Rev. Frank J. Murray (born March 12, 1949 [1] ) is an American Catholic priest and former Democratic state representative from Maine. [2] [1]
Murray was born and grew up on Maple Street in Bangor, Maine to Robert Emmett and Laura Murray. [1] [3] [2] Both of his grandfathers were named Frank J. [1] He has a younger brother, Robert Emmett, Jr., and an older sister, Cynthia, who married Severin Beliveau. [1] His great uncle was Edward P. Murray. [1]
Murray attended St. John's School and then John Bapst Memorial High School. [1] He is of French, English, and Irish descent. [1] His father was active in Democratic politics. [1]
Murray attended the University of Maine at Orono where he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics. [2] [1] [3] During his junior and senior years in 1969 and 1970, when he was 20 years old, he ran for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives [nb 1] . [2] [1] When elected, Murray was the youngest member of the House. [1] Murray put off graduation for a semester to go to work at the state capital, and finished his degree in between sessions of the legislature. [1]
He was then reelected for a second term in the Maine House. [2] [1] In the House, Murray served on the education and reapportionment committees. [1] Murray then ran for a seat in the Maine Senate in 1974 but was defeated by 163 votes. [2] [1] The following January he ran for Secretary of State, which is elected by the members of the House and Senate, but lost by a single vote. [1]
In 1972 he ran Elmer Violette, a close friend's, congressional campaign. [1] He served as a delegate to a number of Maine Democratic Party conventions and the 1972 Democratic National Convention. [1] Murray also served on the Maine Human Rights Commission. [1]
For four years he taught math at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, where he also served as a coach. [2] [1]
He entered the seminary in 1977 at Theological College at The Catholic University of America and received a Master's of Divinity in 1981. [2] [1] [3] He was ordained by Bishop Edward C. O'Leary on June 6, 1981 at St. John Church in Bangor. [3] [1] [2] During his time at Catholic University, President Jimmy Carter came to Bangor and stayed at the Murray family home. [1] When Carter learned that Murray was a student at Catholic University, he invited Murray to fly back to Washington on Air Force One. [1]
His first assignment as a priest, which lasted for six years, was a chaplain at the Maine Medical Center. [2] [3] While remaining at the hospital, he did campus ministry at the University of Southern Maine and did pastoral work at Sacred Heart Parish in Portland beginning in 1983. [3] Murray became the campus minister at the University of Maine in July 1987, a post he held for seven years, while also serving as pastor of Our Lady of Wisdom in Orono. [2] [3]
Following this, in 1989 he served in a number of parishes, including at St. Mary Parish in Bangor for nine years. [2] [3] He then moved to Sacred Heart parish, St. Louis parish, and St. Philip Parish, all in Auburn in 2003 where he stayed for six years. [2] [3] Murray was named administrator of the newly formed All Saints Parish in Brunswick in July 2009 and, in May 2010, he was named pastor. [2] [3] As of 2019 [update] , he is pastor of St. Paul the Apostle parish in Bangor, a six church parish. [2]
Murray won the Lifetime Service Award in 2019, Theological College's centennial year. [2] He has also served as the director of vocations and the director of seminarians for the Diocese of Portland. [3]