George V. Murry

George Vance Murry S.J. (December 28, 1948 – June 5, 2020)[1] was an American bishop of the Catholic Church and member of the Society of Jesus. He was the Bishop of Youngstown, after previously serving as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Bishop of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands. He submitted his resignation in May 2020 after suffering a relapse of leukemia, but died before it was accepted.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend George Vance Murry S.J.
Bishop of Youngstown
Bishop Murry in September 2018
Church	Catholic Church
Archdiocese	Cincinnati
Diocese	Youngstown
Appointed	January 30, 2007
Installed	March 28, 2007
Term ended	May 26, 2020
Predecessor	Thomas J. Tobin
Orders
Ordination	June 9, 1979
Consecration	March 20, 1995 by Joseph Bernardin, Alfred Leo Abramowicz, and Timothy Joseph Lyne
Personal details
Birth name	George Vance Murry
Born	December 28, 1948 Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	June 5, 2020 (aged 71) New York City, New York, U.S.
Previous post	Bishop of Saint Thomas (1999–2007) Coadjutor Bishop of Saint Thomas (1998–1999) Titular Bishop of Diocese of Fuerteventura (1995–1998) Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago (1995–1998)
Motto	CHRIST MY LIGHT

Styles of George Vance Murry
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Early life

Murry was born in Camden, New Jersey, on December 28, 1948, to Viola Murry and George Vance Murry II.[2] He originally belonged to the African Methodist Episcopal Church but converted to Roman Catholicism when he was a child while attending a parochial school in Baltimore, Maryland.[3] He later graduated from Camden Catholic High School.[2]

Murry went on to do undergraduate studies at St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia, St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 1972.[2] In that same year, he was admitted as a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).[2] After completing his period of novitiate in 1974, he went on to obtain a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and a Masters and Doctorate in American Cultural History from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. On June 9, 1979, Mury was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in the Jesuit province of Maryland.[4]

Presbyteral ministry

Murry became an assistant professor of American studies at Georgetown University in 1986, and taught at that institution for four years.[2] He also served as the President of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. from 1989 until 1994, when he was appointed Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Detroit Mercy.[2]

Episcopal ministry

Auxiliary bishop of Chicago (1995–1998)

Murry was appointed auxiliary bishop of Chicago and titular bishop of Fuerteventura on January 24, 1995.[2][5] He was consecrated bishop on March 20 of that same year.[2] Joseph Bernardin, the Archbishop of Chicago, served as the principal consecrator, assisted by Alfred Leo Abramowicz and Timothy Joseph Lyne.[4][5]

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Saint Thomas (1998–2007)

Murry was appointed coadjutor bishop of Saint Thomas on May 5, 1998.[2] As such, he had the right of succession,[2] and became ordinary of that diocese on June 30, 1999, after the resignation of Elliot Griffin Thomas.[4][2]

Bishop of Youngstown (2007–2020)

On January 30, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Murry as the fifth Bishop of Youngstown.[4] Later that year, he was elected Secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB),[6] and he was re-elected to a three-year term the following year.[7]

Murry served on numerous boards, including those of the University of Detroit, St. Joseph's University, Mount St. Mary's College, Loyola Academy in Detroit,[8] and Catholic Relief Services.[9] He was a trustee of Loyola University Chicago and Fairfield University,[8][10] and was chairman of the Committee on Domestic Policy of the USCCB.[11] He was appointed Chair of the National Catholic Educational Association in 2015, where he served until the end of 2017.[2]

In September 2015, Pope Francis appointed Murry a member of the Synod of Bishops that met the following month to discuss family life.[12] At that meeting, he said he supported the view that church practice toward the divorced and remarried could change without altering doctrine. He said he supported greater participation from theologians, cultural historians, and other experts, and that the Synod needed to find a way to hear the voices of the people who were the subject of its discussions. He also supported the creation of commission to consider allowing women to serve as deacons. He said: "It would be a wise idea to look into it, to learn more about it and then to present a proposal to the Pope to say there either are theological problems, or not. And if not, let’s move forward."[13]

In April 2018, Murry was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.[14] He received chemotherapy treatment at the Cleveland Clinic.[15] On September 4, 2018, he returned to work part-time at the Diocese.[16] After being in remission, Murry suffered a relapse in April 2020.[17] He submitted his resignation on May 26, 2020, four years before the mandatory retirement age of 75.[17][18]

Murry died on June 5, 2020, after being admitted to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City, for treatment earlier that week.[1][19]

See also

• Catholic Church hierarchy
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

References

1. Botos, Tim. "Bishop George Murry was a familiar, friendly face". The Independent. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
2. Sheehan, Pete (June 5, 2020). "Retired Bishop George Murry dies after two-year battle with leukemia". Crux. Catholic News Service. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
3. Goshay, Charita (December 1, 2012). "Faith and Values: Black Catholics embrace heritage, history". Canton Reporter. Archived from the original on December 27, 2012.
4. "Bishop George Vance Murry". Kansas City: Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
5. "Black Catholic Bishops of the US". Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
6. Allen, John L., Jr. (November 14, 2007). "USCCB Day Three: Murry elected conference secretary". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
7. Allen, John L., Jr. (November 11, 2008). "USCCB: Murry elected secretary (again ... we think)". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
8. Marketing and Public Relations Activities in ARL Libraries: A SPEC Kit. Association of Research Libraries. 1999. p. 71.
9. Sheehan, Pete (June 5, 2020). "Retired Bishop George Murry dies after two-year battle with leukemia". America. Catholic News Service. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
10. "Fairfield University announces five new trustees". Fairfield University. November 21, 2005. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
11. "Resignations and Appointments". Holy See Press Office. Holy See. January 30, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2020. (in Italian)
12. McElwee, Joshua J. (September 15, 2015). "Vatican releases Synod list: 279 participants, 8 Americans". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
13. Hansen, Luke, S.J. (October 20, 2015). "Bishop George Murry Discusses Synod Process, Supports More Lay Involvement". America. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
14. "Bishop Murry diagnosed with acute leukemia, receiving treatment". The Vindicator. April 30, 2018. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
15. "Bishop Murry of Youngstown diagnosed with leukemia". Catholic News Agency. April 30, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
16. "Bishop Murry's Return To Work" (Press release). Diocese of Youngstown. August 30, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
17. "Bishop Murry of Youngstown dies after stepping down due to leukemia". EWTN. Catholic News Agency. June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
18. "Youngstown Bishop George Murry requests resignation after latest cancer diagnosis". WKBN.com. May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
19. "Bishop Murry hospitalized". The Independent. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown Official Site
• National Black Catholic Congress bio of George Murry