Bishop’s Grave Lost and Found

Today marks the death of John Connolly (1750-1825), second Bishop of New York from 1815 to 1825. Born in County Meath, he joined the Dominicans and studied in Belgium, where he was ordained in 1774. For 37 years he taught at the Irish Dominican College in Rome. In 1814 he was named second Bishop of New York. The first was his confrere and former professor, Richard Luke Concanen, who died before he could reach his diocese. It took Bishop Connolly a year before he could reach New York. His diocese covered all of New York State and northern New Jersey, and he only had four priests. Growth was slow, and it would be until the 1840’s when Catholic immigration from Europe rose dramatically. In 1822, he founded the first church on Long Island, St. James in downtown Brooklyn. Bishop Connolly was buried at the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Mulberry Street. Later his remains were moved to an unmarked vault, and they weren’t discovered until 1976, when the bishop was re-interred at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral.