John Sweeny (May 6, 1821 – March 25, 1901) was an Irish born, Canadian

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 ...

priest and Bishop of Saint John in New Brunswick from 1859 to 1901. John Sweeny was born in Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland in 1821, the son of James Sweeny and Mary McGuire. He was ordained a priest, for Fredericton (St. John), New Brunswick in 1844.Bishop John Sweeny
www.catholic-hierarchy.org Bishop Sweeny was a leading figure in opposition to the Common Schools Act of 1871 enacted by the

22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly The 22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly represented New Brunswick between February 16, 1871, and May 15, 1874. Lemuel Allan Wilmot served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick until November 1873, when he was replaced by Samuel Leonard Till ...

. He founded the Irish Catholic community of

Johnville, New Brunswick Johnville is a community in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It is situated in Kent, a parish of Carleton County. History In the mid-19th century, New Brunswick's Catholic Bishop, John Sweeney, lobbied the colonial government for land fo ...

References

* 1821 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada People from County Monaghan Roman Catholic bishops of Saint John, New Brunswick {{Canada-RC-bishop-stub