Jacksonville, Fla. – A new biography of John Moore, second bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, has just been published by the diocese in honor of its 150th anniversary.
Father Michael J. McNally spent 15 years researching and writing the 430-page biography, “John Moore: Catholic Pastoral Leadership During Florida’s First Boom, 1877-1901.” It is an in-depth look at Bishop Moore, who was born in County Westmeath, Ireland. After his father died during the Potato Famine, the family moved to Charleston, S.C., where Moore grew up. He was educated in Rome and France, and after his ordination, returned to Charleston shortly before the start of the Civil War.
Charleston was at the epicenter of the War and the young priest shouldered heavy responsibilities as vicar general when the bishop was dispatched to Rome to represent the Confederate States of America. After the War, he was in the thick of helping the church and the city recover from the devastation.
In 1877, after the death of Bishop Augustin Verot, the Pope named him bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine. The diocese encompassed the entire state of Florida east of the Apalachicola River. Florida was growing quickly during what was its first land boom, and Bishop Moore called on several religious orders, including the Jesuits and the Benedictines to help start schools and parishes. He also had the help of two benefactors, industrialist Henry Flagler and Mother Katharine Drexel, who helped him financially.
Bishop Moore faced several crises during his episcopacy, including two yellow fever epidemics and the Great Fire of 1901 that destroyed much of Jacksonville. A fire in St. Augustine destroyed the Cathedral, and the bishop spent much of his time trying to raise funds to restore it.
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).
“John Moore: Catholic Pastoral Leadership During Florida’s First Boom, 1877-1901” is available in print and as an e-book. It is available at missionandshrine.org/giftshop.