James Alipius Goold
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James Alipius Goold (4 November 1812 – 11 June 1886) was an Australian Augustinian friar and the founding
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Archbishop of Melbourne in Australia.


Life


Early years

Goold was born 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 * ...
, Ireland. He attended a school established by the Augustinian order and then in 1830 at eighteen years old "entered the Augustinian novitiate in Granstown, County Wexford and was professed on 30 March 1832". Goold then continued his training in
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, Italy and was ordained on 19 July 1835. (From 1695 until the 19th century, Irish students for the Catholic priesthood were often sent to the Continent to study due to the then existing
penal laws Penal law refers to criminal law. It may also refer to: * Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism * Penal laws (Ireland) In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...
in Britain and Ireland.)


Missioner

After being ordained Goold lived in the Augustinian House of Santa Maria in Rome. In Easter 1837 he had a chance meeting on the steps of the Augustinian church of
Santa Maria del Popolo The Parish Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo () is a titular church and a minor basilica in Rome run by the Augustinian order. It stands on the north side of Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The church is hemmed in b ...
with
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
William Bernard Ullathorne William Bernard Ullathorne (7 May 180621 March 1889) was an English prelate who held high offices in the Roman Catholic Church during the nineteenth century. Early life Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest o ...
, Vicar General of New Holland (Australia). Ullathorne was in Rome recruiting priests for Australia, and Goold was convinced by Ullathorne to commit himself to seven years of missionary work in Australia, subject to his order's approval. In 1838, Father Goold arrived in Australia aboard the ''Upton Castle''. Also on board were Governor and Lady Gipps. Goold worked initially with Archbishop
John Bede Polding John Bede Polding OSB (18 November 179416 March 1877) was an English Benedictine monk and the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia. Early life Polding was born in Liverpool, England, on 18 November 1794. His father was of Du ...
in Sydney, becoming parish priest at
Campbelltown, New South Wales Campbelltown is a suburb located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney south-west of the Sydney central business district by road. Campbelltown is the adminis ...
, where in 1841, he built, St John's Church in 1841. He spent a considerable amount of his time traveling through the country on horseback.


Bishop and Archbishop

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
appointed him Bishop of Melbourne, and he was consecrated bishop by
John Bede Polding John Bede Polding OSB (18 November 179416 March 1877) was an English Benedictine monk and the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia. Early life Polding was born in Liverpool, England, on 18 November 1794. His father was of Du ...
on 6 August 1848,Phelan, Patrick. "Melbourne." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 29 May 2021
(the feast of the Transfiguration) in old St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. He transferred to Melbourne, traveling overland in 19 days, being installed on 8 October 1848 in his first Cathedral, St Francis Church"Early history", St Francis’ Church, Melbourne
/ref> in Lonsdale Street. Goold was only the second Roman Catholic bishop in Australia. He arrived in his new town to find only two Catholic church buildings, four priests in the diocese, no religious sisters or brothers, and a population around 11,000. After negotiations begun in 1848, five acres of land on Eastern Hill were finally granted by the crown on 1 April 1851 and shortly afterwards became the site of St Patrick's cathedral and the bishop's palace. The discovery of gold in this year enormously increased the population of Melbourne, and it was realised that the church of St Patrick that had been begun would be inadequate. It was decided to build a great cathedral –
St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of Saint Patrick (colloquially St Patrick's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Peter Comensol ...
. In 1858
William Wardell William Wilkinson Wardell (1823–1899) was a noted architect who practiced in the second half of the 19th century, and is best known for a series of landmark buildings in Australia in Melbourne and Sydney. Following a successful career in ...
, then government architect, was asked to draw up the plans, and the first stone of the new building was laid in December 1858. For the remainder of Goold's life he was much occupied with the raising of funds for the cathedral. Within thirteen years of arriving in Melbourne, the capable and determined Goold had increased the number of church buildings in Melbourne to 64. As an Irishman of his times and immediate history, Goold had experienced the consequences of
sectarianism Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or Religious violence, religious conflicts between groups. Others conceiv ...
, and in Australia disputed the title of "Bishop of Melbourne" with the then Anglican bishop of Melbourne, Dr Charles Perry. Under Australian law (unlike British law at the time) Goold was found to have equal right to the title.Under British law at the time, no Roman Catholic Bishop was permitted to be named bishop of a diocese with the same name as an Anglican diocese (e.g. the Catholic bishop of
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
was effectively the Catholic Bishop of London, but not permitted to be called so).
Goold was an expansionist. He attempted to persuade his home Irish province of the Augustinians to establish a seminary and novitiate in Melbourne. Though the Irish province agreed to Goold's requests in principle, the plan did not come to fruition in his lifetime. The first Australian Augustinian was not ordained until 1940, and the Australian Province was not formally established as separate from its Irish founding province until 1952. The Irish province was already sending missionaries to the US, India and England, and did not then consider an Australian foundation viable. Nevertheless, Goold commenced the building of Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral on 8 December 1858. In order to expand Catholic education, in 1857 Bishop Goold succeeded in bringing the Mercy Sisters from
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
into the diocese. He also introduced the Irish Christian Brothers to Melbourne in 1867. Other congregations he brought to the diocese include the Jesuits, and the
Faithful Companions of Jesus The Faithful Companions of Jesus Sisters (FCJ Sisters, French: ''Fidèles compagnes de Jésus'') is a Christian religious institute of the Roman Catholic Church directly subject to the Pope. It was founded in Amiens in France in 1820 by Marie M ...
. Goold engaged enthusiastically in Australian public debate over the issue of
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for Catholic education, and was politically pro-active in opposing what he referred to as the 'godless compulsory education' of state schools. From late 1869 to 1870 Goold attended the
First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...
in Rome, where he also met with three other Augustinian and Irish bishops. On 10 May 1874, while still in Rome, Goold was made Archbishop of Melbourne. Towards the end of his life his health began to suffer but it was difficult to persuade him to relax from his duties. Archbishop Goold died at Melbourne on 11 June 1886 and was buried in St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.


References


Bibliography

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External links


St Patrick's Cathedral website


{{DEFAULTSORT:Goold, James Alipius 1812 births 1886 deaths Christian clergy from Cork (city) Augustinian friars Roman Catholic archbishops of Melbourne Irish expatriate Roman Catholic archbishops Irish emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Australia Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne Settlers of Melbourne Roman Catholic bishops of Melbourne