It isn’t often that one finds a future saint from their own Alma Mater. While he was educated by the Jesuits, in high school and at University, he entered another Order.
SERVANT OF GOD VINCENT JOSEPH McCAULEY, was born in 1906 in Council Bluffs , Iowa (right across the great Missouri River, from Omaha
He was the eldest of six children. His father was a wire chief for American Telephone & Telegraph in Omaha, Nebraska and a member of the Knights of Columbus, and his mother was active in the altar guild and various prayer circles. These groups later assisted Father McCauley during his missionary efforts during troubled periods of the Great Depression and World War II.
Vincent attended Creighton Preparatory School, where he excelled in sports, especially baseball. He even played semi-professional baseball in Omaha College of Arts
He professed perpetual vows in 1929 and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in June 1930. He then went to the Foreign Missionary Seminary in Washington, D.C. He was ordained a priest in 1934
Father McCauley was formed at the Foreign Mission Seminary to serve as an overseas missionary. Years later, in a lecture at Creighton, he at least partially attributed his motivation to be a missionary to the example of sharing and self-sacrifice that he experienced from family and friends at home in Council Bluffs. After his 1934 ordination, the Congregation of Holy Cross, with the economic hardship of the Great Depression, had insufficient funds to send Father Vincent overseas.
In 1936 with a recovering economy Father Vincent was sent to East Bengal, a territory that roughly corresponds to modern day Bangladesh
He was appointed rector and superior of Little Flower Seminary in Bandhura. His health remained fragile, battling relapses of malaria and other tropical maladies with regular frequency. But his enthusiasm for the mission could not conquer his persistent health problems. In December 1943, while on a trip to Dhaka , a severe case of phlebitis necessitated a two-month hospitalization. Eventually, in the midst of World War II, Holy Cross prevailed upon the U.S. Army for assistance in providing a medical evacuation for him. Flown back to the U.S.
In 1945, Father Vincent became assistant superior of the Foreign Mission Seminary in Washington
In 1952, he was appointed procurator for the missions. During this period he began his first treatment at the Mayo Clinic for Skin cancer. As the chief fundraiser for Holy Cross Missions in Bengal , he bragged that he would log 80,000 miles annually to preach missions and raise funds.
Having successfully guided the Holy Cross mission in Uganda from its beginning, Father Vincent was the most natural fit to continue leadership as the first bishop of Fort Portal
The independence movement in Uganda influenced his initial leadership. He organized his diocese according to principles that had guided his missionary efforts for the previous twenty years, namely: Inculturation and promotion of the local church and local clergy.
The independence movement in Uganda influenced his initial leadership. He organized his diocese according to principles that had guided his missionary efforts for the previous twenty years, namely: Inculturation and promotion of the local church and local clergy.
As Bishop he attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council, which proved to be a strong influence on his leadership as bishop. While he labored to establish the necessary financing for his young diocese, he also sought to provide pastoral leadership for his diocese. In the mid-1960s, Bishop McCauley was an advocate for refugees from Rwanda, the Congo, and the Sudan. He worked to form close bonds among priests of diverse ages and nationalities from different cultures and religious orders while he also had to overcome conflict among the tribes of his diocese.
He also led and supported the development of religious congregations of women and promoted their movement into new areas of ministry. Bishop McCauley was instrumental in the promotion of the laity and ecumenism and also led great strides in the area of education. He accomplished all this while suffering from repeated bouts with skin cancer, malaria, and other ailments.
He also led and supported the development of religious congregations of women and promoted their movement into new areas of ministry. Bishop McCauley was instrumental in the promotion of the laity and ecumenism and also led great strides in the area of education. He accomplished all this while suffering from repeated bouts with skin cancer, malaria, and other ailments.
From the outset of his time as bishop of concerns emerged. In September 1976, a plastic aorta was inserted into his heart at the Mayo Clinic. Beginning in July 1982, he began to suffer acute pulmonary hemorrhages. In October 1982, he returned to the U.S.