Patrick R. Cooney

Patrick Ronald Cooney (March 10, 1934 – October 15, 2012) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the third Bishop of Gaylord and held the title Bishop Emeritus in that diocese.

Patrick Cooney was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Michael and Elizabeth (née Dowdall) Cooney. The oldest of four children, he has two sisters, Mary (a retired teacher of the Detroit Public School System) and Leontia (an Adrian Dominican nun), and one brother, Michael (a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit).

Cooney attended St. Edward Elementary School from 1940 to 1948, and Sacred Heart Seminary High School from 1948 to 1952. He then studied at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, from where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 1956. He then furthered his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning a Bachelor's in Sacred Theology in 1958.

While in Rome, Cooney was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Martin J. O'Connor on December 20, 1959. He later obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian in 1960. Upon his return to the United States, he served as an assistant pastor at St. Catherine Church in Detroit (1960–1962), assistant chancellor of the Archdiocese (1962–1969), and chaplain at Mercy College (1967–1972).