Neil McNeil (November 23, 1851 – May 25, 1934) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver from 1910 to 1912 and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto from 1912 to 1934.

Early life

McNeil was born in Hillsborough, Inverness County, Nova Scotia. He attended

Propaganda College Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Career

In 1879, McNeil was ordained as a priest. In 1880 he was appointed vice-rector of College of St. Francis Xavier in

Antigonish, Nova Scotia , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

, and had risen to

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 ...

by the end of his service in 1891. He was pastor in

Arichat Arichat is an unincorporated place in the Municipality of the County of Richmond, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the main village on Isle Madame on the southeastern tip of Cape Breton Island. Toponym The name derives from a Mi'kmaq word meaning c ...

and

D'Escousse, Nova Scotia D'Escousse () is situated on the north-eastern side of Isle Madame. It is on Nova Scotia Route 320. It has had a church since 1845, which was destroyed as a result of a fire on July 20, 1954 and rebuilt in 1955, and closed for church services in ...

before becoming

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of Western Newfoundland (St. George's) and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Nilopolis in 1895. In 1904, McNeil was appointed Bishop of St. George's, Newfoundland. From 1910 to 1912, McNeil was Archbishop of Vancouver,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. After only two years, he became

Archbishop of Toronto The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharin ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, where he served from 1912 to 1934. Shortly after being appointed as Archbishop, NcNeil was charged with completing St. Augustine's Seminary and the Canadian

Catholic Church Extension Society Catholic Extension (also known as the Catholic Church Extension Society) is a national fundraising 501(c)(3) organization which supports and strengthens poor mission dioceses across the United States. They provide funding and resources to diocese ...

created by his predecessor Fergus Patrick McEvay. Under McNeil, thirty more parishes were established, including those with non-English speaking immigrants in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. He lobbied for fair

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

for

Catholic schools Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...

. McNeil founded the Federation of Catholic Charities when, in 1927, Toronto's umbrella Federation for Community Service refused to continue to fund Roman Catholic charitable institutions. McNeil died in 1934, while serving as Archbishop of Toronto. He is buried at St. Augustine's Seminary.

Legacy

Under his leadership, the China Mission Seminary, later renamed the Scarboro Foreign Missionary Society, and the Newman Club were established.

Neil McNeil Catholic High School Neil McNeil Catholic High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Neil McNeil, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver from 1910 to 1912 and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto from ...

was named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeil, Neil 1851 births 1934 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada Roman Catholic archbishops of Toronto Canadian people of Scottish descent Burials at St. Augustine's Seminary Roman Catholic archbishops of Vancouver People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia Roman Catholic bishops of Corner Brook and Labrador