Roman Catholic Bishop. The first native Rhode Islander to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Providence, he was ordained at the American College Catholic University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium on July 13, 1924, and went on to study journalism at the University of Notre Dame in 1935. On July 14, 1948 he was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Providence. Among his accomplishments during his tenure as bishop were his efforts in facilitating the reopening of the American College Catholic University of Louvain, Leuven, Belgium after World War II, the funding and construction of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital on High Service Avenue, North Providence, Rhode Island; the establishment of 40 new parochial schools; the formation of the Gregorian School of Music in Providence; the creation of 28 new parishes; support of several social causes including the Church's role in aiding the poor which is now commemorated through the Bishop Russell J. McVinney Fund for the Poor. His final projects was the initiation of major renovations of the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul in Providence, which sadly he did not live to see completed. He died of a heart attack at the bishop's home in Watch Hill, Westerly, Rhode Island at the age of 72 in 1971. Originally interred in the clergy's cemetery on the Diocesan retreat property at the Aldrich Estate on Warwick Neck, Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1986, following the listing of the estate as collateral on approximately $14.2 million in loans toward settlements with victims of sexual abuse by priests, the remains of 38 priests and Bishop Mc Vinney were disinterred and moved to Saint Francis Cemetery.
Roman Catholic Bishop. The first native Rhode Islander to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Providence, he was ordained at the American College Catholic University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium on July 13, 1924, and went on to study journalism at the University of Notre Dame in 1935. On July 14, 1948 he was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Providence. Among his accomplishments during his tenure as bishop were his efforts in facilitating the reopening of the American College Catholic University of Louvain, Leuven, Belgium after World War II, the funding and construction of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital on High Service Avenue, North Providence, Rhode Island; the establishment of 40 new parochial schools; the formation of the Gregorian School of Music in Providence; the creation of 28 new parishes; support of several social causes including the Church's role in aiding the poor which is now commemorated through the Bishop Russell J. McVinney Fund for the Poor. His final projects was the initiation of major renovations of the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul in Providence, which sadly he did not live to see completed. He died of a heart attack at the bishop's home in Watch Hill, Westerly, Rhode Island at the age of 72 in 1971. Originally interred in the clergy's cemetery on the Diocesan retreat property at the Aldrich Estate on Warwick Neck, Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1986, following the listing of the estate as collateral on approximately $14.2 million in loans toward settlements with victims of sexual abuse by priests, the remains of 38 priests and Bishop Mc Vinney were disinterred and moved to Saint Francis Cemetery.
Bio by: Linda Peloquin
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