Andrew Byrne

Andrew J. Byrne (1802 – June 10, 1862) was an Irish-born American Catholic priest, who became the first bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas from 1844 until his death in 1862. Biography Early life Andrew Byrne was born in 1802 in Navan, County Meath, in Ireland, the son of Robert and Margery Moore Byrne. Baptized on December 3, 1802, he was possibly born on November 30. While studying at St. Finian's College in Navan, Byrne was recruited in 1820 by Bishop John England to immigrate to the United States and serve in the new Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina. Priesthood Byrne was ordained by Bishop England for the Diocese of Charleston, on November 11, 1827. After a period of missionary work in South Carolina and North Carolina, he was appointed pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Charleston. Byrne was eventually named vicar-general of the diocese. At the Second Baltimore Council in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1833, he acted as Bishop England's theologian.