Joseph Masterson (29 January 1899 – 30 November 1953) was an English Roman Catholic Clergyman and sometime Archbishop of Birmingham .
Masterson was born in Ardwick , Manchester , England, the son of William Masterson, an Irish immigrant shopkeeper and his wife Celia. From 1910, he was educated at the Xaverian College , Rusholme until January 1915 when he was accepted as a student of the Diocese of Salford and continued his studies for a term at St Bede's College, Manchester , then at Douai School where he was captain of cricket and football .
He was ordained a priest on 27 July 1924 at the Cenacle Convent, Manchester. Following ordination he studied for two years at the English College, Rome. Returning to England in 1926 Fr Masterson served nine years as curate at St Mary's, Mulberry Street, Manchester , then five years as curate at The English Martyrs, Whalley Range . In 1940 he was appointed Parish Priest at St. Mary's of The Angels and St. Clare, Levenshulme .[ 1]
He was elevated Archbishop of Birmingham on 8 February 1947 and was installed on 19 March 1947. His principal consecrator was Cardinal Bernard Griffin , co-consecrators Bishop of Salford Henry Vincent Marshall and Bishop of Soli Humphrey Bright . On 15 June 1952 he spoke at a Family Prayer Crusade Rally held at Aston Villa football ground alongside Rev. Patrick Peyton , Prof. Thomas Bodkin and Ken Mackey.
Masterson died in office on 30 November 1953, aged 54, at Archbishop's House in Edgbaston . He received a Requiem Mass on 6 December 1953, presided over by Cardinal Griffin , ahead of burial at St Mary's College, Oscott .[ 2] [ 3]
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Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham
Churches St John the Evangelist, Banbury St Francis of Assisi, Bedworth Birmingham Oratory Erdington Abbey, Birmingham Our Lady Help of Christians, Tile Cross, Birmingham Our Lady and St Brigid, Northfield, Birmingham Our Lady and St Rose of Lima, Weoley Castle, Birmingham St Anne, Birmingham St Catherine of Siena, Birmingham St Edward, Selly Park, Birmingham St Francis of Assisi, Handsworth, Birmingham St Mary, Harborne, Birmingham St Michael, Birmingham St Mary and St Modwen, Burton-on-Trent St Giles, Cheadle Holy Trinity, Chipping Norton St Osburg, Coventry St Peter and St Paul and St Elizabeth, Coughton Sacred Heart and St Catherine, Droitwich Spa Our Lady and St Alphonsus, Hanley Swan St Peter, Leamington Spa St Wulstan, Little Malvern Holy Trinity, Newcastle-under-Lyme Our Lady of the Angels, Nuneaton St Anne, Nuneaton Oxford Oratory St Edmund and St Frideswide, Oxford Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Redditch St Marie, Rugby St Chad and All Saints, Sedgley St Augustine of England, Solihull St Austin, Stafford Our Lady of the Angels and St Peter in Chains, Stoke-on-Trent St Mary, Uttoxeter St Mary, Walsall Our Lady and St Hubert, Warley St Mary Immaculate, Warwick St Mary and St John, Wolverhampton St Peter and St Paul, Wolverhampton St George, Worcester
Patronal Feasts of the Diocese
Schools Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School Bishop Challoner Catholic College Bishop Milner Catholic College Bishop Ullathorne Roman Catholic School Bishop Walsh Catholic School Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College Blessed George Napier Roman Catholic School Blessed William Howard Catholic School Cardinal Griffin Catholic College Cardinal Newman Catholic School and Community College Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, Coventry Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, Birmingham Greyfriars Catholic School Hagley Roman Catholic High School Holy Trinity Catholic Academy of Stafford and Stone Holy Trinity Catholic School, Birmingham John Henry Newman Catholic College The Oratory Preparatory School The Oratory School Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy Painsley Catholic College Princethorpe College Rye St Antony School St Augustine's High School, Redditch St Benedict's Catholic High School, Alcester St Dominic's Grammar School St Dominic's Priory School, Stone St Edmund Campion Catholic School St Edmund's Catholic Academy St Francis of Assisi Catholic College St John Fisher Catholic College St John Wall Catholic School St Joseph's College, Stoke-on-Trent St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy St Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School St Paul's School for Girls, Birmingham St Peter's Catholic School, Solihull St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, Birmingham St Thomas More Catholic Academy St Thomas More Catholic School, Nuneaton St Thomas More Catholic School, Willenhall Stuart Bathurst Catholic High School Trinity Catholic School
