Cornelius O'Brien (4 May 1843 – 9 March 1906) 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 ...
Roman Catholic priest, archbishop, and author of 39 books.
Life
Born in
New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island
New Glasgow is an unincorporated area located in Queens County in the central portion of Prince Edward Island, south-west of North Rustico. It is situated amongst beautiful rolling hills on the Hunter River. New Glasgow has several popular t ...
, the son of Terence O'Brien and Catherine O'Driscoll, O'Brien graduated from
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 ...
and in 1871 was ordained a priest.
In 1882, he was appointed
Archbishop of Halifax, Nova Scotia. He followed
Michael Hannan in this position.
He established a Catholic high school (1888) and
Holy Heart Seminary (1896), both in
Halifax
Halifax commonly refers to:
*Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
*Halifax (bank), a British bank
Halifax may also refer to:
Places Australia
*Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook
*Halifax ...
and helped to found the French-language
Collège Sainte Anne (1890) in
Pointe-de-l'Église,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) 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. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native En ...
.
In 1894 he delivered a eulogy for the
Rt. Hon. Sir John Thompson, a former
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
of Nova Scotia and the first Catholic
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as suc ...
.
From 1896 to 1897, he was president of the
Royal Society of Canada.
He died in
Halifax
Halifax commonly refers to:
*Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
*Halifax (bank), a British bank
Halifax may also refer to:
Places Australia
*Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook
*Halifax ...
on 9 March 1906.
He was buried in the
Holy Cross Cemetery, Halifax
Holy Cross Cemetery is a cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth. It was constructed in 1843 under the direction of Archbishop William Walsh, on land provided by local authoriti ...
.
Notes
References
*
*
*
Peter McGuigan, "Saint Mary's University: the Catholic years, 1838-1971" in ''Catholic Insight'' (2005)
1843 births
1906 deaths
19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada
Canadian people of Irish descent
People from Queens County, Prince Edward Island
Roman Catholic archbishops of Halifax
{{Canada-RC-archbishop-stub