Early life

John Moore was born in Castletown, County Westmeath, in Ireland on June 27, 1835.^[1] His family immigrated to Charleston, South Carolina when he was age 14. Moore attended the seminary in Charleston. He was sent to Europe to study at the College of Cambrai in Cambrai, France. Moore then studied theology at the College of Propaganda in Rome.^[2]

Moore was ordained into the priesthood by Archbishop Antonio Ligi-Bussi in Rome on April 9, 1860, for the Diocese of Charleston.^[3] After his ordination, Moore returned to Charleston to assume assignments in parishes.

Bishop of St. Augustine

On February 16, 1877, Moore was appointed by Pope Pius IX as bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine. He was consecrated on May 13, 1877, by Bishop Patrick Lynch at St John Baptist Pro-Cathedral in Charleston.^[3] At this time, the diocese covered the entire State of Florida.

A contingent of Benedictine monks arrived in San Antonio, Florida, in 1886 initially to serve German immigrants. In 1887, a yellow fever outbreak in Florida killed several priests in the diocese. That same year, a fire destroyed the Cathedral of St. Augustine. At Moore's request, a group of Jesuit fathers arrived in Tampa, Florida, in 1888 to replace the priests lost to illness.^[2]

In August 1888, the St. Mary's Home for Orphan Girls was opened in Jacksonville, Florida. That same year, yellow fever broke out again in Jacksonville. With the local priest William J. Kenny sidelined by the disease, Moore rushed there to run the parish and tend to the sick.^[2]

In 1889, Moore asked the Benedictines to establish several mission churches on the Florida Gulf Coast from Pasco County northward. He requested that the Jesuits cover Hillsborough County southward to Key West.^[2]

Death and legacy

During the late 1890s, Moore suffered a stroke that left him debilitated. John Moore died at his home in St. Augustine on July 30, 1901.^[4][3]Bishop Moore High School in Orlando, Florida, is named for him.