William Murphy (bishop of Saginaw)

William Murphy was born on May 11, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to William and Mary (née Gibson) Murphy.[1] His parents were Irish immigrants who came to the United States from County Wexford.[2] One of ten children, Murphy was the youngest child and only son; three of his sisters became nuns.[2] He received his early education at the parochial school of St. Augustine's Parish and at Lefevre Institute, both in Kalamazoo.[3]

Murphy then studied at St. Jerome's College in Kitchener, Ontario and at Assumption College in Sandwich, Ontario.[1] Bishop John Foley then sent him to the Pontifical North American College in Rome so that he could attend the Urban College of Propaganda.[1] Murphy earned a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree from the Urban College in 1908, and a Licentiate of Canon Law from the Pontifical Athenaeum S. Apollinare in 1909.[1][4]

On June 13, 1908, Murphy was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Detroit by Cardinal Pietro Respighi at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.[5] He celebrated his first mass at the tomb of Saint Peter in St. Peter's Basilica.[2]

After returning to Michigan in 1910, Murphy had the following parish assignments:

• Curate at St. Thomas in Ann Arbor (1910 to 1912)[1]
• Curate at Holy Cross in Marine City (1912–1919)
• Curate at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Detroit (1919–1921)
• Founding pastor of St. David in Detroit[4]

In addition to his pastoral duties, Murphy served as master of ceremonies to Bishop Michael Gallagher.[2] He was raised to the rank of a domestic prelate in July 1934.[1] He also served as a member of the Michigan Historical Commission, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Detroit in 1930.[4]

In August 1935, Murphy published a defense, based on canon law and precedent, of the political activities of Reverend Charles Coughlin. A diocesan priest, Coughlin had a national radio show that broadcast inflammatory political content, including antisemitic comments.[6] In 1937, Archbishop Edward Mooney named Murphy as Coughlin's censor. Murphy served as intermediary between Mooney and Coughlin in negotiations about Coughlin's return to radio.[7]

On February 26, 1938, Murphy was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Saginaw by Pope Pius XI.[5] [4]He received his episcopal consecration on May 17, 1938, from Archbishop Mooney, with Bishops John A. Duffy and Joseph C. Plagens serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.[5] Murphy selected as his episcopal motto: Agenda ademple (Latin: "To Fulfill One's Duties").[3]

During his administration, Murphy established offices of Catholic Charities in the Michigan towns of Saginaw, Bay City, Alpena, and Bad Axe, and promoted social and charitable work among the poor.[2] He organized the Mexican Apostolate to minister to Catholic migrant workers, and encouraged drives for money, food, and clothing for World War II victims in Europe.[2] During one Christmas message, Murphy said, "Christ began His mission of saving and redeeming the human race by being born in the squalor of a stable. He ennobled poverty."[2]Murphy was a close friend of poet Edgar Guest with whom he often golfed and fished. Guest wrote of Murphy:

"A bishop, bass upon his hook,

Rod bent and taut line swishing,

Without his robe and shepherd's crook

Is just a man out fishing."[2]

William Murphy died after a long illness at home in Saginaw on February 7, 1950, at age 64.[8]