Richard Pius Miles

Right Rev. Richard Pius Miles, O.P.
Bishop of Nashville
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Nashville
In office	September 16, 1838 – February 17, 1860
Predecessor	none
Successor	James Whelan
Orders
Ordination	September 21, 1816
Consecration	September 16, 1838
Personal details
Born	May 17, 1791 Prince George's County, Maryland
Died	February 21, 1860 (aged 68) Nashville, Tennessee

Richard Pius Miles, O.P. (May 17, 1791 – February 21, 1860) was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Nashville (1838–1860).

Biography

Miles was born in Prince George's County, Maryland, and moved to Kentucky with his parents at age 5.^[1] After joining the Dominican Order in October 1806,^[1] he was ordained a priest on September 21, 1816.^[2] He then worked as a missionary in Ohio and Kentucky for 22 years, also founding a community of Dominican nuns and a school under the Sisters of Charity.^[3]

On July 28, 1837, Miles was appointed the first Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, by Pope Gregory XVI.^[2] He received his episcopal consecration on September 16, 1838 from Bishop Joseph Rosati, C.M., with Bishops Simon Bruté and Guy Ignatius Chabrat, P.S.S., serving as co-consecrators.^[2] During his tenure, he dedicated a cathedral in 1848, ordained the first priest in Tennessee, and established a seminary and a hospital.^[1][3]

He died at the age of 68. At the time of his death, the diocese comprised 12,000 Catholics, 13 priests, 14 churches, 6 chapels, and 13 missions.^[1]

References

1. "MILES, Richard Pius". The National Cyclopedia of American Biography.
2. "Bishop Richard Pius Miles, O.P.". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
3. "Former Bishops of the Diocese of Nashville". Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville.

Episcopal succession