Edward Bede Clancy AC (13 December 1923 – 3 August 2014) was an Australian Catholic bishop and cardinal. He was the seventh Catholic Archbishop of Sydney from 1983 to 2001. He was made

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of Santa Maria in Vallicella in 1988.

Early life and ordination

Clancy was born in

Lithgow, New South Wales Lithgow is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the administrative center of the City of Lithgow local government area. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of Wil ...

, on 13 December 1923. He said that he wanted to be a priest from an early age and pretended to celebrate his first

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

while still a child, to the amusement of his brother and sisters. After completing his studies at Marist Brothers College, Parramatta, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1949, on the same day as the future Australian cardinal Edward Cassidy.

Priest and bishop

In 1953 Clancy earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (''Angelicum''). Clancy continued his education, eventually earning his doctorate in theology in 1965. He then started as a teacher and later accepting the position of chaplain at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. He also served as the official spokesperson for the archdiocese at this time and became very well known on that basis. On 19 January 1974, Clancy was consecrated titular Bishop of Árd Carna and Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney.

Archbishop and cardinal

On 24 November 1978, he was appointed Archbishop of Canberra (and Goulburn). In the little over four years that he was Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Clancy was respected by the people of Canberra Goulburn as a very friendly and approachable archbishop who was also very supportive of his people and his priests. He had a great rapport with young people in the archdiocese. On 12 February 1983 he was appointed Archbishop of Sydney and on 28 June 1988 he was elevated to

of Santa Maria in Vallicella. He also continued his education career throughout this time, becoming the chancellor of the Australian Catholic University in 1992. A notable event in the life of his tenure was the beatification of Mother Mary MacKillop, conducted at the Royal Randwick Racecourse on January 15, 1995. Pope John Paul II referenced Clancy in his homily when he said: "We are celebrating an extraordinary event in the life of the Church in this land: the beatification of Mother Mary MacKillop, the first Australian formally declared to be among the Blessed in heaven. I rejoice with all of you: with Cardinal Clancy and my Brother Bishops, with the priests, Religious, all of you, lay men and women, families, young people and children, who offer a radiant and authentic sign of the Church's vitality. I give thanks to God for being able to celebrate this Beatification right here on Australian soil." The Pontiff ended his homily by saying: "The Pope for today, Cardinal Clancy for tomorrow. Praise be the Lord!" Major work on

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians (colloquially, St Mary's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, curre ...

, took place under his episcopacy. In 1999 a substantial new pipe organ was built by Orgues Létourneau Ltée of Montreal, Québec. In the year 2000 the spires of the cathedral were finally completed. During his term as archbishop the neo-Gothic diocesan

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of St Patrick's at Manly (founded by Cardinal Patrick Moran in 1889) was closed and the heritage listed building leased to an international hospitality school. A new seminary, the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, was opened in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Homebush. Clancy was a fellow of

Warrane College, University of New South Wales Warrane College UNSW is an affiliated residential college at the University of New South Wales, Australia. The name of the College is derived from the Aboriginal word for the Sydney Cove area, "Warrang", highlighting the recognition by Warrane a ...

Retirement and death

Clancy retired as Archbishop of Sydney in 2001 and was succeeded by Archbishop George Pell. In the period from 21 October 2003 (when Pell was made cardinal) until Clancy's own 80th birthday on 13 December 2003, there were three Australian cardinal electors (had a papal conclave become necessary); Clancy, Pell and Edward Cassidy. Clancy's health began to decline after his retirement and he died on 3 August 2014, aged 90, at the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home in the Sydney suburb of Randwick.http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/former-sydney-archbishop-edward-clancy-dead-at-90/story-e6frg6nf-1227011865198

References

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