Jeremiah Joseph Coffey (1 January 193319 November 2014) was the seventh

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 let ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Diocese of Sale, Australia, serving from 1989 until his retirement in 2008. On retirement, he was styled

Bishop Emeritus In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Chu ...

of Sale.

Early years

Coffey was born in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was educated at Model School, Cork, before attending St Nessan's Christian Brothers' School. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

and then studied for the priesthood at

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing down, due to decreasing student numbers. The sale ...

, choosing to travel to Australia as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and serve in the Diocese of Sale. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Sale at All Hallows College on 22 June 1958, by Archbishop James Skinner CIM of St John's, Newfoundland, Canada and arrived in Sale three months later; he served in the parishes of Bairnsdale, Sale, Traralgon, Omeo, Iona and Yallourn prior to being appointed the first

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Churchill. In 1987, Coffey was appointed

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Corpus Christi Seminary, Clayton.

Bishopric

On 8 April 1989,

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 ...

appointed Coffey as the seventh Bishop of Sale. He was consecrated by Archbishop Sir Frank Little of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on the grounds of St Patrick's Campus of Sale Catholic College (now Catholic College Sale) on 30 June 1989. The co-consecrators were his predecessor, Archbishop Eric D'Arcy of Hobart together with Bishop David Cremin, who was also a student of All Hallows. In 2003, Coffey removed Father John Speekman as priest of the parish of

Morwell Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the seat of local governme ...

over allegations of bullying. In a long running dispute, Fr Speekman twice successfully appealed to the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

against the decree ordering his removal, but Coffey then appealed those decisions to the Apostolic Signatura. In 2011, the Vatican ruled finally in favour of Coffey, ending the eight-year battle where the parish was without a permanent priest. Under Coffey's leadership of the diocese, the Bishop's Family Foundation was established as a charitable body and has given more than A$500,000 in support of families within the

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...

diocese. At the time of Coffey's departure, the foundation had a self-generating trust fund of more than A$2 million. Coffey's retirement as bishop was accepted by 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 soverei ...

on 2 January 2008. Coffey lived in retirement in Paynesville. He was conferred the title Bishop Emeritus of Sale. He died on 19 November 2014.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffey, Jeremiah Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Sale Christian clergy from Cork (city) Alumni of All Hallows College, Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin 1933 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia