Bishop Edmund Gibbons
In 1919, the pastor of St. Teresa's Church in Buffalo was appointed the sixth Bishop of Albany. That was me. While I was born in White Plains, I spent my youth in Albany attending St. Mary's Church and Christian Brothers Academy.
As a priest of the Diocese of Buffalo, I was very involved in education. For instance, I was superintendent of parochial schools. Education would be one of my watchwords as Bishop. In fact, one of my first duties as Bishop of Albany was blessing the new College of Saint Rose for women in 1920. Later, Siena College would be added in Loudonville.
In addition, I founded the diocesan secondary school system, consolidating smaller schools into larger high schools that offered a wider variety of courses. I also created the newspaper in which you are reading this article as a way of bringing adult education to every home.
Several major crises occurred on the world scene during my episcopate, including the Depression and World War II. St. Vincent de Paul societies in various parishes were sources of solace during the former; during the latter, I urged priests to become chaplains, resulting in the highest per-capita rate among U.S. dioceses.
I was the longest-tenured bishop in the history of the Albany Diocese, lasting 35 years between 1919 and 1954. When I resigned due to ill health, there were 195 parishes with 81 schools served by a burgeoning population of sisters totaling 1,636.