William Mark Duke (October 7, 1879 – August 31, 1971) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, who served as Archbishop of Vancouver from 1931 to 1964.

Biography

Born in Saint John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, on October 7, 1879.

Ordination

William Duke was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood at age 23 on June 29, 1903.

Consecration

He was appointed

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

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 an ...

of ''Phasis'' by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

on August 10, 1928. He received his

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

on the following October 18 from Archbishop

Timothy Casey Timothy Casey (February 20, 1862 – October 6, 1931) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, Canada, from 1912 to 1931. Curriculum vitae Timothy Casey was born on February 20, 1862, in Flume Ridge, New Brunswick. Ordination In 1885, ...

. Duke later succeeded the late Archbishop Casey as full Archbishop of Vancouver on October 5, 1931.

Legacy

* He founded St. Mark's College, a Catholic Theological College in affiliation with the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. * He helped found

Notre Dame Regional Secondary School Notre Dame Regional Secondary is a Mixed-sex education, co-ed Catholic school, Catholic Secondary school, under the administration of Catholic Independent Schools Vancouver Archdiocese (CISVA) school board inn Canada. The school participates in sp ...

, a Catholic high school for Vancouver (eastside) & Burnaby. * He helped found St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School, a Catholic high school for North Vancouver. * Helped found St. Vincent's Hospital, Vancouver which was administered by the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

. The hospital provided Catholic health care on August 12, 1939. The Hospital was closed on March 1, 2003. * He founded The B.C. Catholic newspaper, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Vancouver. * Mount Duke was named after him in 1966.

Service to God

* Priest for 68 years * Bishop for 43 years

Notes

He attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

from 1962 to 1965. The Archbishop was a "strict disciplinarian", and was also known as the "Iron Duke".TIME Magazine
Icebergs & Cattle
September 6, 1948 He was opposed to Sunday

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

, and

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, and once said of bathing

beauty contest A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

s, "It lowers the dignity and esteem due to women to parade them and measure them ... like cattle." However, Duke was dedicated to

vocations A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...

, establishing parishes and

parochial schools A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wo ...

. On October 30, 1953, he received the degree of Doctor of Laws, (honoris causa) from the University of British Columbia. On October 1, 1968, he received the Freedom of the City Award from the Vancouver City Council.Vancouver City Council
Freedom of the City Recipients
- Retrieved April 24th 2009 He retired as

's archbishop on March 11, 1964, after thirty-two years of service. Upon his retirement, Duke was appointed Titular Archbishop of ''Seleucia in Isauria''."Seleucia in Isauria (Titular See)"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved December 4, 2016"Titular Metropolitan See of Seleucia in Isauria"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved December 4, 2016 He died seven years later, on August 31, 1971, at the age of 91.

References

External links

Archdiocese of Vancouver former bishops
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, William Mark 1879 births 1971 deaths People from Saint John, New Brunswick 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada Participants in the Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic archbishops of Vancouver