Bishop Joshua M. Young

I Hope in You O Lord

Our first American-born bishop, Bishop Joshua Maria Young converted to Catholicism when a coworker introduced him to the faith. Bishop Young was raised in the Congregationalist faith, a Protestant tradition of English origin similar to the Puritans. (His given name was Josue Moody Young; he took the name Joshua Maria when he was baptized into the Catholic faith.)

Before he became a priest—or even Catholic—Young worked at a New England newspaper, where the only Catholic in its employ constantly dealt with anti-Catholic sentiment and hate. Bishop Young was very offended by this. When his coworker showed him Catholic literature, Bishop Young fell in love with the faith and converted.

And when he converted, he fell deeply in love with God, going so far as to ride on horseback from New England to Cincinnati, Ohio, as a missionary priest. Bishop Young served briefly as bishop-elect of Pittsburgh, but as indicated in the story of Bishop O’Connor, switched assignments with his predecessor in 1854 and carried out the rest of his years as bishop of Erie.

“For all intents and purposes, he was the first bishop to truly serve as our bishop,” Father Pino says.

Bishop Young led the diocese during a politically turbulent time. Edwin L. Drake drilled the first oil well in northwest Pennsylvania, launching the modern petroleum industry in 1859, and the Civil War tore at the fabric of the nation in the early 1860s. Bishop Young actively supported the Union during the war, and was known for his legendary patriotic speeches supporting Abraham Lincoln.

Bishop Young traveled often—“he was good in the wilderness,” says Father Pino—and he oversaw the generation of many new parishes. The people of the diocese were grateful to have a full-time bishop and not just a shepherd who dropped by once a year. Bishop Young died suddenly—likely of a heart attack —on Sept. 18, 1866.