John Aloysius Marshall
Encyclopedia
John Aloysius Marshall was an American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Bishop of Burlington
, Vermont
(1972–1992) and Bishop of Springfield
, Massachusetts
(1992–1994).
, Massachusetts
, to John A. and Katherine T. (née Redican) Marshall. After attending St. John's High School
and Holy Cross College
, he studied at the Collège de Montréal
in Quebec
and at the Pontifical Gregorian University
in Rome
. While in Rome, Marshall was ordained
to the priesthood
by Bishop Martin John O'Connor
on December 19, 1953. After a period of pastoral work, he completed his graduate studies
at Assumption College
in his native Worcester (1961–1968) and at the Pontifical North American College
in Rome (1969–1971).
On December 14, 1971, Marshall was appointed the seventh Bishop of Burlington
, Vermont
, by Pope Paul VI
. He received his episcopal consecration
on January 25, 1972 from Bishop Robert Francis Joyce
, with Bishop Bernard Joseph Flanagan
and James Aloysius Hickey serving as co-consecrators
. His tenure in Burlington was marked by a decline in both vocations and church attendance, but still founded Our Lady of the Mountains Parish at Sherburne in 1979. He completed the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in 1977, after an arson
ist had destroyed the original cathedral
in 1972. From 1984 to 1990, he headed an apostolic visitation
into the presence of homosexuality
in American seminaries. Records show that he transferred a priest from a Montpelier
parish to another in Milton
after charges of sexual abuse
surfaced against the priest.
Marshall was named the sixth Bishop of Springfield
, Massachusetts
, on February 18, 1992. Although he established the Diocesan Misconduct Commission in response to sexual abuse among the clergy, he accepted Rev. Edward Paquette
despite the repeated allegations of child molestation against him. Marshall even said that he was "determined to take the risk of leaving [Paquette] in his present assignment" despite "the demands of...irate parents that 'something be done about this.'"
He later died at age 66.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Bishop of Burlington
Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States, comprising the entire state of Vermont...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
(1972–1992) and Bishop of Springfield
Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden in the state of Massachusetts. It is led by...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
(1992–1994).
Biography
John Marshall was born in WorcesterWorcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, to John A. and Katherine T. (née Redican) Marshall. After attending St. John's High School
St. John's High School (Massachusetts)
Saint John's High School is a private Catholic boys' high school located in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester...
and Holy Cross College
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...
, he studied at the Collège de Montréal
Collège de Montréal
The Collège de Montréal is a private secondary school for students attending grades 7–11 located in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A former Roman Catholic Seminary, it was founded 1 June 1767 as the Petit Séminaire of Montreal by the Suplician Order...
in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and at the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. While in Rome, Marshall was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Bishop Martin John O'Connor
Martin John O'Connor
Martin John O'Connor was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as rector of the Pontifical North American College and president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications ....
on December 19, 1953. After a period of pastoral work, he completed his graduate studies
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
at Assumption College
Assumption College
Assumption College is a private, Roman Catholic, liberal arts college located on 185 acres in Worcester, Massachusetts. Assumption has an enrollment of about 2,117 undergraduates...
in his native Worcester (1961–1968) and at the Pontifical North American College
Pontifical North American College
The Pontifical North American College is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy educating seminarians for the dioceses in the United States and providing a residence for American priests studying in Rome. It was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX and was granted pontifical...
in Rome (1969–1971).
On December 14, 1971, Marshall was appointed the seventh Bishop of Burlington
Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States, comprising the entire state of Vermont...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on January 25, 1972 from Bishop Robert Francis Joyce
Robert Francis Joyce
Robert Francis Joyce was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Burlington from 1956 to 1971....
, with Bishop Bernard Joseph Flanagan
Bernard Joseph Flanagan
Bernard Joseph Flanagan was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Norwich and Bishop of Worcester .-Biography:...
and James Aloysius Hickey serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. His tenure in Burlington was marked by a decline in both vocations and church attendance, but still founded Our Lady of the Mountains Parish at Sherburne in 1979. He completed the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in 1977, after an arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
ist had destroyed the original cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in 1972. From 1984 to 1990, he headed an apostolic visitation
Canonical Visitation
A canonical visitation is the act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view of maintaining faith and discipline, and of correcting abuses by the application of proper remedies.-Catholic usage:...
into the presence of homosexuality
Homosexuality and Roman Catholicism
In Roman Catholicism, homosexual acts are considered contrary to natural law and sinful, while homosexual desires are considered "disordered" but not themselves sinful. The Catholic Church considers human sexual behavior to be sacred, when properly expressed...
in American seminaries. Records show that he transferred a priest from a Montpelier
Montpelier, Vermont
Montpelier is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010...
parish to another in Milton
Milton, Vermont
Milton is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 10,352 at the 2010 census. According to local legend, the town was named for the English poet John Milton, but the name most likely originated from William FitzWilliam, 4th Earl FitzWilliam, who held the title...
after charges of sexual abuse
Sexual abuse scandal in Burlington diocese
The sexual abuse scandal in Burlington diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States. The court-documented cases covered abuse in the 1970s. The courts heard these cases from 2005 through 2010...
surfaced against the priest.
Marshall was named the sixth Bishop of Springfield
Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden in the state of Massachusetts. It is led by...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, on February 18, 1992. Although he established the Diocesan Misconduct Commission in response to sexual abuse among the clergy, he accepted Rev. Edward Paquette
Edward Paquette
Father Edward Paquette is a former Catholic priest who was laicized for the numerous clerical child abuse affairs he was involved in within several dioceses of the United States...
despite the repeated allegations of child molestation against him. Marshall even said that he was "determined to take the risk of leaving [Paquette] in his present assignment" despite "the demands of...irate parents that 'something be done about this.'"
He later died at age 66.