George Albert Guertin

George Albert Guertin (February 17, 1869 – August 6, 1931) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire from 1907 to 1931. Guertin was the first native of New Hampshire and the first French Canadian to be appointed as bishop in the United States. He is the namesake for Bishop Guertin High School

Biography

Early life George Albert Guertin was born on February 12, 1869, in Nashua, New Hampshire. He was the son of George Guertin and Louis Lefebvre Guertin, both of French-Canadian descent. The younger George Guertin attended publish school in Nashua, then entered the new parochial school at St. Aloysuis Parish.

Guertin first attended St. Charles College in Sherbrooke, Quebec, then enrolled at St. Hyacinthe College in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Bishop Denis Bradley then sent Guertin to study theology at St. John's Seminary in Boston, Massachusetts; he was the first graduate of St. John's to become a bishop. After his ordination, he served as a curate at St. Augustine Parish in Manchester, New Hampshire. Three years and four months later, Guertin was transferred to Sacred Heart Parish in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Guertin was appointed in 1901 as pastor of St. Anthony's Church in Manchester. In September 1930, Guertin issued a decree stating that Catholic parents in the diocese must send their children to Catholic schools or be denied absolution.

Death George Guertin died from diabetes in Morristown, New Jersey at the Psychiatric Institute on August 6, 1931, at age 62.