Felix Ley

Last updated
Felix Ley

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
Bishop of Naha
In office1968-1972
Orders
OrdinationJune 14, 1936
ConsecrationJune 9, 1968
Personal details
Born
Alvin Ley

(1909-03-05)March 5, 1909
Hewitt, Wood County, Wisconsin United States
DiedJanuary 23, 1972(1972-01-23) (aged 62)
Naha
NationalityAmerican
DenominationRoman Catholic

Felix Ley (March 5, 1909 - January 23, 1972), Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop and the apostolic administrator of Okinawa and the Southern Islands/Ryukyus, now the Diocese of Naha, in Naha, Japan. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Alvin Ley was born in Hewitt, Wood County, Wisconsin United States and was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on June 14, 1936.

Father Ley was sent to Guam, where he was taken prisoner by the Japanese army during World War II. [3] He was held prisoner of war at Kobe, Japan. After World War II, he was sent to Okinawa.

On March 11, 1968, Pope Paul VI appointed Felix Ley the apostolic administrator of the Okinawa and the Southern Islands/Ryukyus, and he was consecrated bishop on June 9, 1968. [4]

Bishop Ley died in Naha. [5]

See also

Notes

  1. "THEPACIFICAPS.ORG - Our Legacy". Archived from the original on 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  2. "Bishop Félix Ley, O.F.M. Cap". Catholic-Hierarchy.org . David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.[ self-published source ]
  3. "Roster of Guam Military, Native Guard ,and Civilians Captured and taken to Japan".
  4. http://www.capcomm.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/necrologiesjanuary.pdf [ dead link ]
  5. 'Bishop Dies in Okinawa,' Milwaukee Sentinel, January 25, 1972, pg. 9
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
None
Bishop of Naha
19681972
Succeeded by


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okinawa Prefecture</span> Prefecture of Japan

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 and a geographic area of 2,281 km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Ryukyu Islands</span> Chronology of the Ryukyu Islands

This article is about the history of the Ryukyu Islands southwest of the main islands of Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryukyu Kingdom</span> Historical kingdom in parts of present-day Japan from 1429 to 1875

The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a tributary state of imperial Ming China by the Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island to end the Sanzan period, and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands and Sakishima Islands. The Ryukyu Kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East Asia and Southeast Asia despite its small size. The Ryukyu Kingdom became a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain of Japan after the invasion of Ryukyu in 1609 but retained de jure independence until it was transformed into the Ryukyu Domain by the Empire of Japan in 1872. The Ryukyu Kingdom was formally annexed and dissolved by Japan in 1879 to form Okinawa Prefecture, and the Ryukyuan monarchy was integrated into the new Japanese nobility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okinawa Island</span> Island within the Ryukyu Islands

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately 106 kilometres (66 mi) long, an average 11 kilometres (7 mi) wide, and has an area of 1,206.98 square kilometers (466.02 sq mi). It is roughly 640 kilometres (400 mi) south of the main island of Kyushu and the rest of Japan. It is 500 km (300 mi) north of Taiwan. The total population of Okinawa Island is 1,384,762. The Greater Naha area has roughly 800,000 residents, while the city itself has about 320,000 people. Naha is the seat of Okinawa Prefecture on the southwestern part of Okinawa Island. Okinawa has a humid subtropical climate.

An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese, or is a diocese, eparchy or similar permanent ordinariate that either has no bishop or, in very rare cases, has an incapacitated bishop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Marine Division (United States)</span> Military unit

The 6th Marine Division was a United States Marine Corps World War II infantry division formed in September 1944. During the invasion of Okinawa it saw combat at Yae-Take and Sugar Loaf Hill and was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. The 6th Division had also prepared for the invasion of Japan before the war ended. After the war it served in Tsingtao, China, where the division was disbanded on April 1, 1946, being the only Marine division to be formed and disbanded overseas and never set foot in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kadena Air Base</span> U.S. Air Force base in Japan

Kadena Air Base is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highly strategic and geographic location. It is located just 650 km off the coast of China and at a distance of just 770 km from Shanghai, a major economic hub. It is home to the USAF's 18th Wing, the 353rd Special Operations Group, reconnaissance units, 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and a variety of associated units. Over 20,000 American servicemembers, family members, and Japanese employees live or work aboard Kadena Air Base. It is the largest and most active U.S. Air Force base in East Asia.

National Route 58 is a Japanese national highway connecting the capital cities Kagoshima and Naha of Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture, respectively. With a total length of 884.4 kilometers (549.5 mi), it is the longest national highway in Japan, though it measures only 245.2 kilometers (152.4 mi) on land. The highway begins at an intersection with National Routes 3 and 10 in Kagoshima. From Kagoshima, it travels southwest along the first island chain that divides the Pacific Ocean from the East China Sea. From the north to the south, it has sections on the islands of Tanegashima, Amami Ōshima, and finally, Okinawa. On Okinawa it ends at an intersection with National Routes 330, 331, and 390 in Naha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands</span> 1950–1972 US administration of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

The United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands abbr. USCAR was the civil administration government in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, replacing the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands in 1950, and functioning until the islands were returned to Japan in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naha</span> Core city in Kyushu, Japan

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2. The total area is 39.98 km2 (15.44 sq mi)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shuri, Okinawa</span> District of Naha, Okinawa

Shuri is a district of the city of Naha, Okinawa. It was formerly a separate city in and of itself, and the royal capital of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. A number of famous historical sites are located in Shuri, including Shuri Castle, the Shureimon gate, Sunuhyan-utaki, and royal mausoleum Tamaudun, all of which are designated World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryukyu Islands</span> Chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan

The Ryukyu Islands, also known as the Nansei Islands or the Ryukyu Arc, are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands, with Yonaguni the westernmost. The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island.

USS <i>Pitkin County</i> (LST-1082)

USS Pitkin County (LST-1082) was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named after Pitkin County, Colorado, she was the only U.S. Naval Vessel to bear the name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Kagoshima</span>

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kagoshima is a suffragan Latin diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Nagasaki 長崎, in southern Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Naha</span>

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Naha(Latin: Nahana, Japanese: カトリック那覇教区) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nagasaki 長崎, in southern Japan.

Rinshō Kadekaru was a Japanese-Okinawan singer who was known as a representative Okinawan folk, shimauta, singer of the post-war era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mudan incident</span> Massacre of Ryukyuan sailors in Qing-era Taiwan

The Mudan incident of 1871 was the massacre of 54 Ryukyuan sailors in Qing-era Taiwan who wandered into the central part of Taiwan after their ship was shipwrecked.

Marie-Joseph Lemieux (1902–1994) was a Catholic archbishop and diplomat of the Holy See.

Apollinaris William Baumgartner, O.F.M. Cap., D.D., was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as Bishop of Agaña, Guam, from 1945 to 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military of the Ryukyu Kingdom</span> Overview of the military of the Ryukyu Kingdom

The military of the Ryukyu Kingdom defended the kingdom from 1429 until 1879. It had roots in the late army of Chūzan, which became the Ryukyu Kingdom under the leadership of King Shō Hashi. The Ryukyuan military operated throughout the Ryukyu Islands, the East China Sea, and elsewhere that Ryukyuan ships went. Ryukyu primarily fought with other Ryukyuan kingdoms and chiefdoms, but also Japanese samurai from Satsuma Domain and pirates. Soldiers were stationed aboard ships and Ryukyuan fortifications. The Ryukyuan military declined after the 17th century.