Most Reverend John Jeremiah McRaith, Bishop of the Diocese of Owensboro from 1982 to 2009, died the morning of
Sunday, March 19, 2017 at the age of 82.
McRaith was born in Hutchinson, Minnesota on December 6, 1934 to Arthur Luke McRaith and Marie Hanley McRaith. He grew up with three siblings; James, Jane and Margaret Mary. He graduated from St. Bernard Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota, on February 21, 1960. In 1982, he was ordained as the third Bishop of the Diocese of Owensboro. In addition to shepherding the Catholic Church of western Kentucky, Bishop McRaith served as board member for Brescia University, the Daniel Pitino Shelter, McAuley Free Clinic in Owensboro, and Lourdes Hospital Foundation in Paducah.
On Thursday, March 23, a tractor-pulled wagon will process with the body of Bishop McRaith from Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory (900 Old Hartford Rd.) to St. Stephen Cathedral (610 Locust St.). Mass at the Cathedral will take place at 12:05 pm with public visitation following until 8:00 pm. A Wake Service is scheduled for 6:00 pm at the Cathedral. On Friday, March 24, public visitation will take place at the Cathedral from 8:00 am to 10:45 am, with a Funeral Mass at 11:00 am. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz from the Archdiocese of Louisville will preside with Bishop William F. Medley as concelebrant.
Burial will follow at Mount Saint Joseph in Maple Mount, Kentucky.
Expressions of sympathy may be made in the form of donations to the Diocese of Owensboro in support of charitable work across the diocese and to Catholic Relief Services.