James Albert Duffy
James Albert Duffy 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 subsequently authored the article on the Diocese of Cheyenne for the ''Catholic Encyclopedia.''
Bishop of Kearney
On January 27, 1913, Pope Pius X appointed Duffy as the first bishop of Kearney. Duffy was consecrated by Keane at St. Mary Cathedral in Cheyenne on April 13, 1913.Bishop of Grand Island
On April 11, 1917, the Diocese of Kearney was renamed the Diocese of Grand Island by Pope Benedict XVI. Duffy oversaw construction of the Cathedral of the [Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Grand Island, Nebraska)|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. At the time of his death, Duffy was the most senior bishop in the United States in both age and years of consecration.