Joseph Higgins (1838 – 16 September 1915) was an Irish-born

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 ...

bishop in Australia. He was the Bishop of Rockhampton in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and the Bishop of Ballarat in Victoria.

Early life

Joseph Higgins was born in 1838 in

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, Ireland. He was educated at St Finian's Seminary,

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town and largest town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Leinster Blackwater, Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. At the ...

Religious life

Higgins attended

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

where he was ordained in 1863. He served as President of St. Finnian's in

from 1867 until 1884 before becoming parish priest in Castletown. On 4 May 1899, he was appointed Bishop of Rockhampton, where he completed the cathedral, built 19 churches and established 10 schools, 8 institutions for lay women, and 2 communities of nuns. In May 1904, he suffered a "slight" paralytic stroke. On 3 March 1905, aged 67 years, he became the Bishop of Ballarat, succeeding Dr James Moore.

Later life

Higgins died at the Bishop's Palace at Ballarat on 16 September 1915, having been ill with bronchial and heart troubles for some months prior.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Joseph Roman Catholic bishops of Rockhampton Roman Catholic bishops of Ballarat 1838 births 1915 deaths Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth People educated at St Finian's College