Vincent Stanislaus Waters

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Vincent Stanislaus Waters
Bishop of Raleigh
SeeDiocese of Raleigh
InstalledMarch 15, 1945
Term endedDecember 3, 1974
PredecessorEugene J. McGuinness
SuccessorFrancis Joseph Gossman
Other post(s)Chancellor of the Diocese of Richmond
Orders
OrdinationDecember 8, 1931
by Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani
ConsecrationMay 15, 1945
by Peter Leo Ireton
Personal details
BornAugust 15, 1904
Roanoke, Virginia, US
DiedDecember 3, 1974
Raleigh, North Carolina, US
DenominationRoman Catholic
EducationBelmont Abbey College
Ordination history of
Vincent Stanislaus Waters
History
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated byPeter Leo Ireton (Bishop of Richmond)
DateMay 15, 1945
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Vincent Stanislaus Waters as principal consecrator
Charles Borromeo McLaughlinApril 15, 1964
George Edward LynchJanuary 6, 1970

Vincent Stanislaus Waters (August 15, 1904—December 3, 1974) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh in North Carolina from 1945 until his death in 1974.

Biography[edit]

Early life and education[edit]

Vincent Waters was born on August 15, 1904, in Roanoke, Virginia, to Michael Bernard and Mary Frances (née Crowley) Waters.[1] He attended Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina from 1920 to 1925, and then entered St. Charles College in Ellicott City, Maryland (1925-1926) and St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland (1926-1928).[1] Waters furthered his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Ordination and ministry[edit]

Waters was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Richmond in Rome by Cardinal Francesco Selvaggiani on December 8, 1931.[2] Following his return to Virginia in 1932, Waters served as a curate at Holy Cross Parish in Lynchburg, Virginia, until 1936, when he was transferred to Sacred Heart Cathedral in Richmond, Virginia.[1] Waters served as chancellor of the diocese from 1936 to 1943, and director of the diocesan Mission Fathers from 1943 to 1945.[1]

Bishop of Raleigh[edit]

On March 15, 1945, Waters was appointed the third bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh by Pope Pius XII.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on May 15, 1945, from Bishop Peter Ireton, with Bishops Gerald O'Hara and Emmet M. Walsh serving as co-consecrators.[2]

In 1953, a year before Brown v. Board of Education decision by the US Supreme Court, Waters ordered the desegregation of all Catholic churches and schools in the diocese.[3][4] He described racial segregation as a product of "darkness," and declared that "the time has come for it to end."[5] He also said,

"I am not unmindful, as a Southerner, of the force of this virus of prejudice among some persons in the South, as well as in the North. I know, however, that there is a cure for this virus, and that is our faith."[6]

Bishop Michael Begley said of Waters,

"[his] missionary zeal and his concern for God's people cannot be measured. He was a leader in many fields, one of which was civil rights, as he fought for the civil rights of the black people in integrating schools, churches and all Catholic institutions."

Waters attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome between 1962 and 1965. Waters was later accused by some of the diocesan clergy of holding on to idle church property worth millions of dollars while some parishes were in debt.[3] He also denied requests for the creation of a priests' senate, and had his resignation requested by around twenty percent of the clergy.[3] In 1972, Waters expelled five Sisters of Providence nuns from the diocese for not wearing their religious habits while teaching.[3]

Vincent Waters died from a heart attack at his residence in Raleigh on December 3, 1974, at age 70.[3] He is buried in the cemetery of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Newton Grove, North Carolina.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Curtis, Georgina Pell (1961). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
  2. ^ a b c "Bishop Vincent Stanislaus Waters". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Bishop Waters, Led Raleigh Diocese". The New York Times. 1974-12-05.
  4. ^ "Bishop Vincent S. Waters (1904-1974)". North Carolina History Project.
  5. ^ "Light in Newton Grove". TIME Magazine. 1953-06-08. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008.
  6. ^ "Cure for the Virus". TIME Magazine. 1953-06-29. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008.

External links[edit]

Episcopal succession[edit]

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Raleigh
1945—1974 		Succeeded by
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