Charles Horan, O.F.M. (19 November 1837 – 27 January 1900), was a Franciscan friar from Ireland who served as a missionary in Australia and possibly later the United States. He was a strong opponent of St. Mary of the Cross, foundress of the

Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the Josephites or Brown Joeys, are a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Mary MacKillop (1842–1909). Members of the congregation use the postnominal initials RSJ (Religious Sis ...

and Australia's first saint.

Early life

He was born Hugh Horan in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

and upon been received into the

Order of the Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the tea ...

on 17 March 1859, at St. Isidore's College in

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, ...

, he took the name Charles. Returning to Ireland, in 1863 he was named titular

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

of the abandoned friary of

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula i ...

. In 1864 Horan was appointed guardian at

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

. In 1866 he received another titular appointment, this time as guardian of the vacant friary at Meelick. He resided in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. On 26 November 1867 he was reappointed Guardian of Cashel.Fennessy, Ignatius. "Hugh Charles Horan of Galway and Mother Mary MacKillop", ''Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society'', vol. 51, 1999, pp. 140–146. JSTOR
/ref> At some point during these years he was stationed in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

. He was known as an eloquent preacher.

Australia

Horan left Ireland for Australia in 1868, in the company of his fellow friar,

Laurence Bonaventure Sheil Laurence Bonaventure Sheil OFM (24 December 1815 – 1 March 1872) was an Irish Franciscan friar, who served as the third Roman Catholic Bishop of Adelaide. Born in Ireland, he was educated at St Peter's College, Wexford, and at the Francisc ...

, OFM, the Bishop of Adelaide (1866-1872). The following year he was reported for over-consumption of alcohol. He acted as Sheil's

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 ...

, though not formally appointed. After Sheil's death a

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

developed between him and

the Rev. The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and chur ...

Christopher Reynolds. As Reynolds was a friend of Mother Mary of the Cross, she became an object of Horan's ire. A divisive issue over jurisdiction and

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...

authority among the Sisters of St. Joseph led to a meeting with Horan:

''One Thursday evening, 21 September 1871, Horan told Mary MacKillop that the bishop (who had called while she was out that day) wanted her to go to another convent. She could not go that night and wanted to discuss matters with the Sisters and the bishop as well. Horan told her that the bishop would not see her and added, 'I suppose you won't go.' She answered: 'Father, how can I under these circumstances.' Horan led her to believe that she was
excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
. The next morning the bishop arrived with four priests and, in a ranting mood, amid the
hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...
of some of the Sisters, and with MacKillop kneeling down on her knees in the chapel, he excommunicated her and sent her back into the world.''

Citing this account, Ignatius Fennessy stated that "…Horan was at least in part responsible for setting the spark to the bishop's short fuse." Fennessy goes on to say that the entire business may have been based on a misunderstanding as Horan never claimed to have excommunicated her. When some of the Sisters - in the presence of Sheil - did not go to church the following day (believing that they had been excommunicated), he thought they were defying him. Sheil, however, lifted the penalty five months later from his deathbed.

Later life

canonical visitation In the Catholic Church, a canonical visitation is the act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view to maintaining faith and discipline and of correcting abuses. A person delegated to car ...

by the Secretary of the

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregatio ...

took place in August 1872, after Sheil's death. He was succeeded in June 1873 by Reynolds, who later became the first Archbishop of Adelaide. By then Horan was in Castlemaine in the Diocese of Victoria. As a result of his investigations, the Secretary informed the

Minister General Minister general is the term used for the head or superior general of the different branches of the Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to the order and comes directly from its founder, St. Francis of Assisi. Terminology Francis chose ...

of the Friars Minor that Horan should be recalled "for the greater tranquility of the region". Horan received his recall in August 1873.McCreanor, Sheila. ''Mary MacKillop 1873'', ATF Press. 2017, p.11, n.41
Horan's life after Australia is unclear. He may have served in various dioceses in the United States for 15 years, from about 1876 on, apparently in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He was back in Ireland by October 1892, dying at

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

in 1900.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horan, Charles 1837 births 1900 deaths Christian clergy from County Galway 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Irish Friars Minor Irish Roman Catholic missionaries Franciscan missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Australia Irish expatriates in Australia Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Irish expatriates in the United States