pius XII on November 11, 1944. He presided over a period of unprecedented growth in the Manchester Diocese, founding 27 parishes in 11 years and authorizing the construction of nearly 50 churches and numerous schools, convents, and other facilities. He also increased the number of Catholics by 50,000, and the number of priests and religious from around 650 to over 1,600. For all these accomplishments he was nicknamed "Brady the Builder."
Brady later died at age 66. Bishop Brady High School in Concord as well as Brady Hall, a residential dormitory on the campus of Saint Anselm College are named in his honor.