Bishop Vincent J. McCauley, C.S.C.
First Bishop of Fortportal Diocese, 1961 to 1972
From Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Fort Portal, Uganda — five chapters spanning seventy-six years, three continents, and a single, undivided vocation.
Vincent McCauley during his early formation years
Born March 8, 1906, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the eldest of six children in a devout Catholic family. A mission appeal by Holy Cross priests set his course for life.
He professed his final vows on July 2, 1929, graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1930, and was ordained to the priesthood at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on June 24, 1934.
He bragged he would log 80,000 miles a year to preach missions — driven by a burning love for souls.
Fr. McCauley ministering in Bengal, 1930s–40s
Arriving in Dhaka on November 16, 1936, he taught at Holy Cross High School and formed a new generation of catechists. He moved into mission territory among the Kuki people, where malaria struck him severely.
Appointed rector of Little Flower Seminary in 1940. Eventually evacuated by the U.S. Army during World War II, he returned to America and threw himself into Holy Cross Missions fundraising.
“If you want to build a better world, you need fewer architects and more bricklayers.”
Bishop McCauley in western Uganda
Chosen to lead the Congregation’s new Uganda mission despite grave health concerns. Three years of foundational work led to his appointment as first Bishop of Fort Portal by Pope St. John XXIII in 1961.
Motto: Mariam Sequens Non Devias — “Following Mary, you do not go astray.”
Bishop McCauley at an AMECEA plenary
Elected AMECEA chairman in 1964, uniting Catholic bishops across six nations. Steered three triennial plenary meetings and established the Gaba Pastoral Institute for lay formation.
Served as Executive Director in Nairobi from 1972 to 1979. Helped found the Catholic University of East Africa in 1979.
“Whatever unity we bishops in Eastern Africa have, we owe it to Bishop McCauley.”
Cardinal Maurice Otunga of Nairobi
Burial at Holy Cross Cemetery, Notre Dame
Bishop McCauley died on November 1, 1982 — the Solemnity of All Saints — during surgery at age 76. He bore more than fifty operations for facial cancer with characteristic quietness.
The Cause for Beatification was formally opened in August 2006. He now holds the title Servant of God.
“A valiant man of God died, but a saint was born.”