John Francis Norton (1891-1963) was an Irish-born Catholic missionary priest who served as Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst in Australia :''for namesakes, see Diocese of Bathurst'' The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst (Australia) is a Latin Church suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1865, covering the Central West and Orana regions of ...

. John Norton was born in Lucan, Co. Dublin, 1891, and educated at the Christian Brothers, James's Street, Dublin, before going to the Jesuit

Mungret College Mungret College was a Jesuit apostolic school and a lay secondary school near Limerick, Ireland. Located on the western outskirts of the modern-day suburban town of Raheen, it was operational from 1882 until 1974 when it closed as a school fo ...

Limerick, from 1905 until 1909. From Mungret he went to

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing because of declining student enrollment. The sale ...

, Dublin, to train as a missionary priest, completing his Philosophy and Theology studies. In 1911 Norton was awarded a BA degree from the newly formed

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

. Shortly after his ordination in 1915 he joined the Diocese of Bathurst, NSW, Australia, where he served as Cathedral administrator. He was ordained co-adjuator bishop of Bathurst in 1926, and succeeded Dr. O'Farrell as Bishop in 1928. On 28 October 1958, Dublin City Council granted the Honorary

Freedom of the City of Dublin The Freedom of the City of Dublin is awarded by Dublin City Council after approving a person nominated by the Lord Mayor. Eighty-two people have been honoured under the current process introduced in 1876. Most honourees have made a contribution ...

to Most Rev. Dr. John F. Norton, when he was on a return visit to his native city. He also visited and address seminarians on ordination day, in his alma mater, All Hallows. Bishop Norton was also awarded an honorary LLD degree from the National University of Ireland in 1958.Honorary Degrees
National University of Ireland. Bishop Norton died aged 72 in 1963. Bishop Nortons Diary 1925
Bathurst Diocese Website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, John Francis 1891 births 1963 deaths Alumni of All Hallows College, Dublin Christian clergy from County Dublin Roman Catholic bishops of Bathurst Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia People educated at Mungret College