William John Kenny (January 12, 1853 – October 24, 1913) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine in Florida from 1902 until his death in 1913.
During his tenure as bishop, Kenny increased the recruitment of Irish priests and nuns, reorganized diocesan offices, expanded missionary efforts to Florida's interior and smaller towns, and more than doubled diocesan fundraising.[3] He also established the first Catholic parish for African Americans in the state.[3]
While traveling to the American Missionary Congress in Boston, Massachusetts, in October 1913, Kenny stopped in Baltimore to visit St. Mary's Seminary.[1] After falling ill at the seminary, he was hospitalized. William Kenny died on October 24, 1913, in Baltimore at age 60.[1]Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville is named for him.
References
^ abcdeThe Catholic Church in the United States of America. Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company. 1914.