Charles Heerey B.A., C.S.Sp. (1890–1967) was an Irish-born priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (

Spiritans The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

), who served as a bishop in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Born in Castlerahan, Clonkeefey, Co. Cavan. He was educated by the Holy Ghost fathers in

Blackrock College Blackrock College () is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 1860 as a school and later became al ...

, he prefected in

Rockwell College Rockwell College (), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools Senior Cup 26 times and the Munster ...

, and studied in St. Mary's Rathmines and Holy Ghost Missionary College, Kimmage Manor, Dublin, he graduated with a BA from UCD. He was ordained a priest in Dublin in 1921. Following ordination he moved to Nigeria in 1922. In 1927 Fr. Heerey was ordained a titular bishop by Bishop Joseph Shanahan

CSSp The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

Killeshandra Killeshandra or Killashandra () is a small town or village and civil parish in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located west of Cavan Town. Killeshandra town has a long record of participation in the National Tidy Towns competition and has won ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

. He served as Bishop Shanahans Coadjutor Bishop in Nigeria. In 1931 Bishop Heerey succeeded Bishop Shanahan in what was to become the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha, Nigeria. He founded the Holy Rosary College, Enugu girls school in 1935, which was staffed and run by the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary the ''Killishandra Nuns'' from his native Cavan. Bishop Heerey established the All Hallows’ Minor Seminary at Onitsha and the Bigard Memorial Major Seminary at Enugu. He also founded the ''Catholic Women Organization (CWO)''.50 years after: Catholics celebrate Archbishop Heerey for stopping slavery
by Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha, The Sun Nigeria, March 22, 2017. In 1937 he founded the ''Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ'', in Nigeria. He fought to end slavery, rescuing slaves and promoting education of girls. He served as Council Father at the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. In 1950, became Archbishop of Onistsha, upon its elevation to an archdiocese, serving in the position until he died in 1967.Bishop Charles Heerey
www.catholic-hierarchy.org Archbishop Heerey was succeeded as Archbishop in Onistsha by the now Cardinal

Francis Arinze Francis Arinze (born 1 November 1932) is a Nigerian Catholic prelate who was Prefect of the Secretariat for Non-Christians (1984–2002) and Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (2002–2008). He was one of the ...

. The Archbishop Charles Heerey Memorial College of Nursing Sciences, in Aba, Nigeria, run by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart, is named in his honour.Archbishop Charles Heerey Memorial College of Nursing Sciences, Aba.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heerey, Charles Christian clergy from County Cavan Holy Ghost Fathers Irish Spiritans Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Irish expatriate Roman Catholic archbishops Roman Catholic missionaries in Nigeria 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Nigeria 1890 births 1967 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Onitsha Participants in the Second Vatican Council People educated at Blackrock College Alumni of University College Dublin Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XI