Reginald John Delargey (10 December 1914 – 29 January 1979) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, and later

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and Metropolitan of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. His title was

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

of '' Immacolata al Tiburtino''.

Early life

Reginald Delargey was born in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

, one of six children. The family moved several times during Delargey's early years, and Delargey was sent to

to receive his secondary education as a

boarder Boarder may refer to: Persons A boarder may be a person who: *snowboards *skateboards *bodyboards * surfs *stays at a boarding house *attends a boarding school *takes part in a boarding attack Other uses * ''The Star Boarder'', a 1914 American ...

at Sacred Heart College. His mother died in 1929, three years before Delargey commenced his studies for the priesthood at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel, where his considerable academic potential was recognised and he was sent to Rome to complete his studies at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...

Priesthood

Delargey was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Auckland in Rome on 19 March 1938. After returning to New Zealand, he worked in the parish of Takapuna and at

St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland The Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph (usually known as St Patrick's Cathedral) is a heritage-listed Catholic cathedral church in Auckland CBD, situated on the corner of Federal Street and Wyndham St. It is the mother church of the R ...

. From 1940 to 1947 he was Director of Catholic Social Services for the Diocese of Auckland. He also served as director of the Catholic Youth Movement and was the chaplain at St Peter's College for 18 years. In 1953, he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

Bishop of Auckland

Delargey was appointed as

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

for the Diocese of Auckland on 25 November 1957. During his time as Auxiliary Bishop he attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

(Vatican II). Twelve years after his appointment as Auxiliary, Delargey was appointed as Bishop of Auckland on 18 September 1970 following the retirement of Archbishop James Liston. As bishop, he adopted a humble and open style of leadership, putting into practice the ideas and principles of Vatican II. After four years as Bishop of Auckland, and after the death of Cardinal Peter McKeefry he was translated to the Metropolitan See in Wellington and became its Archbishop on 25 April 1974.

Archbishop of Wellington

Although not from Wellington, Delargey built a strong relationship with the people and clergy of the Archdiocese as a result of his openness, humility and sincerity. As Archbishop he continued to promote the work of the Catholic Youth Movement – as he had previously done in Auckland – and was particularly conscious of the needs of minority groups both in the Archdiocese and throughout New Zealand. Delargey was created Cardinal priest on 24 May 1976 by Pope

Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

and received the title of Inmmacolata al Tiburtino. From 1976 to 1979 he was head of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference and played a key role in the negotiations with the government and teachers' unions that culminated in the integration of Catholic schools into the State funded system in New Zealand. Despite failing health, he participated in the

conclaves A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around po ...

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

and

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôctō'' meaning "eight") after Januar ...

1978. He died in Auckland in 1979 and was buried from Wellington's Sacred Heart Cathedral. He was succeeded by Thomas Stafford Williams.

Honours

Delargey Street in

Hillsborough, Auckland Hillsborough is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. Hillsborough is a leafy suburb of 20th-century houses. The area is serviced by two shopping areas; Onehunga and Three Kings. The area ...

was named in honour of Delargey in the early 1980s.

References

External links

Catholic Church in New ZealandCatholic Archdiocese of Wellington
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delargey, Reginald 1914 births 1979 deaths New Zealand cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in New Zealand People from Timaru Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland Holy Cross College, New Zealand alumni Pontifical Urban University alumni St Peter's College, Auckland faculty Roman Catholic archbishops of Wellington 20th-century cardinals Roman Catholic bishops of Auckland New Zealand Roman Catholic archbishops