Archbishop Emeritus Oscar H. Lipscomb, the first man ever ordained Archbishop of Mobile and a lifelong son of the city he served, has died at age 88. Archdiocese officials confirmed that Lipscomb died peacefully at the Little Sisters of the Poor residence in Mobile after a lengthy period of physical decline. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, his funeral arrangements will be held privately, with a public memorial expected to follow at a later date.
Lipscomb’s death closes out a chapter of local Catholic history that stretched across nearly six decades of priestly ministry, almost all of it in Mobile. He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on July 15, 1956, and went on to become chancellor, then vice chancellor, of the old Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham before being named the first Archbishop of Mobile in 1980, after the Vatican elevated the diocese to an archdiocese and established the Province of Mobile. He led the archdiocese for 28 years, retiring in 2008 at age 76 after Pope Benedict XVI accepted his request to step down.
“Archbishop Lipscomb loved Mobile and its people,” said the Most Rev. Thomas J. Rodi, the current Archbishop of Mobile, in a statement released by the archdiocese. “As a native of the city, he devoted his life to bringing God’s love to many. He made an indelible mark in our archdiocese as a man of God, a good priest and a good bishop.”
Born Sept. 21, 1931, to Oscar H. Lipscomb Sr. and Margaret Antoinette Saunders Lipscomb, the future archbishop grew up in Mobile and attended St. Patrick Parochial School and McGill Institute before continuing his studies at St. Bernard College in Cullman and later at the Pontifical North American College and the Gregorian University in Rome. After his ordination, he returned to Mobile, where he served at St. Mary Parish and taught at both McGill Institute and Spring Hill College. He also served as pastor of his childhood parish, St. Patrick in Mobile, from 1966 to 1971, and as assistant pastor at St. Matthew Parish and the Cathedral Parish.
Throughout his tenure as archbishop, Lipscomb took on a wide range of leadership roles beyond the pulpit. He served on multiple committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, sat on several college and seminary boards, and was a member of the board of directors of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. His work also extended to national and international Catholic affairs, including involvement with the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, the Catholic Health Association Committee on Ethics and Values, the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, the Southeast Regional Office for Hispanic Affairs, and the “Vox Clara” Committee of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Even after retirement, Lipscomb remained a familiar and active presence throughout the archdiocese, regularly attending Mass and Catholic community events around Mobile. He was also known as a devoted supporter of McGill-Toolen Catholic High School athletics, rarely missing a Friday night football game. That devotion was recognized in 2008, when the school’s athletic complex was formally dedicated as Lipscomb Field, a name still carried by the facility today.
Lipscomb was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Margaret Joyce Bolton, along with her husband, Joseph. He is survived by his nephew, Joseph M. Bolton Jr. and his wife, Linda, of Daphne; his cousin, Raye White of Houston; and a number of other nieces, nephews and cousins. His life of service leaves a lasting imprint on the Catholic community in Mobile and across south Alabama, from the parishes he led to the students and athletes who still gather on the field that bears his name.