William Aloysius Griffin

William Aloysius Griffin (November 20, 1885 – January 1, 1950) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Trenton in New Jersey from 1940 until his death in 1950. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey from 1938 to 1940.

Biography

Early life William Griffin was born on November 20, 1885, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the eleventh of twelve children of John J. and Catherine (née Lyons) Griffin. One of his brothers, John J. Griffin, became city attorney of Elizabeth and a Democratic Party member of the New Jersey General Assembly. William Griffin received his early education at the parochial school of St. Patrick Parish in Elizabeth, and then attended St. Patrick High School, also in Elizabeth. Griffin then attended Seton Hall College in South Orange, New Jersey before studying for the priesthood at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall. His first assignment was as principal of Bayley Hall, a grammar school attached to Seton Hall College. A member of the faculty at Seton Hall for fifteen years, Griffin taught Latin, Greek, and English in the preparatory school before becoming professor of philosophy and English in the college. From 1929 to 1938, he was pastor of St. Michael Parish in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Bishop of Trenton Following the promotion of Bishop Kiley to Archbishop of Milwaukee, Griffin was named bishop of Trenton on May 21, 1940, by Pope Pius XII.