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 in Rome.

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, 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 and D'Escousse, Nova Scotia before becoming Vicar Apostolic of Western Newfoundland (St. George's) and Titular Bishop 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. After only two years, he became Archbishop of Toronto, Ontario, where he served from 1912 to 1934. Shortly after being appointed as Archbishop, NcNeil was charged with completing

St. Augustine's Seminary St. Augustine's Seminary is the archdiocesan seminary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, and is located by the shore of Lake Ontario in Scarborough. It is a member of the Toronto School of Theology. History St. Augustine's Seminary ...

and the Canadian Catholic Church Extension Society created by his predecessor

Fergus Patrick McEvay Fergus Patrick McEvay (December 8, 1852 – May 10, 1911) was a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of London (1899–1908) and later Archbishop of Toronto (1908–1911). Early life and education McEvay was born on ...

. Under McNeil, thirty more parishes were established, including those with non-English speaking immigrants in Toronto. He lobbied for fair taxation for Catholic schools. 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

Legacy

Under his leadership, the China Mission Seminary, later renamed the Scarboro Foreign Missionary Society, and the

Newman Club Newman is a surname of English origin and may refer to many people: The surname Newman is widespread in the core Anglosphere. A *Abram Newman (1736–1799), British grocer *Adrian Newman (disambiguation), multiple people *Al Newman (born 1960) ...

were established. Neil McNeil Catholic High School in Toronto 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