Bishop Patrick J Donahue was the Bishop of our Diocese from 1894-1922. He was born in Coventry, England. He came to the United States at age 21 and entered Columbia College in NY. In Washington D.C., He became a successful lawyer while working for the B & O Railroad. When he was a little past 30 years of age, the voice of God came to him and after four years in the seminary he was ordained by Cardinal Gibbons on December 23, 1885. In 1894, he took formal possession of the Diocese of Wheeling. One of the first advancements he made was to revise and improve the internal organization of the Diocese. It was during his term as Bishop that our Diocese expanded with the opening of many new parishes and missions including the parish of St. James, St. John's and St. Frances Xavier decided in 1952 to build a high school for the youth of our area that it be named after the man who was responsible for ensuring that the Catholic faith would have a permanent home in McMechen.
Bishop Donahue is not only greatly remembered for all he did to promote, foster, and spread Christianity throughout our Diocese. He also ensured and solidified the financial viability of our Diocese as well. On one of his many trips, he met the wealthy Texan Sarah Tracy on a voyage from Italy to the U.S. She subsequently bequeathed land in Texas to our Diocese upon her death. Oil was discovered on that land and its proceeds have continued to provide supplementary income to our Diocese even to today.