Merlin Joseph Guilfoyle was an American prelate of the Catholic Church.
Background
Guilfoyle, Merlin Joseph was born on July 15, 1908 in San Francisco, California, United States. Son of John Joseph and Teresa (Bassity) G. Student, Saint Joseph’s College, Mountain View, California, 1925-1927, Saint Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, California, 1927-1933.
Education
He attended Saint James Boys" School in San Francisco from 1914 to 1922, and Saint Joseph"s College in Mountain View from 1922 to 1927. He then studied (1927-1933) at Saint Patrick"s Seminary in Menlo Park.
Career
He served as Bishop of Stockton from 1969 to 1979. Prior to Merlin"s birth they returned to San Francisco from two years in Oakland. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 10, 1933.
In 1937, he earned a Doctor of Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, District of Columbia On August 24, 1950, Guilfoyle was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco and Titular Bishop of Bulla by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 21 from Archbishop John Joseph Mitty, with Bishops James Joseph Sweeney and Hugh Aloysius Donohoe serving as co-consecrators.
In addition to his duties as bishop, he served as rector of Mission San Francisco de Asís (1950-1969) and military vicar of armed forces for the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Dioceses of Monterey-Fresno, Sacramento, Reno, and Salt Lake City. After Bishop Hugh Donohoe was transferred to the Diocese of Fresno, Guilfoyle was named the second Bishop of Stockton by Pope Paul VI on November 12, 1969.
He remained as bishop for ten years, resigning on September 4, 1979. He died two years later, aged 73.