Hugh John O'Neill (29 June 1898 – 27 December 1955) was the Roman Catholic

coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (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: * Coadjutor bishop ...

Bishop of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

(1943–1949).

Early life

O'Neill was born in

on 29 June 1898, the son of Edward and Elizabeth O'Neill."Death of His Lordship Bishop O'Neill: A Beloved Prelate's Years of Suffering", ''Zealandia'', Thursday, 5 January 1956, p. 1. The family moved to

Mosgiel Mosgiel () is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area. Mosgiel has a p ...

a few years later. He was educated by the Sisters of Mercy in Mosgiel and at the

Christian Brothers School The following is a list of the schools, colleges, and other educational institutions founded, run or staffed (in any capacity) by the Congregation of Christian Brothers (sometimes called the Irish Christian Brothers) since 1802. Some schools no l ...

in Dunedin."Obituary: Bishop O'Neill", ''Otago Daily Times'', Wednesday 28 December 1955, p. 4. In 1915 he commenced at Holy Cross seminary and was ordained by Bishop Whyte at

St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin St Joseph's Cathedral is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunedin (''Dioecesis Dunedinensis''). It is located in City Rise in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It serves as the seat of the bishop of the Latin Church Roman Catholic ...

on 31 July 1921.

Career

Immediately after ordination, O'Neill was sent to Rome where he studied

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

(the Apollinaris) and resided at the

Irish College Irish Colleges is the collective name used for approximately 34 centres of education for Irish Catholic clergy and lay people opened on continental Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. History The Colleges were set up to educate Rom ...

. He returned to New Zealand in 1923 and was appointed Professor of Canon Law and

Scholastic Philosophy Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and C ...

at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel. He held that post from 1923 until 1934 when the

Vincentian Fathers The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, a ...

took over the seminary. In 1934 he became parish priest at Mosgiel. In 1939 he was appointed chaplain at St. Kevin's College, Oamaru. While he held that post he was also Dominion organiser of the Pontifical Missionary Works, the Propagation of the Faith, the Holy Childhood, and the Missionary Union of the Clergy.

Episcopate

Early in 1943, O'Neill received the news of his appointment as Coadjutor Bishop of Dunedin. He was consecrated

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 ...

Bareta Bareta is a city and municipal council in the Mansa district in Southern Punjab, India. It is a small town that lies on the Famous people include Nand Singh, a soldier in WW2 History Bareta is a small town in the southern part of the India ...

and Coadjutor Bishop of Dunedin by Archbishop O'Shea of Wellington on 25 March 1943. He resigned the office of coadjutor in 1949 because of ill health. For a time he acted as

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar ...

of the Wellington Archdiocese and in 1950 his health improved sufficiently for him to lead the national pilgrimage to Rome for the

Holy Year A jubilee is a special year of remission of sins, debts and universal pardon. In the Book of Leviticus, a jubilee year is mentioned as occurring every 50th year (after 49 years, 7x7, as per Leviticus 25:8) during which slaves and prisoners would ...

, but as his health became worse he was forced to relinquish active duties altogether.

Death

He died on 27 December 1955 of a coronary attack at the age of 57 years. His body lay in state at St Joseph's Cathedral until a solemn requiem mass was celebrated on 30 December 1955, attended by all the hierarchy of New Zealand, and a large concourse of clergy and laity

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy website: Bishop Hugh John O'Neill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Hugh 1898 births 1955 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand New Zealand people of Irish descent People educated at Trinity Catholic College, Dunedin Roman Catholic bishops of Dunedin Holy Cross College, New Zealand alumni Burials at Andersons Bay Cemetery People from Mosgiel