Stuart France O'Connell (11 May 1935 – 2 August 2019) was the fifth Catholic Bishop of

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Coo ...

(1996–2011).

Early life

O'Connell was born on 11 May 1935 in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

. He completed his education at St. Patrick's College, Silverstream in 1953 and in 1954 entered Mount St Mary’s Seminary. He was

professed A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise that is solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding c ...

as a member of the Society of Mary on 11 February 1956, at Mt St Mary's Seminary, Greenmeadows, where his final profession took place in February 1959 and he was ordained a

subdeacon Subdeacon is a minor orders, minor order of ministry for men or women in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed below the deacon and above the acolyte in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

in December 1959.

Priesthood

O'Connell joined the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

ate in February 1960 and became a priest at Saints Peter and Paul Church, Lower Hutt, on 27 July 1960. He moved to Chanel College, Moamoa,

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

in 1966 to work as a teacher, and after another period teaching and studying in New Zealand, he returned, in 1975, to Chanel College as Rector where he stayed until 1982. In 1983 and 1984 he completed his MA at

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

. From 1985 to 1986, he taught at Mount St Mary’s Seminary, Greenmeadows. From 1986 to 1991, he was

Vicar Provincial A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

, and from 1992 to 1996 he was Provincial of the New Zealand Province of the Society of Mary.

Episcopacy

On 8 November 1995, O'Connell was appointed the Bishop of Rarotonga and was consecrated by Bishop Leamy SM, Cardinal Williams and Bishop Soane Lilo Foliaki SM, Bishop of Tonga, in St Joseph's Cathedral, Avarua, on 22 February 1996. He oversaw a growing Roman Catholic population (by 2011 in excess of 3,000 in a total population of about 20,000 – mainly due to immigration from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

) with a complement of only seven priests (five on

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national Capital city, capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA ...

, Matavera, Titikaveka and Arorangi and one each on

Aitutaki Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the ...

Atiu Ātiu, also known as ʻEnuamanu (meaning ''land of the birds''), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The population of the island has ...

, and

Mauke Mauke (Ma'uke also Akatokamanava) is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. Geography Mauke is a raised coral atoll, with a central volcan ...

(islands). He was able to obtain priests from overseas and to augment the number of local-born priests. He was able to keep open and refurbish the Catholic schools (

Nukutere College Nukutere College is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. It is the country’s only Catholic secondary school and has an important educational role across the archipelago. "Nukutere" means "people on a jo ...

, Saint Mary's School, Mauke Island and St Joseph's School, Avarua). During his tenure teacher pay parity was achieved for teachers in those schools, so that the Cook Islands Government paid them at the same rates as their counterparts in other schools. O'Connell retired in April 2011. O'Connell died in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 2 August 2019, after a battle with cancer.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy website "Bishop Stuart France O'Connell SM"
(retrieved 18 February 2011). {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Stuart 1935 births 2019 deaths Roman Catholic bishops in the Cook Islands People educated at St Patrick's College, Silverstream 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Oceania New Zealand people of Irish descent People from Lower Hutt Marist Brothers Catholic University of America alumni New Zealand expatriates New Zealand Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Rarotonga Deaths from cancer in New Zealand