Henry Joseph O'Leary (March 13, 1879 – March 5, 1938) was a Canadian cleric, the fifth
Bishop of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown, and later the second
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of the
Archdiocese of Edmonton
The Archdiocese of Edmonton ( la, Archidioecesis Edmontonensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese in the Canadian civil province of Alberta. The archbishop's cathedral see is located in St. Joseph Cathedral, a minor basil ...
.
Born in
Richibucto, New Brunswick to
Henry O'Leary and Mary O'Leary, he received his higher education from
St. Joseph's College in
Memramcook then studied
Theology at the Grand Seminary in
Montreal. On September 21, 1901, O'Leary was
ordained a priest in Richibucto. The same year he went to
Rome, where he later earned doctorates in Theology,
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, and
Canon Law.
In 1907 O'Leary was appointed priest for the Sacred Heart Parish in
Bathurst, New Brunswick. The following year, he was appointed
Vicar General for the
Diocese of Chatham. In 1913 O'Leary became Bishop for the Diocese of Charlottetown on
Prince Edward Island but as
St. Dunstan's Basilica in
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
had recently burned down, O'Leary was
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
at the Sacred Heart Church in Bathurst.
One of his first acts was to have a new cathedral built on the site of the ruined Basilica. It was completed during O'Leary's tenure and opened in 1919.
In
World War I many Diocesan parishioners joined the armed services and several priests became
chaplains. During this time, the new Saint Vincent Orphanage was completed to replace the old one in Charlottetown.
O'Leary founded a convent in 1916 when the Sisters of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island was established.
In 1919, during his tenure, St. Dunstan's College, which had been started years ago by
Bishop Bernard McDonald on the closure of
St. Andrew's College, became a university with the power to grant its own degrees. The first fundraising for the university raised over $40,000.
The Charlottetown Hospital, which had been backed by
Bishop Peter McIntyre in the 19th century continued to grow as a new maternity department opened in 1918 and a school of nursing was established in 1920. The hospital was under the supervision of the Grey Nuns of Quebec, whose presence had been felt in the Diocese of Charlottetown for many years.
After seven years as Bishop of Charlottetown, O'Leary was appointed Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Edmonton, in the Western Canadian region. Archbishop Henry Joseph O'Leary died in 1938. His remains were interred in St. Joachim's Cemetery in
Edmonton.
The Archbishop O'Leary Catholic High School in
Edmonton, founded in the 1960s, was named after him.
External links
The Era of Bishop Henry O'Leary : Diocese of Charlottetown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Henry Joseph
1879 births
1938 deaths
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada
Roman Catholic bishops of Charlottetown
Canadian people of Irish descent
People from Kent County, New Brunswick
St. Joseph's College alumni
Roman Catholic archbishops of Edmonton