Bishop Vincent J. McCauley, C.S.C.
First Bishop of Fortportal Diocese, 1961 to 1972
“A life completely offered in service of God and His people.” Servant of God Bishop Vincent Joseph McCauley, C.S.C. (1906–1982)
Offered for personal devotion, parish groups, schools, and all who seek Bishop McCauley’s intercession.
Bishop McCauley invites us into a relationship with God that is both personal and communal. He modeled a life of prayer through daily Mass, the Rosary, and unwavering trust in Providence even as he endured cancer for the last years of his life. These resources are offered for personal devotion, parish groups, schools, and all who seek his intercession.
The official prayer approved for use by the faithful in support of Bishop McCauley’s Cause for Beatification. It may be prayed privately or in a group setting.
God, our loving Father, we thank you for the gift of your servant, Bishop Vincent Joseph McCauley, C.S.C.
By his goodness, kindness, gentleness, poverty, and suffering — his constant endurance of physical pain, humility, self-giving, deep faith and pastoral zeal — he was an example to many.
Lord God, we pray that we may come to imitate his virtues.
We now ask you, through his intercession, to grant us the favor of… (state your intention)
May we be inspired to follow his exemplary life, and may the recognition of his virtues bring honor to the Church.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bishop McCauley had a deep devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. He prayed this rosary especially during his years of suffering from cancer, uniting his pain to Mary’s compassionate heart and to the Passion of Christ.
Fr. Thomas Smith, C.S.C., missionary to East Africa
This Marian devotion draws us into the mysteries of Mary’s suffering and invites us to offer our own trials in union with her. Each of the seven sorrows is a station of compassionate faith — she remained faithful beside Jesus during His Passion, and she remains faithful beside us in ours.
Holy Mother, hear my prayers, and renew in my heart each wound of Jesus my Savior.
Pray this novena for nine consecutive days, asking for the intercession of Servant of God Bishop Vincent J. McCauley, C.S.C. Each day reflects one of the virtues he lived with remarkable consistency throughout his life and mission in East Africa — from devotion to Mary, through missionary zeal and suffering, to evangelization and catechesis. For each day, recite the Prayer for Beatification above and reflect on that day’s virtue, asking Bishop McCauley to intercede for your specific intentions. The full sequence is laid out below.
Fr. Thomas Smith, C.S.C., a longtime Holy Cross missionary to East Africa, shares insights into the life, virtues, and spiritual legacy of Servant of God Bishop Vincent J. McCauley in a recorded webinar, Qualities and Virtues of Bishop McCauley.
Intercessory prayer is a form of petition in which we ask God for help on behalf of others — or, in this case, ask one who has died in holiness to pray to God on our behalf. The Church has always believed that those who have died in Christ remain united to us in the Body of Christ and can intercede for us before God.
A Cause for Beatification is the formal process by which the Church investigates the life, virtues, and holiness of a deceased person with a reputation for sanctity. If the investigation confirms heroic virtue and (usually) a verified miracle, the person may be declared Blessed — the step before canonization as a Saint.
Spiritual reading of Sacred Scripture — particularly the Gospels — is a cherished form of meditation known as lectio divina (divine reading). Bishop McCauley encouraged this practice in his parishes and seminaries across Uganda and Kenya.
Popular devotions are expressions of love and fidelity that arise from the intersection of faith, culture, and the Gospel. Bishop McCauley embraced and promoted local Catholic devotions as he built the Church in East Africa, recognizing that authentic popular piety prepares the faithful for the Sacred Liturgy.
Genuine forms of popular piety derive from the faith and must be valued and promoted. They predispose the people for the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries.
Pope Saint John Paul II, Address to the Congregation for Divine Worship, September 21, 2001
Bishop McCauley bore the Cross in body and spirit for nearly fifty years — through malaria, cancer, war, and exile. The faithful of Uganda, Bangladesh, and the wider Church continue to seek his intercession, trusting that the holiness witnessed in his life endures before God.