the Catholic priesthood; however, Augustus Tolton, who was born in 1886, would become the first Catholic priest "publicly known to be black" when he was ordained in 1886. Healy returned to Boston in August 1854. Knowing there were rumors about his heritage in Boston, he expressed his apprehension about serving there to a confidante: "The mercy of God has placed a poor outcast on a throne of glory that ill becomes him. If I could have been as safe elsewhere as here, I should have desired never to show my face in Boston." He was appointed an assistant at St. John's Parish in the North End and at the House of the Angel Guardian for homeless boys. This was followed by appointments as personal secretary to Bishop Fitzpatrick (December 1854) and chancellor of the diocese (June 1855), which gave him a significant role in diocesan affairs. Healy also served as rector of Holy Cross Cathedral (1862-1866). During the American Civil War, Healy supported the Union, but was opposed to the Radical Republicans' plans for Reconstruction, believing it would lead to "the super-elevation of the negro." In 1865, he helped establish the Home for Destitute Catholic Children to care for children who had been left fatherless or totally orphaned by the war. In March 1866, the new Bishop John Williams named Healy as pastor of St. James Parish, the largest Catholic congregation in Boston. In that position, he helped found the House of the Good Shepherd for homeless girls and successfully lobbied against legislation in the Massachusetts General Court to tax Catholic churches. As both rector of the cathedral and pastor of St. James, Healy was succeeded by his brother Sherwood. Bishop of Portland On February 12, 1875, Healy was appointed the second bishop of the Diocese of Portland by Pope Pius IX. He received his episcopal consecration on June 2, 1875, from Archbishop Williams, with Bishop Francis McNeirny and Bishop Patrick O'Reilly serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Maine. As such, he was the first Black Catholic bishop in the United States. It would be 90 years before Bishop Harold Perry became the first publicly recognized individual to hold that distinction. At the time of Healy's appointment, the Diocese of Portland encompassed the entire states of Maine and New Hampshire. At the beginning of his tenure in 1875, the diocese contained 52 priests and