William Robert Johnson

{{Short description|American bishop (1918–1986)}} {{for|the English cricketer|William Johnson (cricketer, born 1962)}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = | honorific_prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend | name = William Robert Johnson | honorific_suffix = | title = Bishop of Orange Titular Bishop of Blera | image = | image_size = | caption = | church = Roman Catholic Church | archdiocese = | diocese = | see = Diocese of Orange | elected =  | term = June 16, 1976 to July 28, 1986 | predecessor = | successor = Norman Francis McFarland | other_post = Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles 1971 to 1976 Titular Bishop of Blera | ordination = May 28, 1944 | ordained_by = John J. Cantwell | consecration = March 25, 1971 | consecrated_by = Timothy Manning | birth_date = November 19, 1918 | birth_place = Tonopah, Nevada, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1986|07|28|1918|11|19}} | death_place = Orange, California, US | buried =  | nationality =  | religion = | parents = | education = St. John's Seminary Catholic University of America | motto = ''Caritas Christi'' (The love of Christ) | signature = | coat_of_arms = }} {{Infobox bishopstyles | name=William Robert Johnson | dipstyle=The Most Reverend | offstyle=Your Excellency | relstyle=Monsignor | deathstyle=|}} '''William Robert Johnson''' (November 19, 1918 – July 28, 1986) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Orange in California from 1976 until his death in 1986. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 1971 to 1976.

==Biography==

=== Early life === William Johnson was born on November 19, 1918, in Tonopah, Nevada, to Jorgen and Marie (née O'Connell) Johnson.<ref name="weber">{{cite book|last1=Weber|first1=Francis J.|authorlink1=Francis J. Weber|title=California Catholicity|year=1979}}</ref> In the early 1920s, the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where he enrolled at St. Ignatius School.<ref name="weber" /> He attended Los Angeles College, the minor seminary of what was then the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego, from 1932 to 1938.<ref name="pinsky">{{cite news|date=1986-07-29|work=Los Angeles Times|title=William R. Johnson, First Bishop of Orange, Is Dead|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-29-mn-19579-story.html|last=Pinsky|first=Mark I.}}</ref> He completed his theological studies at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California.<ref name="weber" />

==Priesthood== Johnson was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Archbishop John J. Cantwell on May 28, 1944 in Los Angeles, California.<ref name="hierarchy">{{cite news |title=Bishop William Robert Johnson |work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bjohnson.html}}</ref> After several years of pastoral work, Johnson was sent to the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Master of Social Work degree.<ref name=pinsky/> He was named assistant director of the Catholic Welfare Bureau in 1948, and later succeeded Monsignor Alden J. Bell as director in 1956.<ref name=weber/> Johnson was elected to the board of directors for the National Conference of Catholic Charities in 1960, becoming president in 1964.<ref name=weber/>

The Vatican elevated Johnson to the rank of papal chamberlain in 1960 and domestic prelate in 1965.<ref name="weber" /> In addition to his duties as director of the Catholic Welfare Bureau, Johnson served as pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish, the first Catholic parish for African Americans in Los Angeles, from 1962 to 1968.<ref name="pinsky" /> He was pastor of American Martyrs Parish in Manhattan Beach, California (1968–71), and became parochial vicar for St. Vibiana's Cathedral Parish in 1970.<ref name="weber" />

=== Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles === On February 19, 1971, Johnson was appointed auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles and titular bishop of ''Blera'' by Pope Paul VI.<ref name=hierarchy/> He received his episcopal consecration at St. Vibiana Cathedral in Los Angeles on March 25, 1971, from Archbishop Timothy Manning, with Archbishop Joseph T. McGucken and Bishop Alden Bell serving as co-consecrators.<ref name=hierarchy/> He selected as his episcopal motto: ''Caritas Christi'' (Latin: "Charity of Christ").<ref name=weber/> As an auxiliary bishop, he assisted Archbishop Manning for five years.

===Bishop of Orange=== Johnson was named by Paul VI as the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Orange on March 24, 1976.<ref name=hierarchy/> His installation took place at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Orange, California, on June 16, 1976.<ref name=diocese>{{cite news|work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange|title=Chronological Highlights from the past 25 Years|url=http://www.rcbo.org/component/content/article/65/213-chronological-highlights-from-the-past-25-years.html|archive-date=2011-07-19|access-date=2010-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719063014/http://www.rcbo.org/component/content/article/65/213-chronological-highlights-from-the-past-25-years.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> He celebrated mass with inmates at the Orange County Jail every Christmas, and established a Department of Hispanic Ministries in 1979.<ref name=pinsky/> Johnson described the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s as "a fairly rigid, centralized structure from the top down to the parish," and declared, "I certainly relish the changes that have occurred in the Church since" the Council.<ref name=pinsky/> He was an outspoken advocate of nuclear disarmament, and encouraged Catholics to support the settlement of refugees from Southeast Asia.<ref name=pinsky/>

=== Death === Johnson suffered from kidney disease and related illnesses for the last year of his life, eventually forcing him to use a wheelchair.<ref name="pinsky" /> William Johnson died from a bacterial infection at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, on July 28, 1986, at age 67.<ref name="pinsky" />

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box | title=Bishop of Orange | before=none | after=Norman Francis McFarland | years=1976–1986 |}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, William Robert}} Category:1918 births Category:1986 deaths Category:People from Tonopah, Nevada Category:St. John's Seminary (California) alumni Category:Catholic University of America alumni Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Category:Catholics from Nevada Category:20th-century American people