Francis Eric Bloy

Francis Eric Irving Bloy (17 December 1904 - 23 May 1993) served as the third Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles from April 21, 1948 until December 31, 1973.[1][2]

The Right Reverend

Francis Eric Bloy

D.D., S.T.D.
Bishop of Los Angeles
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseLos Angeles
In office1948-1973
PredecessorW. Bertrand Stevens
SuccessorRobert C. Rusack
Orders
Ordination1929
Consecration21 April 1948
by Henry St. George Tucker
Personal details
Born(1904-12-17)December 17, 1904
Birchington-on-Sea, England
DiedMay 23, 1993(1993-05-23) (aged 88)
Los Angeles, California, United States
BuriedForest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
NationalityEnglish
DenominationAnglican
ParentsFrancis Joseph Field Bloy & Alice Mary Pointer
SpouseFrances Forbes Cox

Biography

Bloy was born in Birchington, England as the son and grandson of Anglican priests. His family moved to the U.S. when he was age seven. He attended high school in Arizona and continued his studies at the University of Arizona before transferring to the University of Missouri. He hoped to become a diplomat and entered the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. However, he later decided to enter the clergy and enrolled in the Virginia Theological Seminary. In 1929, Bloy graduated from the seminary, married Frances Forbes Cox and became pastor of All Saints' Church in Reisterstown, Maryland where he served four years. At his ordination, he became the fifth generation of clergy in his family.[2]

In 1933, Bloy and his wife moved to La Jolla, California where he joined the staff of St. James Church. He became Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in Los Angeles in 1937 and held the post for 11 years until he was named bishop of Los Angeles.[3]

At the time of his consecration, the diocese had 70,000 members and when he retired, the membership had doubled and he had overseen the creation of 42 new churches and a diocesan budget that grown 400 percent. After the Watts Riots, the bishop helped provide funding for youth of the area to establish an auto repair shop.[1]

In 1958, he was instrumental in establishing an extension campus in Los Angeles of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) for students unable to study at the school's Berkeley campus. When CDSP was unable to continue funding the extension in 1962, Bloy had the Diocese assume control of the school and in 1970 merged it with the Claremont School of Theology. The resulting institution was renamed Bloy House and continues to provide training for Episcopal clergy.[4]

Bloy taught himself Sanskrit and became an authority on Eastern religions. He also enjoyed astronomy and fishing.[1] In planning for his retirement, he and his wife purchased a home in the hills overlooking Pasadena so he could stargaze from his yard, however Mrs. Bloy died within two weeks of his retirement date. The Bloys had no children.[2]

gollark: Speaking of spiders, have you heard of Portia spiders? They're very cool.
gollark: One molecule of spider contains one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, giving an atomic weight of 18.
gollark: You can drown in as little as 1 inch of spiders.
gollark: You're wrong because of this interesting useful fact:
gollark: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/902332662830735400/903001563327504404/ground-conspiracy.jpg

References
  1. Oliver, Myrna (1 June 1993). "Francis E. Bloy, 88; Retired Episcopal Bishop of L.A." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  2. Kawamoto, Jane. "Horizons & Heritage: Marking New Milestones — Bloy channels growth of '50s, tensions of '60s". Episcopal News. Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2014-12-07. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  3. "History Archives — People". All Saints' Church. Archived from the original on 2014-12-07. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  4. "Episcopal Theological School at Claremont (Bloy House)". The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 2014-12-05.


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