Joseph John Rice

Joseph John Rice (December 6, 1871—April 1, 1938) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in Vermont from 1910 until his death in 1938.

The Most Reverend

Joseph John Rice
Bishop of Burlington
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
SeeBurlington
In officeApril 14, 1910—April 1, 1938
PredecessorJohn Stephen Michaud
SuccessorMatthew Francis Brady
Orders
OrdinationSeptember 29, 1894
by Thomas Beaven
ConsecrationApril 14, 1910
by Thomas Beaven
Personal details
Born(1871-12-06)December 6, 1871
Leicester, Massachusetts, United States
DiedApril 1, 1938(1938-04-01) (aged 66)
Burlington, Vermont, United States
EducationCollege of the Holy Cross
Grand Seminary of Montreal
College of the Propaganda

Biography

Early life

Joseph Rice was born on December 6, 1871, in Leicester, Massachusetts, to Henry and Catherine (née Donnelly) Rice.[1] After graduating from Leicester Academy in Leicester in 1888, he studied at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts (1888–1891), and at the Grand Seminary of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec (1891–1894).[2]

Priesthood

Returning to Massachusetts, Rice was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts by Bishop Thomas Beaven on September 29, 1894.[3] He then travelled to Rome to study, earning a Doctor of Divinity degree from the College of the Propaganda in 1896.[2]

Following his return to the United States, Rice was assigned to a parish in Portland, Maine. He was then sent to Northern Maine to do missionary work among Native Americans there.[1][4] Rice's next pastoral assignment was as an assistant pastor at St. Bernard's parish in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He was then appointed as pastor of a French-Canadian parish in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Rice also served in parishes in Oxford, Massachusetts, and Whitinsville, Massachusetts.[2][4] Rice was a professor of philosophy at St. John's Seminary in Boston until 1903, when he was tasked with erecting St. Peter's Parish in Northbridge, Massachusetts.[2]

Bishop of Burlington

On January 8, 1910, Rice was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Burlington by Pope Pius X.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on April 14, 1910, from Bishop Thomas Beaven, with Bishops Matthew Harkins and Louis Walsh serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington.[3]

During his 28-year-long tenure, Rice placed De Goesbriand Memorial Hospital under the care of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph and opened three high schools and Trinity College.[5] He was also confronted with a case of anti-Catholicism; in November 1925, the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross on the steps of St. Augustine's Church at Montpelier, Vermont.[5]

Joseph Rice died on April 1, 1938, at age 66. He is buried at Resurrection Park in South Burlington, Vermont.[1]

References
  1. "Most Reverend Joseph John Rice, Third Bishop of Burlington". Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.
  2. "J.J. RICE MADE BISHOP". The New York Times. 1910-01-05.
  3. "Bishop Joseph John Rice". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  4. "BISHOP JOSEPH RICE OF BURLINGTON, VT.; Head of Diocese Since 1910 Dies at 66--Ordained in 1894". The New York Times. 1938-04-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  5. "A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE BURLINGTON". Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

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