Michael Gower Coleman (19 April 1939 – 17 December 2011) was the

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 ...

bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth The Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth () is a diocese located in the city of Port Elizabeth in the ecclesiastical province of Cape Town in South Africa. History On July 30, 1847, an ecclesiastical territory was established as the Apostoli ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Born in

Mafeking Mahikeng (Tswana for "Place of Rocks"), formerly known as Mafikeng and alternatively known as Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast o ...

in 1939. He was educated at Laerskool Zeerust, Transvaal and at Christian Brothers College in Kimberley. After working for a year in Zambia he entered St John Vianney Seminary, Pretoria as a student for the Diocese of Port Elizabeth at the invitation of Bishop Ernest Green. As well as his clerical training in the seminary, he also obtained a BA in Philosophy degree through the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1963. Coleman was named bishop of the Port Elizabeth diocese in 1986 resigning on 20 August 2011. The Right Reverend Gower died shortly after stepping down, on 17 December 2011.Port Elizabeth
South African Catholic Bishops Conference.

References

1939 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in South Africa People from Gqeberha 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in South Africa Roman Catholic bishops of Port Elizabeth University of South Africa alumni {{SouthAfrica-reli-bio-stub