Charles Edward Drennan (born 23 August 1960 in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand) is a New Zealand Bishop who was formerly the second Bishop of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

, New Zealand, from 2012 to 2019. On 4 October 2019 he resigned his position. Two allegations of "unacceptable behaviour" of a sexual nature were made. An investigation by the Catholic Church's New Zealand Office for Professional Standards found that the behaviour was unacceptable for a Catholic bishop but not criminal in nature.

Early life

Drennan was raised by an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

father and a Catholic mother. He attended Ilam School, St Teresa's School (Riccarton), Kirkwood Intermediate School and Christ's College."Bishop Charles Drennan", ''Diocese of Palmerston North''
(Retrieved 27 November 2014) At St Teresa's, the nine-year-old Drennan was introduced by a teacher to the book ''Promises to Keep'' by Dr Tom Dooley about the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. This book impressed Drennan, who was even then thinking of becoming a priest, with the notion of service. After finishing university Drennan spent a three-year period travelling overseas and worked for a period in a Ryder-Cheshire home in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

patients, special needs adults and children whose parents had

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

. There he made the decision to become a Roman Catholic priest. He studied for the priesthood at Holy Cross Seminary, Mosgiel, for two years before being sent by his bishop, Basil Meeking of Christchurch, to Rome to complete his training at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...

. He later took

postgraduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

Priesthood

Drennan was ordained a priest in Rome for the Diocese of

on 14 June 1996. Drennan also became an Ascribed Rosminian – he belongs to the Institute of Charity (Rosminians) as a

diocesan priest In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. He returned to New Zealand and served as a priest in the parishes of

Hoon Hay Hoon Hay is an outer suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located at the base of the Port Hills and about southwest of Cathedral Square. The area was named by Captain Wickham Talbot Harvey, a captain of the British Royal 10th Hussars, who m ...

and

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

. After Drennan's post-graduate study in Rome, he was on the staff of Holy Cross Seminary and

Good Shepherd College In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

in Auckland. He was then invited to work in the Vatican's Secretariat of State where he spent seven years. His main role was writing speeches and talks for the Pope. Drennan's period there covered the final years of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

and the election and first four years of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. Drennan said that working at the Vatican was "intense, finely focused and hugely stimulating. I met some wonderful people there – priests and lay, working in the Vatican". At the request of Bishop Barry Jones, Drennan returned to Christchurch in 2010. Just before leaving the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, he accompanied the Pope on a visit to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, during which they discussed the Church in New Zealand. In Christchurch, Drennan held the title of

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

and the position of

Diocesan Chancellor In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

of the Diocese of Christchurch. Drennan also held the positions of Administrator of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Parish Priest of St Anne's Parish, Woolston, and chair of the Council of Priests.

Episcopacy

Drennan was appointed coadjutor bishop of Palmerston North by Pope Benedict XVI on 22 February 2011. He chose as his motto ''caritas congaudet veritati'' (love delights in the truth), taken from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 13. He was consecrated on 11 June 2011 in the

Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Palmerston North The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North, New Zealand. It opened in 1925 as St Patrick's Church and was rededicated to the Holy Spirit (Christianity), Holy Spirit as the cathedral when th ...

. His principal consecrator was his future predecessor, Bishop Peter Cullinane of Palmerston North and the principal co-consecrators were Bishop Barry Jones of

and Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Canberra-Goulburn. Drennan succeeded to the see on 22 February 2012, upon the retirement of Peter Cullinane. His installation took place at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on 17 March 2012. On 7 March 2015, Drennan joined with other protestors in a demonstration in Palmerston North in relation to the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), was a proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietn ...

(TPP). In a speech to the 500 protestors in The square, he said: "Absolute freedom is not in our interests." "It most certainly is not a right of global business interests to trump the duty of an elected government to govern a nation's economy in accord with the wishes of that nation's citizens." Drennan also denounced the secrecy of the TPP negotiations. Drennan was a member of the executive committee of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania and a bishop member of the board of the New Zealand Catholic Education Office Ltd. He served as a member of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference Commission until his resignation in October 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drennan, Charles 1960 births 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand New Zealand people of Irish descent Religious leaders from Christchurch People from Palmerston North Living people Holy Cross College, New Zealand alumni People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch Pontifical Urban University alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Palmerston North