Church Roman Catholic Church Ordination September 21, 1816 Successor James Whelan | Name Richard Miles Predecessor none Consecration September 16, 1838 | |
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In office September 16, 1838 – February 17, 1860 Born May 17, 1791
Prince George's County, Maryland ( 1791-05-17 ) Died 1860, Nashville, Tennessee, United States | ||
Richard Pius Miles, O.P. (May 17, 1791 – February 21, 1860) was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Nashville (1838–1860).
Biography
Miles was born in Prince George's County, Maryland, and moved to Kentucky with his parents at age 5. After joining the Dominican Order in October 1806, he was ordained a priest on September 21, 1816. He then worked as a missionary in Ohio and Kentucky for 22 years, also founding a community of Dominican nuns and a school under the Sisters of Charity.
On July 28, 1837, Miles was appointed the first Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, by Pope Gregory XVI. He received his episcopal consecration on September 16, 1838 from Bishop Joseph Rosati, C.M., with Bishops Simon Bruté and Guy Ignatius Chabrat, P.S.S., serving as co-consecrators. During his tenure, he dedicated a cathedral in 1848, ordained the first priest in Tennessee, and established a seminary and a hospital.
He died at the age of 68. At the time of his death, the diocese comprised 12,000 Catholics, 13 priests, 14 churches, 6 chapels, and 13 missions. In 1972, over 100 years after his death, his body was exhumed and he was found to be incorrupt. A cause has since been opened for his canonization.