Edward Joseph Dunne

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Edward Joseph Dunne (April 23, 1848 – August 5, 1910) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop who led the Diocese of Dallas, Texas, from 1894 until his death in 1910.

Dunne was born in Gortnahoe, County Tipperary, Ireland, to Richard and Judith Dunne. He and his parents moved to the United States and settled in Chicago. He studied at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1871, in Baltimore for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Back in Chicago, he served as a curate at St. John’s, then at St. Mary’s, and later became pastor of All Saints Parish. He built a church at All Saints in 1880 and started a parochial school, while also acting as financial overseer for the archdiocese.

In early 1884, for health reasons, Dunne was sent to St. Anthony of Padua Parish in San Antonio, Florida. During his time there he helped advance Catholic education, and on April 29, 1884, St. Anthony Catholic School was established. He returned to All Saints later that year.

On September 24, 1893, Pope Leo XIII appointed him the second bishop of Dallas. He was consecrated as a bishop on November 30, 1893, and was installed in Dallas in January 1894.

As bishop, Dunne opened several institutions, including Holy Trinity College (now the University of Dallas). He established St. Paul Sanitarium in Dallas and St. Anthony’s Sanitarium in Amarillo, the first hospital in that city, and he erected Sacred Heart Cathedral. Under his leadership, the number of churches grew from 28 to 90, and the Catholic population tripled.

Dunne died of a heart attack on August 5, 1910, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at age 62. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois, at his brother’s request.