Gerald Shaughnessy was born on May 19, 1887, in Everett, Massachusetts, to Joseph and Margarett (née Colwell) Shaughnessy.[1] In 1909 he graduated from Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts, where he had won the Cronin scholarship.[1] He then taught at private and public schools in Maryland, Montana and Utah. In 1916, Shaughnessy entered the Society of Mary.[1] He studied theology at Marist College and the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., earning a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1920.[1]
Shaughnessy was ordained to the priesthood for the Marists by Cardinal Giovanni Vincenzo Bonzano in Washington on June 20, 1920.[2] He became an official of the apostolic delegation in 1919.[3] Returning to the Marist College, he served as professor of moral theology from 1920 to 1933.[1] During this period, Shaughnessy was also a professor at Notre Dame Seminary from 1923 to 1924 and spent time teaching at Marist facilities in Rome and Lyon, France (1930–1931).[1] Shaughnessy became the novice master at the Marist College in 1932.[3]
On July 1, 1933, Shaughnessy was appointed the fourth bishop of Seattle by Pope Pius XI.[2] He received his episcopal consecration at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on September 19, 1933 from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Bishops Michael Joseph Keyes and Charles Daniel White serving as co-consecrators.[2]
Shaughnessy kept the diocese financially stable during the Great Depression of the 1930s.[4] He encouraged the formation of Serra International and served as its first chaplain.[5] He also supported the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and Catholic Charities chapters in the diocese.[4]In November 1945, Shaughnessy suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while returning from the annual bishops meeting in Washington, D.C.[4]In 1948, Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Thomas Connolly as coadjutor bishop to assist Shaughnessy, who had not fully recovered from his stroke.[6]
Gerald Shaughnessy died in his home in the First Hill district of Seattle on May 18, 1950.[6] Due to construction at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, the funeral was held at Immaculate Conception Church; it was celebrated by Archbishop Edward Howard.[4][7]
