Albert Power SJ (12 November 1870 – 12 October 1948) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest, academic and author. He was considered to be one of the best-known Jesuit priests in Australia and had the nickname "The Mighty Atom".

Biography

Early years

Albert Power was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1870. His education started at

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

, Dublin, and continued at

Tullabeg College St Stanislaus College (often called Tullabeg College) was a Jesuit boys boarding school, novitiate and philosophy school, in Tullabeg, Rahan, County Offaly. St Carthage founded a monastery of 800 monks there in 595 before founding his monaster ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

. After Tullabeg College he studied at Milltown Park Theological College, Dublin. He was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1906 in the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Career

After his ordination, Power became the director of studies at Riverview College (now called

Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Jesuit tradition, located in Riverview, a small suburb located on the Lane Cove River on the ...

) in Sydney for six years (c. 1910). Power returned to Europe to study philosophy and literature in Valkenburg, Holland. He was there for two years and then returned to Milltown Park Theological College, Dublin, to study the same subjects. He lectured in theology, Scripture and ecclesiastical history for ten years as the Professor of Sacred Scriptures at Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy. For the latter eight years he was also the rector of the college. Power returned to Australia in 1919 to become the rector of Newman College, Melbourne. The Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix, insisted that Power, a classical scholar, was appointed to the role. In a telegram Mannix wrote "Power or nobody." Upon taking up the role he said that his policy would be "to act in accordance with the great cardinal after whom it was named, and to provide a liberal Christian education". Power started at Newman College with a "big reputation for scholastic attainments". At the end of his first year as rector, Power wrote that expenses had not been covered and that they had nothing to pay to the Jesuits. He held the role of rector of Newman College until 1923. Albert Power

In 1923 he became the first rector, at the request of Mannix, of

Corpus Christi College, Melbourne Corpus Christi College is the regional seminary (and theologate) of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The seminary is administered by a board of episcopal trustees comprising the archbishops of Melbourne and Hobar ...

, when it was founded in the same year.

Retirement

After retiring in 1948 he resided at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. Th ...

, Kew, for a number of years.

Death

After Power's death a Solemn Pontificial Requiem Mass was celebrated by Archbishop

Daniel Mannix Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia. Early years and Maynoo ...

St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of Saint Patrick (colloquially St Patrick's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Peter Comensoli. ...

. The choir was made up of students from Corpus Christi College.

Under surveillance

On 19 April 1918 a letter was passed between Australian security officials advising the recipient to keep "Power under observation". The letter writer commented that "he

ower Ower is a hamlet in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest towns are Totton – approximately to the southeast, and Romsey – around to the north-east. Ower lies on the A36 road northwest of Totton. It lies mostly ...

is an eloquent speaker, and has great influence" and that "the object of his visit o Australiais unknown". A further letter was written on 13 July 1918 in which the writer supports the rumour that the position of chaplain on board a troop ship is an "excellent way of taking

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

propagandists into the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

Father Albert Power Burse

In January 1952, "A Grateful Friend" wrote to the editor of ''The Advocate'' (Melbourne) noting that a burse was being created in memory of Power to educate a priest for the Jesuit Indian Mission.

Albert Power Debating Society

In the 1954 Newman College yearbook the Albert Power Debating Society is reported as having had large numbers participating in the society. Issues debated included "That Newman should have a moat" and "that the press is worth of its freedom". Perhaps the most engaging debate was with a team of ladies from St Mary's Hall when the subject was "that it was better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all". The Albert Power Debating Society is known to have run between 1927 and 1967 when its activities were reported in the Newman College yearbooks. The society is known to have had problems with numbers of students participating in its activities in 1937 when the annual magazine of the Newman College Students' Club reported that the society had to close for a year. In 2010 the Albert Power SJ Medallion for Debating was awarded to Tom Litfin and Patrick McDonald.

Publications

Power had a number of books published and wrote pamphlets for the Australian Catholic Truth Society.
Are They All Wrong?
publication date unknown.
Six World Problems
1927.
Our Lady's Titles
1928.
Why We Honor St.Joseph
1930.
Plain Reasons For Being a Catholic
1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Very Rev. Albert, S.J. 1870 births 1948 deaths Australian Jesuits 20th-century Irish Jesuits People educated at Belvedere College Alumni of Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy Christian clergy from County Dublin People educated at St Stanislaus College