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Andrew J. Byrne (1802 – June 10, 1862) was an Irish-born American Catholic priest, who became the first bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas from 1844 until his death in 1862.
In 1836, Byrne was incardinated, or transferred, to the Diocese of New York, in New York City, where he served at St. Patrick's Parish, and St. James's Parish, both in Manhattan. In 1841, Bishop John Hughes sent him to Ireland to recruit the Christian Brothers to teach in the diocesan schools. After Catholics in Manhattan purchased the former Universalist Church known as Carroll Hall, Byrne founded St. Andrew Parish there, which Hughes dedicated on March 19, 1842. Byrne also organized the Church of the Nativity Parish in Manhattan, which Hughes dedicated on June 5, 1842. Lafort, Remigius. The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg. (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.311.
When Byrne arrived in Arkansas, his diocese had approximately 700 Catholics, with four priests and four churches. He brought two priests with him, and together they established St. Ambrose Church at Arkansas Post, Arkansas. A year later, they designated St. Andrew Church in Little Rock as the first Cathedral of St. Andrew. Byrne established other parishes at Pine Bluff and New Gascony, Arkansas. Byrne visited Ireland twice to obtain assistants. He persuaded the Sisters of Mercy to come to his newly established diocese. "Bishop Andrew J. Byrne", Diocese of Little Rock Four sisters and five postulants arrived in 1851 and established a school in Little Rock that would later become Mount St. Mary Academy. "Our History and Founders", Mount St. Mary Academy The sisters also opened convent schools at Fort Smith and Helena, Arkansas.Woods, James M. Mission and Memory: A History of the Catholic Church in Arkansas. Little Rock: August House, 1993
A fire of suspicious origin destroyed the church in Helena in 1854, as the Know Nothing influence in Arkansas grew. Byrne avoided political issues, including that of slavery. The record shows that he was not a slave owner, but did not express any sentiments regarding the issue. Byrne attended the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore in May, 1846, and the First Provincial Council of New Orleans in 1856.
By Byrne's death, the diocese had grown to include nine priests, 13 churches, 30 stations, and 12 schools and academies, Shea, John Gilmary. "Rt. Rev. Andrew Byrne", The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States, Office of Catholic Publications, 1886 and had almost completed arrangements for the starting of a college at Fort Smith by the Congregation of Christian Brothers.
Andrew Byrne died on June 10, 1862, in Helena at age 59.
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