Denis William Hanrahan (1 November 1933 – 1 February 1987) was the sixth Roman Catholic Bishop of

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. He was appointed

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of Christchurch on 25 March 1984 by

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 ...

, succeeded to the see of Christchurch on 4 July 1985 on the retirement of his predecessor Bishop Ashby and died in office on 1 February 1987.

Early life

Hanrahan was born in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

, New Zealand, and was educated there by the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

and the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

. He trained for the priesthood at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel.Deborah McPherson, "Catholic Bishop of Christchurch dies suddenly", ''The Press'', 2 February 1987, p. 1.

Priesthood

Hanrahan was ordained a priest by Bishop Joyce on 21 July 1957 in Greymouth. In 1970 he went to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

to study for a year at the East Asian Pastoral Institute. On returning to Christchurch in 1971, he lived with the Brothers of St John of God, at what was then Marylands, at

Halswell Originally a separate village, Halswell is now a residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located southwest of Cathedral Square on State Highway 75. History Halswell is named after Edmund Halswell QC (1790–1874), a government off ...

. Hanrahan was appointed Diocesan Director for Religious Education in 1971. He remained in this position until becoming Parish Priest at Bishopdale in 1979. He was also chairman of the Christchurch Priests' Senate from 1979 until 1983.

Episcopacy

Hanrahan was appointed

of Christchurch 25 March 1984 and was consecrated on 6 June 1984 by Bishop Ashby, Archbishop Magnoni (the

Pro-Nuncio The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...

) and Cardinal Williams. When Bishop Ashby retired on 4 July 1985, Hanrahan succeeded him as Bishop of Christchurch and he was formally enthroned in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on 5 August 1985."Diocese mourns popular bishop", ''Zealandia'', 15 February 1987, p. 1. On 24 November 1986, he hosted Pope John Paul II at his Cathedral during the Papal visit to New Zealand at an

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

service during which the Pope dedicated a chapel for Christian Unity."Pope Calls for Unity", ''The Press'', 25 November 1986, p. 3. In 1987 Hanrahan took over the role of Episcopal Vicar for New Zealand Catholic Education, a role previously held by Bishop Kavanagh who had died in 1985."Mourners pack Cathedral", ''Zealandia'', 15 February 1987, p. 20

Death

Hanrahan died completely unexpectedly after a game of tennis at the age of 53 in the evening of Sunday, 1 February 1987. The chief celebrant of his concelebrated

Requiem Mass A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...

was Cardinal Williams. Hanrahans predecessor as Bishop of Christchurch, Bishop Ashby, was also one of the celebrants. Bishop Hanrahan is buried at

Bromley Cemetery Bromley Cemetery is a cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand. It occupies approximately 10 hectares to the east of the city centre, on the corner of Keighleys Road and Linwood Avenue. The Christchurch City Council maintains and administers the c ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanrahan, Denis William Holy Cross College, New Zealand alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand People from Greymouth Roman Catholic bishops of Christchurch 1933 births 1987 deaths Burials at Bromley Cemetery