Joseph Patrick Lynch

Joseph Patrick Lynch (November 16, 1872 – August 19, 1954) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas from 1911 until his death in 1954.

Biography

Early life Joseph Lynch was born on November 16, 1872, in St. Joseph, Michigan, to John Valentine Lynch and Veronica Jane (née Botham) Lynch. John Lynch immigrated the United States from Newcastle, Moynalty, County Meath, in Ireland, in 1866. Veronica Lynch was born in Montreal, Quebec, and immigrated to the United States in 1856.

In 1887, Joseph Lynch entered St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lynch then changed his study to law and then practiced for several years near Chicago, Illinois. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Lynch as a curate at Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish in Dallas, Texas. In 1902, he was assigned as pastor of St. Stephen's Parish in Weatherford. Texas. He there established a church, rectory, and parochial school at St. Edward's He also erected a mission church for Mexican Americans in 1915. He was named an assistant at the pontifical throne on May 13, 1936.

During his tenure as bishop, Lynch ordained over 100 priests and established 150 churches, the majority of which were the first Catholic churches in their communities. He built a segregated church for African American Catholics at Fort Worth in 1929. He also founded more than 200 religious and charitable institutions. During his episcopacy the Catholic population in the diocese increased from 20,000 to 125,000, which resulted in the Vatican erecting Dioceses of El Paso (1914), Amarillo (1926), and Austin (1953).

Death and legacy Joseph Lynch died on August 19, 1954, at age 81, and is buried at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas.