James Albert Duffy

James Albert Duffy (September 13, 1873 – February 12, 1968) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Grand Island in Nebraska from 1917 to 1931. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Kearney in Nebraska from 1913 until its dissolution in 1917.

Biography

Early life James Duffy was born on September 13, 1873, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the third child of James J. Duffy and Johanna Shiely. When the death of the parents in 1879 orphaned the eight Duffy children, James Albert Duffy went to live at the Boys Orphan Asylum in Minneapolis. From 1887 to 1893, he was a student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and subsequently attended Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul from 1894 to 1899.

Priesthood

Duffy was ordained into the priesthood on May 27, 1899, for the Archdiocese of St. Paul in St. Paul by Archbishop John Ireland. Following his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Duffy as an assistant pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish in Minneapolis. He was transferred in 1902 to St. Anne's Parish in Le Sueur, Minnesota.

Bishop James J. Keane in 1904 recruited Duffy to come to Wyoming to serve as rector at the St. Mary's Cathedral in Cheyenne. Duffy oversaw construction of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Grand Island, Nebraska, from 1926 to 1928. He also established the Nebraska Register.

Retirement and legacy On June 5, 1931, Pope Pius XI accepted Duffy's early retirement as bishop of Grand Island due to poor health and appointed him as titular bishop of Silandus.

Duffy died on February 12, 1968, at St. Joseph's Infirmary in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Grand Island.