Early life William Turner was born on April 8, 1871, at
Kilmallock,
Ireland. His brother John Turner later became a priest. William Turner received his education at
Mungret College in
Limerick, the
Royal University of Ireland, the
Propaganda College in
Rome, and the
Institut Catholique de Paris.
Priesthood Turner was
ordained to the priesthood in Rome on August 13, 1893 by Cardinal
Lucido Maria Parocchi. That same year, Turner was awarded the
Benemerenti medal for an analysis of ''Commentary on Aristotle's De Anima'' by the theologian
Thomas Aquinas. In 1894, he began teaching Latin and logic at the
College of St. Thomas in
St. Paul, Minnesota, moving to
St. Paul's Seminary in St. Paul in 1895. with Bishops
Denis J. O'Connell and
Michael Curley serving as
co-consecrators. In 1919, Turner consecrated the Church of St. Mary of the Angels in
Olean, New York. In August 1922, Turner helped lay the cornerstone of the
Basilica of Our Lady of Victory in Lackawanna, New York. Turner was a supporter of the
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, and in 1924 began a chapter of
Catholic Charities in the diocese. In 1926, Turner blessed the
Father Millet Cross in
Lewiston, New York. It honored Reverend
Pierre Millet, a French missionary who ministered to the peoples of the Iroquois Confederacy during the 17th century. At the dedication ceremony, Turner gave credit, "...not only to Father Millet, but to those other priests whose heroism took Christianity into the wilderness and whose devotion sought to create in this new world a new France." In 1930, William Turner celebrated the feast of the recently canonized
North American Martyrs with a solemn pontifical high mass at the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul in Buffalo. Four days later he laid the cornerstone for the Lyceum at St. John Kanty Parish in Buffalo, where “...at least 90% of the people were Catholics, but only about a third practiced their religion.” He established more than 30 new parishes during his administration, including national parishes such as Our Lady of Czestochowa for Polish Catholics in
North Tonawanda, New York.
Death William Turner died in Buffalo on July 10, 1956, at age 65. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in
Tonawanda, New York. A
Celtic cross marks his grave. The former Bishop Turner High School in Buffalo was named after him. Built in 1960, the school closed in 2003. == Works ==