Alexander MacDonald (February 18, 1858 – February 24, 1941) was a
Canadian
Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
priest, educator, author, and
Bishop of Victoria, British Columbia.
Biography
Born in
Inverness County,
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...
,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, the son of Finlay and Catherine (Beaton) MacDonald, MacDonald was educated in the common schools of Inverness County and attended St. Francis Xavier College (now
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
History
St. Fran ...
) in
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Halif ...
. In 1879, he went to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and studied philosophy and theology at the Propaganda College graduating in 1884. He was ordained in St. John Lateran church in Rome, by
Lucido Maria Cardinal Parocchi on March 8, 1884. In 1884, he returned to back to Nova Scotia where he was appointed teacher of Latin and philosophy at St. Francis Xavier College. In 1900, he was appointed
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 vica ...
of his diocese and three years
later was given charge of St. Andrew's parish in
Antigonish County, Nova Scotia
Antigonish County is a historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, the Town of Antigonish, and by two reserves: Pomquet and Afton 23, and Summers ...
. In 1908, he was appointed Bishop of Victoria and resigned in 1923.
He was the author of a number of religious books including ''The Symbol Of The Apostles: A Vindication Of The Apostolic Authorship Of The Creed On The Lines Of Catholic Tradition'' (1903), ''The symbol in sermons: a series of twenty-five short sermons on the articles of the Creed'' (1903), ''The mercies of the Sacred Heart: twelve sermons for the first Fridays'' (1904), ''Questions of the day: thoughts on the Biblical question'' (1905), ''The sacraments: a course of seven sermons'' (1908).
References
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External links
Bishop Alexander MacDonaldat Catholic-Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Alexander
1858 births
1941 deaths
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada
Canadian spiritual writers
People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia
St. Francis Xavier University alumni
Roman Catholic bishops of Victoria in Canada