Joseph Mark McShea (February 22, 1907 – November 28, 1991) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania from 1961 to 1983.
Between 1962 and 1965, McShea attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome.[4] During the Council, he was one of 18 American bishops elected to the 10 commissions that facilitated the Council's work, and served as relator for the Commission for Religious.
McShea founded "Operation Rice Bowl" which began in the form of a small cardboard box in the parishes of the diocese to receive alms directed to relieving a famine in Africa. In 1976 it was adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a national program, and the following year assigned to Catholic Relief Services.[6]
McShea helmed the founding of Holy Family Manor, a nursing and rehabilitation center at the former Eugene Grace mansion in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[7] He also established Holy Family Villa, a retirement home for priests. He convened the first diocesan synod in May 1968. In 1969, McShea sued the board of directors of Sacred Heart Hospital to prevent a corporate merger with Allentown Hospital during the formation of the Allentown-Sacred Heart Hospital Center, in an effort to maintain the Catholic identity of Sacred Heart.
During his 22-year tenure, McShea oversaw the construction, purchase, and renovation of over 300 church buildings. In 1964, McShea, together with the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, founded Allentown College.[8]
Retirement and legacy
On February 3, 1983, Pope John Paul II accepted McShea's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown.[4] McShea, long ill from diabetes and other ailments, died on November 28, 1991, at age 84, and is buried on the cathedral grounds.[9]
