Bishop Murphy, retired head of Erie Diocese, dies at 91

Published: 2007-04-04

ERIE, Pa. (CNS) -- Bishop Michael J. Murphy, retired head of the Diocese of Erie, died April 3 at age 91 at the infirmary of the Sisters of Mercy Motherhouse in Erie. No cause of death was given. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia was scheduled to be the principal celebrant of Bishop Murphy's April 9 funeral Mass at St. Peter Cathedral in Erie, with Auxiliary Bishop A. James Quinn of Cleveland as homilist. Bishop Murphy was to be buried in his native Cleveland alongside his parents. Bishop Murphy was appointed coadjutor of the Erie Diocese in 1978 -- one of Pope John Paul II's first appointments -- and succeeded Bishop Alfred M. Watson upon the latter's retirement in 1982. He served until 1990, when Bishop Donald W. Trautman was installed as Erie's bishop. Ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland in 1942, he celebrated his 65th anniversary in the priesthood Feb. 28. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Cleveland in 1976, serving there two years before the Erie appointment.

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