First Bishop of Fort Portal · Missionary to Bengal & Uganda
English
Vincent Joseph McCauley was born March 8, 1906, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the eldest of six children. Raised in a devout Catholic home where the family prayed the Rosary daily, young Vincent attended Creighton Preparatory School, excelling in baseball — even playing semi-professionally to fund his education.
In November 1924, he answered God's call and entered the Congregation of Holy Cross. He professed perpetual vows on July 2, 1929, graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1930, and was ordained a priest on June 24, 1934, by Bishop John F. Noll at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame.
As chief fundraiser for Holy Cross Missions in Bengal, he bragged that he would log 80,000 miles annually to preach missions and raise funds — driven by a burning love for souls.
Arriving in Dhaka on November 16, 1936, McCauley served first in Bandhura teaching at Holy Cross High School and forming catechists. In 1939, he was assigned to evangelize the Kuki people in the Mymensingh District, where he contracted malaria. Despite fragile health, he was appointed rector of Little Flower Seminary in Bandhura in 1940, shaping future priests even while battling recurring fevers.
In 1958, despite grave health concerns, McCauley was chosen to lead a Holy Cross mission to Uganda. After three years of foundational work, he was appointed the first Bishop of Fort Portal, consecrated in May 1961 at Notre Dame. He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council, which deeply shaped his pastoral vision: inculturation, empowering the laity, and promoting local clergy and religious congregations.
During Uganda's turbulent post-independence years, Bishop McCauley became a fearless advocate for refugees from Rwanda, the Congo, and Sudan, tirelessly working to heal tribal wounds within his diocese. His gentle yet firm leadership earned him the love of both the poor and the powerful.
From the American Midwest to the villages of Bengal and the kingdoms of East Africa, Bishop McCauley carried the Gospel with unwavering faith, resilience, and tenderness.
In 1964, during Vatican II, McCauley became chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA). He guided the association through its first three triennial plenary meetings, established the Gaba Pastoral Institute for catechist formation, and later served as Secretary-General from 1973 to 1979. His vision for a self-reliant, authentically African Church left a lasting imprint. The late Cardinal Otunga of Nairobi said: "Whatever unity we bishops in Eastern Africa have, we owe it to Bishop McCauley."
Bishop McCauley suffered from facial skin cancer for most of his adult life, enduring more than fifty surgeries. In September 1976, a plastic aorta was inserted at the Mayo Clinic. Beginning in July 1982, acute pulmonary hemorrhages weakened him. He returned to the United States for treatment and died while undergoing risky exploratory surgery on November 1, 1982 — the Solemnity of All Saints. He was buried in the Holy Cross community cemetery at Notre Dame on November 4, surrounded by the brothers he loved. At his death, it was said: "A valiant man of God died, but a saint was born."
In August 2006, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints formally introduced the cause for canonization of Bishop Vincent J. McCauley, C.S.C. He now holds the title Servant of God, and his case continues to be reviewed by the Church. The diocesan phase has been completed, and the positio — the formal documentation of his life, virtues, and reputation for holiness — has been submitted to the Holy See for examination. His life of heroic virtue, missionary zeal, and patient suffering invites the faithful to seek his intercession.
Pray for His Intercession →