James Charles McDonald (June 14, 1840 – December 1, 1912) 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 ...

bishop who served as fourth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown.

Biography

Born in

St. Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

, McDonald received his education from the Central Academy 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 ...

and taught in a number of Island schools for many years. Following the completion of his studies at Charlottetown's St. Dunsant's College, McDonald travelled to the Grand Seminary of Montreal and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1873. McDonald taught briefly at St. Dunstan's College and was a pastor in

Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to: Places Canada *Kings County, New Brunswick *Kings County, Nova Scotia *Kings County, Prince Edward Island ** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892 Ireland * County Offaly, formerly call ...

for nine years. Later, McDonald would be named Rector of St. Dunstan's, a position he held for seven years. In 1891, following the death of Bishop Peter McIntyre, McDonald was immediately appointed Bishop, after serving as

Coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

since 1890. Bishop McDonald's tenure was seen as a period of growth for the Diocese of Charlottetown. Many new churches were built throughout Prince Edward Island, St. Dunstan's College became affiliated with

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

in 1892, and the Notre-Dame Convent for Girls flourished. In 1896, construction began on the new

St. Dunstan's Basilica St. Dunstan's Basilica is the cathedral of the Diocese of Charlottetown in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is named for St. Dunstan, the Anglo Saxon saint from Glastonbury. It is located on Great George Street, between the harb ...

(the one before the present basilica that stands today). The new basilica was built out of stone and considered one of the most magnificent churches east of Quebec. In 1908, after many years of service, McDonald's health began to fail, and he was left an invalid. At this time, Father James Morrison,

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the Diocese, stepped in to take care of diocesan administration. Bishop McDonald finally succumbed to his ill health and died at his Charlottetown residence in 1912. His funeral took place at St. Dunstan's Basilica and his remains were interred in his native home of St. Andrew's.

References

External links

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, James Charles 1840 births 1912 deaths People from Kings County, Prince Edward Island Roman Catholic bishops of Charlottetown 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada