Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran (16 September 183016 August 1911) was the third

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Archbishop of Sydney and the first cardinal appointed from Australia.

Early life

Moran was born at

Leighlinbridge Leighlinbridge (; ) is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. The N9 National primary route once passed through the village, which was by-passed in the 1980s. It now lies on the R705 regional road. It covers the town ...

, County Carlow,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, on 16 September 1830. His parents were Patrick and Alicia Cullen Moran. Of his three sisters, two became nuns, one of whom died nursing cholera patients. Accessed 6 November 2014 His parents died by the time he was 11 years old. In 1842, at the age of twelve, he left Ireland in the company of his uncle, Paul Cullen, rector of 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 ...

in Rome. There Moran studied for the priesthood, first at the

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and de ...

and then at the major

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 ...

."Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran", Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney
/ref> Moran was considered so intellectually bright that he gained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

. By twenty-five he spoke ten languages, ancient and modern."Patrick F. Moran", National Portrait Gallery
/ref> He focused on finding and editing important documents and manuscripts related to Irish ecclesiastical history. Some editions of his works remain important source materials to this day.Daniel, Michael. Review of Ayres, ''Prince of the Church'', in ''News Weekly'', 8 December 2007
/ref> He was appointed vice-rector at the Irish College and also took the chair of Hebrew at

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. He was also some-time vice-rector of the Scots College in Rome. In 1866 Moran was appointed secretary to his mother's half-brother, Cardinal Paul Cullen of Dublin. Moran was also appointed professor of scripture at

Clonliffe College Holy Cross College (also known as Clonliffe College), located in Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra was founded in 1854 as the Catholic diocesan seminary for Dublin by Cardinal Paul Cullen. History The College was founded in 1859 by the then Archbish ...

, Dublin. He founded the " Irish Ecclesiastical Record" (on which he later modelled the " Australasian Catholic Record"). In 1869 he accompanied Cardinal Cullen to the First Vatican Council, a council also attended by Melbourne's then first archbishop,

James Alipius Goold James Alipius Goold (4 November 1812–11 June 1886) was an Australian Augustinian friar and the founding Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne in Australia. Life Early years Goold was born in Cork, Ireland. Upon leaving school he entered the Or ...

. According to Michael Daniel, it is generally agreed that the definition of the Catholic doctrine of papal infallibility was based on Cullen's proposal, and Ayres suggests that there is strong evidence that Cullen's proposal was largely drafted by Moran. While in Rome and Ireland he was very active politically in opposing English Benedictine plans for monastic foundations undergirding the Catholic Church in Australia.

Bishop of Ossory

Moran was appointed coadjutor bishop of

Ossory Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...

on 22 December 1871 and was consecrated on 5 March 1872 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

by his uncle, Paul Cardinal Cullen. On the death of Bishop Edward Walsh, he succeeded as

Bishop of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been ...

on 11 August 1872. He championed

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

and was consulted by W. E. Gladstone prior to the introduction of his Home Rule Bills.

Cardinal

Moran was personally chosen and promoted by Pope Leo XIII to head the Archdiocese of Sydney – a clear policy departure from the previous English

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

incumbents (Polding and Vaughan) who were experiencing tension leading the predominantly Irish-Australian Catholics. In the archbishop's farewell audience with Leo XIII, it was evident that the intrigues of parties, the interference of government agencies and the influence of high ecclesiastics had made the matter almost impossible of decision by Propaganda. In the presence of others the Pope said clearly: "We took the selection into our own hands. You are our personal appointment." Moran was appointed to Australia on 25 January 1884 and arrived on 8 September 1884. He was created

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 ...

on 27 July 1885 of the title of St Susanna. The new Irish-Australian cardinal made it his business to make his presence and leadership felt. Moran began transforming the Sydney St Patrick's Day festivities by inaugurating the celebration of a solemn High Mass at St Mary's Cathedral on St Patrick's Day 1885. Over time the day's events changed from an Irish nationalist and political day into an occasion "for the demonstration of Irish Catholic power and respectable assimilation" as well as "for the affirmation of Irish Catholic solidarity". In the year 1886 it is estimated that Moran travelled 2,500 miles over land and sea, visiting all the dioceses of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In 1887 he travelled 6,000 miles to consecrate fellow Irishman

Matthew Gibney Matthew Gibney (1 November 1835 in Killeshandra, Cavan, Ireland – 22 June 1925 in Perth, Western Australia), an Australian metropolitan bishop, was the third Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth, serving from 1886 until 1910. Gibney gave Australi ...

at Perth. He also travelled to Ballarat, Bathurst, Bendigo, Hobart,

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

, Lismore,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and Rockhampton for the consecration of their cathedrals. Following the 1891 encyclical ''Rerum Novarum'', he supported the right of labourers to better their conditions. During his episcopate, Moran consecrated 14 bishops (he was the principal consecrator of William Walsh,

Michael Verdon Michael Verdon (19 December 1838 – 23 November 1918) was the 2nd Catholic Bishop of Dunedin (1896–1918). Early life Verdon was born in Liverpool, England on 19 December 1838Obituary, Dr Verdon, Bishop of Dunedin, ''Otago Daily Times'', Monda ...

Patrick Vincent Dwyer Patrick Vincent Dwyer (1858-1931) was the first Australian born Roman Catholic Bishop. Life Patrick Vincent Dwyer was born on 21 August 1858 at Albury, New South Wales, to William Dwyer, schoolteacher, and his wife, Anastasia, née Dermody, both ...

Armand Olier Armand Olier (1851 - 17 September 1911) was a French clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tonga. He was in Marzials and appointed bishop in 1903. He died in 1911 in Moafaga, Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of ...

and also assisted in consecrating Patrick Clune, among others). He ordained nearly 500 priests, dedicated more than 5,000 churches and professed more than 500 nuns. He made five journeys to Rome on church business between 1885 and 1903, but did not participate in the papal conclave of 1903 because of the relatively short notice and the distance, making it impossible for him to reach Rome within 10 days of the death of Pope Leo. Moran was a strong supporter of Federation, and in November 1896 attended the People's Federal Convention in Bathurst. In March 1897 Moran stood as a candidate election of ten delegates from New South Wales to the Australasian Federal Convention. Although he stated he would not attend the Convention in any official capacity, but in a solely individual one, his candidacy sparked a sectarian reaction. 29 percent of voters gave one of their ten votes to Moran, but he came only thirteenth in number of total votes,and was not elected. From 1900 to 1901, Moran's leadership survived a crisis when his personal secretary, Denis O'Haran, was named as co-respondent in the divorce case of the cricketer Arthur Coningham. Moran vigorously defended O'Haran and a jury found in his favour. Moran died in Manly, Sydney, in August 1911, aged 80. A quarter of a million people (the largest crowd ever to gather in Australia until that date) witnessed his funeral procession through the centre of Sydney. He is buried in

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 ...

Publications

*"Memoir of the Most Rev. Oliver Plunkett" (1861) *"Essays on the Origin, etc., of the Early Irish Church" *"History of the Catholic Archbishops of Dublin" (1864) *"Historical Sketch of the Persecutions, etc., under Cromwell and the Puritans" (1866) *"Acta S. Brendani" (1872) *"Monasticon Hibernicum" 2 vols. by Mervyn Archdall, as editor (1873) *"Spicilegium Ossoriense, being a Collection of Documents to illustrate the History of the Irish Church from the Reformation to the Year 1800" (3 vols., 4to, 1879) *"Irish Saints in Great Britain" (1879) *"a volume of poems entitled "Fragmentary Thoughts" *"The Federal Government of Australasia," *"Letters on the Anglican Reformation" (1890). *''History of the Catholic Church in Australasia'' (1895), 2 volumes * "St. Patrick", ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1911) Accessed 6 November 2014

References

External links