St. Augustine, Fla. – Father Michael J. McNally, author of “John Moore: Pastoral Catholic Leadership During Florida’s First Book 1877-1901,” recently published by the diocese, will be the guest speaker for the Diocese of St. Augustine’s celebration of its 150th anniversary as a diocese. The event will be celebrated with Vespers at 6 p.m. March 11 at the Basilica Cathedral of St. Augustine.
Father McNally will talk about “Blessed Beginnings: The Episcopal Leadership of Augustin Verot and John Moore.”
The diocese’s first two bishops, Verot, a Frenchman, and Moore, an Irishman, led the diocese during the critical early years when the diocese covered the entire state east of the Apalachicola River. They faced many challenges: a shortage of priests, yellow fever epidemics, major fires and rapid growth.
Bishop Verot worked to rebuild the diocese in the aftermath of the Civil War. He recruited the Sisters of St. Joseph from France to educate the newly freed blacks and resulted in the establishment of Catholic schools all over the state. He also brought several priests from France to help establish new parishes.
Bishop Moore had to contend with two yellow fever epidemics, the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901 and the destruction of the Cathedral of St. Augustine. He enlisted the help of several religious orders, including the Jesuits and the Benedictines, to establish parishes and schools around the state.
Father McNally will answer questions after his talk and sign his new book.
Father McNally is a priest of the Diocese of Palm Beach. He was ordained in 1973, receiving a B.A., a M.Div., and a M.Th. from St. Vincent DePaul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, Fla., and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. He taught at St. John Vianney College Seminary, Miami, from 1975 to 1979; St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary from 1982 to 1993 and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia, PA, from 1993 to 2005.
He was pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, Fort Pierce, FL, from 2005 to 2018. Since retirement, he is the Chaplain to the Poor Clare Nuns at San Damiano Monastery, Fort Myers Beach, FL.
He is the author of “Catholic Parish Life on Florida’s West Coast, 1860-1968” (St. Petersburg, FL; Catholic Media Ministries 1996) and “Catholicism in South Florida, 1868-1968” (Gainesville, FL; University of Florida 1984).