Benjamin Joseph Keiley

Benjamin Joseph Keiley (October 13, 1847 – June 17, 1925) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia from 1900 to 1922.

Biography Early life and education Benjamin Keiley was born on October 13, 1847, in Petersburg, Virginia, to John D. and Margaret (née Crowley) Keiley, both natives of Cork County, Ireland. His older brother, Anthony Michael Keiley, served as chief justice of the International Court of Appeals in Cairo, Egypt. An educator, John Keiley converted to Methodism when the children were young. As a result, Margaret Keiley moved away with the children so as to raise them as Catholics.

After receiving his early education in Petersburg, Benjamin Keiley at age 17 joined the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in 1864 during the American Civil War. He served in an artillery unit during the last year of the war.

When the war ended, Keiley worked as a law clerk before attending St. Charles College, a minor seminary for the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Ellicott City, Maryland. He then travelled to Rome to attend the Pontifical North American College in 1869. In other pronouncements, Keiley condemned prejudice and the lynching of African-Americans. In 1902, Keiley memorialized Confederate veterans and praised former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. At the same time, he condemned U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt for inviting the African-American educator Booker T. Washington to the White House. Keiley opposed an initiative to set up a seminary for African-Americans in the diocese, saying: In America no black man should be ordained. Just as illegitimate sons are declared irregular by canon law...so blacks can be declared irregular because they are held in such contempt by whites. Keiley was active in Confederate veteran organizations and was a frequent speaker at their memorial services. In 1904, Keiley, who had served under Confederate General James Longstreet, celebrated his funeral mass. Longstreet had converted to Catholicism in 1877.

Death Keiley's resignation as bishop of the Savannah due to poor health was accepted by Pope Pius XI on March 18, 1922; he was appointed titular bishop of Scilium on the same date. Benjamin Keiley died in Atlanta on June 17, 1925, at age 77. At his funeral mass, his bier was draped with a Confederate flag with a laurel wreath sent by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.