Charles Edward Drennan (born 23 August 1960 in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand Bishop. He was the second Bishop of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, New Zealand, from 2012 to 2019. On 4 October 2019 he resigned his position. Two allegations of "unacceptable behaviour" of a sexual nature were made. An investigation by the Catholic Church's New Zealand Office for Professional Standards found that the behaviour was unacceptable for a Catholic bishop but not criminal in nature.

Early life

Drennan was raised by an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

father and a Catholic mother. He attended Ilam School, St Teresa's School (Riccarton), Kirkwood Intermediate School and Christ's College."Bishop Charles Drennan", ''Diocese of Palmerston North''
(Retrieved 27 November 2014) At St Teresa's, the nine-year-old Drennan was introduced by a teacher to the book ''Promises to Keep'' by Dr Tom Dooley about the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. This book impressed Drennan, who was even then thinking of becoming a priest, with the notion of service. After finishing university Drennan spent a three-year period travelling overseas and worked for a period in a Ryder-Cheshire home in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

patients, special needs adults and children whose parents had

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

. There he made the decision to become a Roman Catholic priest. He studied for the priesthood at Holy Cross Seminary, Mosgiel, for two years before being sent by his bishop, Basil Meeking of Christchurch, to Rome to complete his training at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

. He later took

postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

Priesthood

Drennan was ordained a priest in Rome for the Diocese of

on 14 June 1996. Drennan also became an Ascribed Rosminian – he belongs to the

Institute of Charity The Rosminians, officially named the Institute of Charity ( la, Institutum Caritatis), abbreviated I.C., are a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati, Antonio Rosmini and firs ...

(Rosminians) as a

diocesan priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...

. He returned to New Zealand and served as a priest in the parishes of

Hoon Hay Hoon Hay is an outer suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located at the base of the Port Hills and about southwest of Cathedral Square. The area was named by Captain Wickham Talbot Harvey, a captain of the British Royal 10th Hussars, who moved ...

and

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

. After Drennan's post-graduate study in Rome, he was on the staff of Holy Cross Seminary and

Good Shepherd College In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

in Auckland. He was then invited to work in the Vatican's Secretariat of State where he spent seven years. His main role was writing speeches and talks for the Pope. Drennan's period there covered the final years of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

and the election and first four years of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

. Drennan said that working at the Vatican was "intense, finely focused and hugely stimulating. I met some wonderful people there – priests and lay, working in the Vatican". At the request of Bishop Barry Jones, Drennan returned to Christchurch in 2010. Just before leaving the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

, he accompanied the Pope on a visit to the

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, during which they discussed the Church in New Zealand. In Christchurch, Drennan held the title of

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

and the position of

Diocesan Chancellor In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the Diocese of Christchurch. Drennan also held the positions of Administrator of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Parish Priest of St Anne's Parish,

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

, and chair of the Council of Priests.

Episcopacy

Drennan was appointed coadjutor bishop of Palmerston North by Pope Benedict XVI on 22 February 2011. He chose as his motto ''caritas congaudet veritati'' (love delights in the truth), taken from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 13. He was consecrated on 11 June 2011 in the

Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Palmerston North The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North, New Zealand. It opened in 1925 as St Patrick's Church and was rededicated to the Holy Spirit as the cathedral when the diocese was established in ...

. His principal consecrator was his future predecessor, Bishop Peter Cullinane of Palmerston North and the principal co-consecrators were Bishop Barry Jones of

and Archbishop

Mark Coleridge Mark Benedict Coleridge (born 25 September 1948) is an Australian Catholic bishop. Since 11 May 2012 he has served as the sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane in Queensland. He previously served as the Archbishop of Canberra–Goulburn ...

of Canberra-Goulburn. Drennan succeeded to the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

on 22 February 2012, upon the retirement of Peter Cullinane. His installation took place at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on 17 March 2012. On 7 March 2015, Drennan joined with other protestors in a demonstration in Palmerston North in relation to the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singa ...

(TPP). In a speech to the 500 protestors in The square, he said: "Absolute freedom is not in our interests." "It most certainly is not a right of global business interests to trump the duty of an elected government to govern a nation's economy in accord with the wishes of that nation's citizens." Drennan also denounced the secrecy of the TPP negotiations. Drennan was a member of the executive committee of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania and a bishop member of the board of the New Zealand Catholic Education Office Ltd. He served as a member of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference Commission until his resignation in October 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drennan, Charles 1960 births 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand New Zealand people of Irish descent People from Christchurch People from Palmerston North Living people Holy Cross College, New Zealand alumni People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch Pontifical Urban University alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Palmerston North