Patrick Bonaventure Geoghegan,
O.F.M. (1805–1864) was an Irish Roman Catholic clergyman who served firstly as
Bishop of Adelaide. Born in Dublin, he became a Franciscan friar and served at a Dublin parish before volunteering for Australia. After five years as Bishop of Adelaide, He returned to Ireland, intending to stay only briefly. He was named
Bishop of Goulburn, Australia, but died before he could assume the post.
Geoghegan built
St Francis' Church, Melbourne, the earliest surviving Catholic church in
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...
. A memorial tablet marks his grave in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Dublin; and there is a statue of Bishop Geoghegan outside St. Francis Church in Melbourne.
Life
![Church of the Immaculate Conception, Dublin 2018-08-07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Church_of_the_Immaculate_Conception%2C_Dublin_2018-08-07.jpg)
Born in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland, he was
baptised
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
on 17 March 1805. Orphaned at the age of 8, non-Catholic relatives of his father first sent him to a Protestant institution, before a Franciscan priest temporarily placed him in an orphanage.
The Franciscans later sent him to school in
Edgeworthstown
Edgeworthstown or Mostrim () is a small town in County Longford, Ireland. The town is in the east of the county, near the border with County Westmeath. Nearby towns are Longford 12 km to the west, Mullingar 26 km to the east, Athlone 4 ...
, County Longford, Ireland. At the age of sixteen he entered
St. Patrick's College, Lisbon. He was professed as a member of the
Order of Friars Minor
The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...
at
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
on 21 February 1830 as Friar Bonaventure, and ordained to the
priesthood on 25 April 1835.
Geoghegan was assigned to
Adam and Eve's Church, on Merchants Quay, Dublin, where he had earlier served as an altar boy. In 1836
Bede Polding
John Bede Polding, OSB (18 November 1794 in 16 March 1877 ) was the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Early life
Polding was born in Liverpool, England on 18 November 1794. His father was of Dutch descent and his mother ...
, vicar apostolic for
New Holland, sent his vicar general,
William Ullathorne, to Britain to recruit more priests, preferably Benedictines. While in England, Ullathorne also visited Ireland, where he met Geoghegan, who volunteered for seven years work in Australia.
![St Francis Catholic Church, Melbourne, Australia (2005)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/St_Francis_Catholic_Church%2C_Melbourne%2C_Australia_%282005%29.jpg)
In December 1838, Geoghegan arrived in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, where he spent some time before Polding appointed him first resident priest at
Port Phillip
Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...
. He landed at
Williamstown aboard the ''Paul Pry'' on May 15, 1839. Given the poverty of the area, the residents hesitated to invite the priest to lodge at one of their poor houses. Geoghegan was undismayed and initially slept on a pallet set on beer barrels in the bar of a public house.
["St. Francis 1841-1941", The Fathers of the Blessed Sacramment, 1941]
/ref>
Soon after his arrival at Port Phillip (now Melbourne) Geoghegan praised Catherine Coffey for her initiative and for her “care and zeal” in conducting the first Catholic school in Melbourne and teaching children the catechism in the absence of a priest. She donated a wooden box to act as an altar at his first mass.
With a priest at Port Phillip, the number of Catholics in the area attending services increased, and the small weather-board chapel the people had been using for prayer, proved insufficient. The church, designed by Samuel Jackson, was commissioned by Geoghegan shortly after his arrival. The foundation stone was laid on 4 October 1841, the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, to whom the church is dedicated, and the completed church blessed on 23 October 1845. Saint Mary MacKillop
Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ (15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian religious sister who has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church, as St Mary of the Cross. Of Scottish descent, she was born in Melbourne but is best known fo ...
, founder of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart
The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the Josephites or Brown Joeys, are a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Mary MacKillop (1842–1909). Members of the congregation use the postnominal initials RSJ (Religious Sist ...
, was baptized and confirmed at St Francis' Church The first Solemn High Mass was celebrated on 17 March 1843, which was also the occasion of the first St. Patrick's Day parade which walked in procession from the Royal Hotel to the church.[
In 1846, he laid the foundation stone of St. Mary's Church in Geelong, which replaced a small wooden chapel. (The church was subsequently replaced in turn by St Mary of the Angels, designated a basilica in 2004.) From St. Francis', Geoghegan attended mission stations at ]Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
**FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
, and Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 28,587 at the 2021 census, with a medi ...
.[
When ]James Alipius Goold
James Alipius Goold (4 November 1812–11 June 1886) was an Australian Augustinian friar and the founding Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne in Australia.
Life
Early years
Goold was born in Cork, Ireland. Upon leaving school he entered the Ord ...
was made first Bishop of Melbourne, he appointed Geoghegan Vicar-General. On the death of Bishop Murphy of Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, in April 1858, Geoghegan was appointed his successor in the see, and was consecrated on 8 September 1859. The principal consecrator
A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop.
The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...
was Archbishop John Bede Polding
John Bede Polding, OSB (18 November 1794 in 16 March 1877 ) was the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Early life
Polding was born in Liverpool, England on 18 November 1794. His father was of Dutch descent and his mother ...
OSB of Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and the principal co-consecrators were Archbishop James Alipius Goold
James Alipius Goold (4 November 1812–11 June 1886) was an Australian Augustinian friar and the founding Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne in Australia.
Life
Early years
Goold was born in Cork, Ireland. Upon leaving school he entered the Ord ...
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 ...
, and Bishop Robert William Willson
Robert William Willson (11 December 1794 – 30 June 1866) was an English Roman Catholic bishop, the first Bishop of Hobart, and an advocate for the convicts in Australia.
Life
Willson was born at Lincoln, England. His father, a builder, bel ...
of Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
.
Geoghegan took possession of the see in the following November, and held it for about five years. In 1862 he sailed for Europe to recruit new priests. While in Rome, he was translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to the newly formed Diocese of Goulburn, now the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn is a Latin Rite archdiocese located in the Australian Capital Territory, and the South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Monaro and the South Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. ...
, on 10 March 1864. From Italy he went to Ireland where following a six week illness of laryngitis he died at Kingstown
Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 12,909 (2012), Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the island's agricultural industry centre ...
from throat cancer on 9 May 1864, aged 59.[ Bishop Geoghegan was buried at St. Francis' Church, Merchant's Quay, Dublin, Ireland."New Tablet Over Bishop Geoghegan's Grave", ''Advocate'', 17 July 1952, p. 2]
/ref>
In June 2017 a statue of Fr Patrick Geoghegan by sculptor Darien Pullen was unveiled outside St Francis' Church, Melbourne.
References
External links
Unveiling of Geoghegan statue in Melbourne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geoghegan, Patrick Bonaventure
1805 births
1864 deaths
Christian clergy from Dublin (city)
Irish Friars Minor
Franciscan missionaries
Irish Roman Catholic missionaries
Franciscan bishops
Irish expatriate Catholic bishops
19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia
Roman Catholic bishops of Adelaide
Deaths from throat cancer
Roman Catholic missionaries in Australia
Irish expatriates in Australia
Roman Catholic bishops of Goulburn