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Consecrated fourth Bishop of Providence, May 22, 1934
Appointed Archbishop of Baltimore, December 3, 1947
Died December 8, 1961Bishop Francis Keough was born in New Britain, Connecticut, son of Patrick and Margaret (née Ryan) Keough and received his early education there at the St. Mary’s school. He began his studies for the priesthood at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield and later at the Grand Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. He returned home following the outbreak of World War I, and completed his theological studies at St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester, New York.
On June 10, 1916, Keough was ordained for the Diocese of Hartford by Bishop John Joseph Nilan. His first assignment was as a curate at St. Rose Church in Meriden, where he remained until becoming private secretary to Bishop Nilan in 1919. He also served as diocesan director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, assistant chancellor, and chaplain of two institutions.
On February 10, 1934, Keough was appointed the fourth Bishop of Providence by Pope Pius XI and received his episcopal consecration on May 22 from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Archbishop John Murray and Bishop James Edwin Cassidy serving as co-consecrators. During his tenure in Providence, the Catholic population of the diocese increased from 325,000 to 425,000, and the number of clergy grew by fifty percent. Keough achieved outstanding success in his youth work and in his Charity Fund Appeals. He also founded a minor seminary, eased tensions between the French-speaking and English-speaking members of his congregation, and reduced the heavy financial debts burdening the diocese.
On November 29, 1947, Keough was named by Pope Pius XII to succeed Michael Joseph Curley as the eleventh Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland. He was formally installed in the Basilica of the Assumption on February 24, 1948 and served there until his death in 1961.
As the Diocese of Providence celebrated its 150th anniversary September 8, 2021 through June 26, 2022, the diocesan newspaper, Rhode Island Catholic, featured profiles of the men who served as diocesan shepherds through its history - The Fourth Bishop of Providence: Bishop Francis P. Keough