Christopher Edward Byrne was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.
Background
Christopher Byrne was born in Byrnesville, Missouri, to Patrick and Rose Byrne. After attending the village school where his father taught, he studied at Saint Mary"s College in Kansas, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1886.
Education
He then studied for the priesthood at Saint Mary"s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.
Career
He served as Bishop of Galveston from 1918 until his death in 1950. Returning to Missouri, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick on September 23, 1891. Byrne then served as a curate at Saint Bridget"s Church in Saint Louis until 1897, when he became pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Columbia.
In 1898 he took a leave due to poor health and lived at San Antonio, Texas, before returning to Missouri.
He was pastor of Saint Joseph"s Church in Edina from 1899 to 1910, and was transferred to Holy Name Church at Saint Louis in 1911. He erected churches and schools at every assignment, and for many years he also did editorial work on the Catholic newspaper The Church Progress.
On July 18, 1918, Byrne was appointed the fourth Bishop of Galveston, Texas, by Pope Benedict XV. He received his episcopal consecration on the following November 10 from Archbishop John Jay Glennon, with Bishops Thomas Francis Lillis and John Baptist Morris serving as co-consecrators. He also increased the number of Catholics in the diocese from 70,000 to 200,000, and the number of schools from 51 to over 100.
Byrne later died from a heart attack at age 82.
He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Galveston.
Membership
He also served as diocesan director of the Holy Name Society and member of the Diocesan School Board.