Bishop Emeritus James A. Griffin will celebrate his 90th birthday at the 12:05 p.m. Mass in Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, 212 E. Broad St., on Thursday, June 13.
The public is invited to attend the Mass that day.
Bishop Griffin was spiritual leader of the Diocese of Columbus for 21 years, a tenure longer than anyone except Bishop James Hartley, who served in that role from 1904 to 1944.
He was serving as auxiliary bishop of Cleveland when Pope John Paul II appointed him on Feb. 7, 1983 to come to Columbus and succeed retiring Bishop Edward J. Herrmann. He was installed as the 10th bishop of Columbus in St. Joseph Cathedral on April 25 of that year and announced his retirement on Oct. 14, 2004 for health reasons.
He retired on Jan. 14, 2005, when he was succeeded by Bishop Frederick F. Campbell, who had been auxiliary bishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since Bishop Griffin’s retirement, he has lived in a condominium in Powell. For many years after retirement, he regularly celebrated weekend Masses at Powell St. Joan of Arc Church.
After retiring as bishop, he became a theology professor at Ohio Dominican University (ODU) for two years. He was appointed interim president at ODU on July 1, 2007, serving in that position for a year. He also was an adjunct professor in theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum
Bishop Griffin was born on June 13, 1934, in Fairview Park, the fifth of seven children of Thomas and Margaret (Hanousek) Griffin. He attended St. Angela Merici School in his hometown, Cleveland St. Ignatius High School and St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Borromeo College in Wickliffe and attended St. Mary Seminary in Cleveland before being ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal John Krol on May 28, 1960, in Cleveland.
He spent one year as associate pastor at Cleveland St. Jerome Church before being sent to Rome to study canon law. He received his canon law degree from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome in 1963, then returned to the Diocese of Cleveland, where from 1963 to 1965 he was secretary-notary of the diocesan Tribunal.
He worked in the diocesan chancellor’s office from 1963 to 1978, spending the last five years as chancellor. During that time, he attended night classes at Cleveland State University and earned a civil law degree from that institution. He also received honorary degrees from Ohio Dominican and Ohio Northern universities.
He was appointed vicar general of the Cleveland diocese and administrator pro tem of St. John Cathedral in Cleveland in January 1978. Three months later, he became pastor of Euclid St. William Church. Bishop James Hickey of Cleveland appointed him in June 1979 as auxiliary bishop, responsible for the western region of the diocese. He held that position until coming to Columbus.
He has written eight books and was coauthor of three others. He has received many awards from central Ohio church and civic organizations, including having the section of East Lynn Street in Columbus behind the diocesan office building and the cathedral renamed as Bishop Griffin Place. The student center at Ohio Dominican and a building on the Columbus Christ the King Church campus that provides a number of services to the poor also are named in his honor.
