Christopher Augustine Reynolds (1834–1893) was an Irish

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 ...

bishop who became the first Archbishop of Adelaide in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Biography

Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on 25 July 1834 or 11 August 1834, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 20 April 1860. Reynolds was appointed the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Adelaide by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

on 25 May 1873, and

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on 28 November 1873. The principal consecrator was Archbishop John Bede Polding of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, Sydney and the principal co-consecrators were Bishop Daniel Murphy of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart, Hobart, Bishop Matthew Quinn of Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst in Australia, Bathurst and Bishop James Murray of Roman Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, Maitland. In November 1886, Reynolds laid the foundation stone for an extension on the eastern side of St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide, St Francis Xavier's Cathedral which would accommodate a further 200 people. He dedicated the extensions on 15 August 1887. Reynolds became the first Archbishop of Adelaide when the Episcopal see, see was elevated to an archdiocese on 10 May 1887. Under his guidance, ''The Southern Cross (South Australia), The Southern Cross'' newspaper was started in 1889. He died in office on 12 June 1893, aged 58.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Christopher Augustine 1834 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Australia Roman Catholic bishops of Adelaide Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Roman Catholic archbishops of Adelaide Irish expatriate Roman Catholic archbishops Christian clergy from County Dublin 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests