Background
John Russell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to John and Mary (née Joyce) Russell.
John Russell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to John and Mary (née Joyce) Russell.
From 1912 to 1917, he studied at Saint Charles College in Ellicott City.
He received his early education at Calvert Hall and Loyola High School. He earned his Master of Arts degree from Saint Mary"s Seminary in Baltimore in 1919, and a Doctor of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome in 1923. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 8, 1923.
Following his return to Baltimore, Russell served as a curate at Saint Martin Church from 1923 to 1937.
He also served as diocesan director of Catholic Big Brothers and of the Holy Name Societes (1927-1946). From 1929 to 1946, he was diocesan director of the Catholic Evidence Guild.
He was pastor of Saint Ursula Parish in Baltimore from 1937 to 1946, and was named a domestic prelate in 1945. (1946-1948) and diocesan director of Catholic Charities (1946-1950).
From 1948 to 1950, he was pastor of the Church of the Nativity.
On January 28, 1950, Russell was appointed Bishop of Charleston by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 14 from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Archbishop Patrick O"Boyle and Bishop John Michael McNamara serving as co-consecrators. His relative William Thomas Russell had previously served as the Bishop of Charleston. Russell was later named the tenth Bishop of Richmond on July 3, 1958, being installed as such on September 30 of that same year.
From 1962 to 1965 he attended the Second Vatican Council.
In implementing the Council"s reforms, Bishop Russell established a Diocesan Commission on Ecumenical Affairs in 1963, and a Diocesan Pastoral Council and a Council of Priests in 1966. After fourteen years of service, he resigned as Bishop of Richmond on April 28, 1973.
Russell was a schoolmate of Francis J. Parater, now a Servant of God.
