Norman Thomas Gilroy
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Sir Norman Thomas Gilroy (22 January 1896 – 21 October 1977) was an Australian
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 ca ...
. He was the first Australian-born
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
of the
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.


Early life and priestly ministry

Gilroy was born in Sydney, to working-class parents of Irish descent. Educated at the Marist Brothers' College in the Sydney suburb of
Kogarah Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area. Loca ...
, he left school when 13 years old, to work as a messenger boy in what was then the
Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...
. In 1914 his parents refused permission for him to enlist in the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
, but he was allowed to volunteer for the transport service as a telegraphist. He left Australia in February 1915 and served in the
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
campaign of World War I in 1915 as a naval wireless operator on the ''Hessen'' off Gallipoli and Imbros. After his return to Australia in August 1915, he was ordered to resume his work as a telegraphist for the postal service. He expressed an interest in becoming a priest and began his studies at St Columba's, in 1917, and continued them from 1919 at the
Urban College The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peopl ...
in Rome. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lismore on 24 December 1923 at the
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
in Rome by Archbishop Filippo Bernardini
C.Ss.R. The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
, and received his doctorate in divinity in Rome the following year. Returning to Australia in 1924, Gilroy was appointed to the staff of the
Apostolic Delegation An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
in Sydney, which in that year received as its new head Archbishop
Bartolomeo Cattaneo Bartolomeo Cattaneo (26 September 1866 – 14 May 1943) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1917 and was Apostolic Delegate to Australia from 1917 to 1933. ...
, who favoured the appointment of Australian-born priests as bishops in Australia. After six years in this post, Gilroy returned to , becoming Chancellor and Secretary of the Bishop.


Episcopal ministry

In December 1934, he was appointed Bishop of Port Augusta,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, gaining an experience in dealing with pastoral problems that was to serve him well in his later position. He received episcopal consecration on St. Patrick's Day 1935 with Archbishop Filippo Bernardini as principal consecrator. In 1937, he became Coadjutor Archbishop of Sydney and Titular Archbishop of
Argyranthemum ''Argyranthemum'' (marguerite, marguerite daisy, dill daisy) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae. Members of this genus are sometimes also placed in the genus '' Chrysanthemum''. The genus is endemic to Macaronesia ...
. On the death of Archbishop Michael Kelly, Gilroy succeeded to the Archdiocese of Sydney on 18 March 1940. Gilroy was created a cardinal on 18 February 1946, and was assigned the title of becoming cardinal-priest of
Santi Quattro Coronati Santi Quattro Coronati is an ancient basilica in Rome, Italy. The church dates back to the fourth or fifth century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs. The complex of the basilica with its two courtyards, the fortified Cardinal P ...
, becoming the first Australian-born member of the
College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...
. On 11 January 1953 he laid the cornerstone of the
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help ( fil, Pambansáng Dambana ng Iná ng Laging Saklolo), also known as the Redemptorist Church and colloquially as Baclaran Church, is a prominent national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpet ...
,
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. Gilroy was knighted in 1969. He was the first Roman Catholic cardinal to receive a knighthood since the
English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
. He was named
Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
in 1970. He resigned as Archbishop of Sydney in July 1971 and died in Sydney in 1977, aged 81. He was succeeded by
James Darcy Freeman Sir James Darcy Freeman (19 November 1907 – 16 March 1991) was an Australian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Freeman was the sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney and Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Regina Pacis a Ostia Lido. He w ...
. As Archbishop Gilroy enforced strict discipline in accordance with the
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on his clergy, who had grown lax under the elderly Kelly. In so doing, he acquired a reputation of an "iron man". He always maintained his exacting standards but showed compassion for those who failed to meet them. Much of his energy was devoted to providing churches and schools for his flock. By 1971, he had 366 schools with 115,704 pupils, staffed by 751 religious brothers and 2,992 nuns as well as lay teachers. He was unable to bring to concrete realisation his plan to establish a Catholic university but was to some extent successful in his project to found a faculty of theology at . The 1954 split of the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
saw a marked difference of opinion between Gilroy and Archbishop
Daniel Mannix Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia. Early years and Maynoo ...
of Melbourne, who backed
B. A. Santamaria Bartholomew Augustine Santamaria, usually known as B. A. Santamaria (14 August 1915 – 25 February 1998), was an Australian Roman Catholic Anti-communism, anti-Communist political activist and journalist. He was a guiding influence in the found ...
's "Movement" (the episcopally sponsored Catholic Social Studies Movement). Gilroy avoided direct political comment and believed that the Church should not become involved in politics. However, like most other Sydney Irish Roman Catholics, he had grown up as a supporter of the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
. Moreover, he was a confidant of Roman Catholic Labor
Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...
Joseph Cahill John Joseph Cahill (21 January 189122 October 1959), also known as Joe Cahill or J. J. Cahill, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, railway worker, trade unionist and Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to his death in 1 ...
. He firmly opposed Santamaria's activities and banned the distribution of his movement's literature in Sydney churches. As a result of the close relationship between Gilroy and Cahill, there was no split in the New South Wales Labor Party, as there had been in Victoria and Queensland. In 2017 the first extended biography of Gilroy was published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Cardinal's death. The author, John Luttrell FMS has been praised for his "fresh research...and a genuine portrait of the man who rose from postal clerk to prince of the Church."


Legacy

Gilroy College Gilroy Catholic College is a Roman Catholic comprehensive co-educational secondary day school, located in Castle Hill, in the Hills District of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The College provides a Catholic and general education for stud ...
, a Year 7–12 high school in north-western Sydney named after him opened in 1980. The college took Gilroy's personal motto, "Christ is my light", as the official school motto. Gilroy College celebrated its 25th anniversary as a school community in 2004.


References


External links


Cardinal Gilroy on the online ''Australian Dictionary of Biography''

Norman Thomas Gilroy war diaries, February 2-October 7, 1915 (digitised)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilroy, Norman 1896 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Australia Australian cardinals Australian military personnel of World War I Cardinals created by Pope Pius XII Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian of the Year Award winners Roman Catholic archbishops of Sydney Burials at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney Participants in the Second Vatican Council Pontifical Urban University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Port Augusta Australian Roman Catholic archbishops People from Glebe, New South Wales