Moses Elias Kiley was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

-born prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

 of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. He served as Bishop of Trenton

Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the counties of Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean, and Mercer ....

 (1934–40) and Archbishop of Milwaukee

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is a Roman Catholic archdiocese headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It encompasses the City of Milwaukee, as well as the counties of Dodge, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha, all...

 (1940–53).

Early life and education

Moses Kiley was born in Margaree

Margaree Centre, Nova Scotia

Margaree Centre is a small community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Inverness County on Cape Breton Island.-References:*...

, on Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

 in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, to John and Margaret (née McGarry) Kiley. He received his early education at a grade school in Baddeck

Baddeck, Nova Scotia

Baddeck is a Canadian village in Victoria County, Nova Scotia.It is the county's shire town and is situated on the northern shore of Bras d'Or Lake on Cape Breton Island...

, and moved to Somerville

Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, at age 16. He earned money to finance his higher education by working as an errand boy at a carriage

Carriage

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...

 shop in Somerville which his older brothers had established. He also worked as a floorwalker at a department store

Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

 in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 and as a trolley motorman.

In 1903, Kiley enrolled at the College of St. Laurent

Cégep de Saint-Laurent

Cégep de Saint-Laurent is a Cégep located in the Saint-Laurent borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is a few doors south of Vanier College, another Cégep.-History:...

 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. After three years in Montreal, he began his studies for the priesthood

Priesthood (Catholic Church)

The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....

 at St. Mary's Seminary

St. Mary's Seminary and University

St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Roman Catholic seminary in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States of America.-History:...

 in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, in 1906. The following year he was sent to continue his studies in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, where he resided at the Pontifical North American College

Pontifical North American College

The Pontifical North American College is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy educating seminarians for the dioceses in the United States and providing a residence for American priests studying in Rome. It was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX and was granted pontifical...

. He earned a doctorate in philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 from the University of St. Thomas in 1909, and a doctorate in theology

Doctor of Sacred Theology

The Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....

 from the Propaganda University

Pontifical Urbaniana University

The Pontifical Urbaniana University or Pontifical Urban University is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.-History:...

 in 1911.

Priesthood

Kiley was ordained

Holy Orders

The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....

 a priest in Rome on June 10, 1911. Following his return to the United States, he was assigned as a curate

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 at St. Agnes Church in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, where he remained for five years. In 1916, he established the Mission of the Holy Cross for homeless men. That same year, he was named the first archdiocesan director of Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities is a network of charities whose aim is "to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same." It is one of the largest charities in the United States...

, a post which he held until 1926.

Kiley was elevated to the rank of Monsignor

Monsignor

Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...

 in 1924. From 1926 to 1934, he served as spiritual director

Spiritual direction

Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their own personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of his or her encounters of the divine, or how he or she is experiencing...

 of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Episcopacy

On February 10, 1934, Kiley was appointed the fifth Bishop of Trenton

Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the counties of Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean, and Mercer ....

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, by Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...

. He received his episcopal

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 one month later, on March 17, from Cardinal Raffaele Rossi

Raffaele Rossi

Raffaele Carlo Rossi, OCD was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of Sacred Consistorial Congregation in the Roman Curia from 1930 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930.-Biography:Born in Pisa, Raffaele Rossi entered the Discalced...

, with Cardinal Carlo Salotti

Carlo Salotti

Carlo Salotti was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation of Rites from 1938 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in pectore in 1933.-Biography:...

 and Archbishop Thomas Walsh serving as co-consecrators

Consecrator

Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...

, at the Church of Santa Susanna

Santa Susanna

The Church of Saint Susanna at the baths of Diocletian is a Roman Catholic parish church on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, with a titulus associated to its site that dates back to about 280...

 in Rome. His most notable achievement in Trenton was refinancing $10,000,000 of church obligations. Following the transfer of Archbishop Samuel Stritch to the Archdiocese of Chicago

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...

, Kiley was appointed the sixth Archbishop of Milwaukee

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is a Roman Catholic archdiocese headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It encompasses the City of Milwaukee, as well as the counties of Dodge, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha, all...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, by Pope Pius XII

Pope Pius XII

The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....

 on January 1, 1940. He was installed at the Church of the Gesu on the following March 28.

During his tenure in Milwaukee, Kiley earned a reputation as a conservative leader and stern administrator. He oversaw an extensive renovation of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, which suffered major damage from a fire in 1935. He rebuilt the St. Aemillian Orphanage, which had also suffered major fire damage in the 1930s. He also renovated St. Francis Seminary, converted Pio Nono High School into a minor seminary

Minor seminary

A minor seminary is a secondary boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming priests. They are generally Roman Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood...

, and created a Catholic Family Life Bureau in 1948.

Kiley died at St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, at age 76.