Joseph P. Hurley

Joseph P. Hurley, (1894-1967) was an American Roman Catholic priest, and archbishop. Pope Pius XII appointed him to be Papal regent of the nunciature in Belgrade. During World War Two, in 1940, Pius appointed Hurley bishop in Florida at the age of 46. He recruited his priests in Ireland. When Pius XII appointed him to be Papal regent of the nunciature in Belgrade, Archbishop Hurley kept his St. Petersburg diocese. After his expulsion by the Communist government he retured to Florida. “Hurley established about 100 parishes, almost every one with a school. For a time, the Catholic church was the second-largest landowner in the state. Archbishop Hurley was 73 when he died in 1967. His influence on the church can be seen in the parishes he founded, in the dozens of schools that bear his name, and in the continuing strong spirit of the church in Florida”. [ Thomas Larkin, "Joseph P. Hurley", St. Petersburg Times, 11-28, 1999]

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