Weather permitting, hundreds of Catholic clergy and laity, and guests from the Armidale diocese elsewhere will overflow St Mary and St Joseph’s Cathedral on Thursday for the episcopal ordination and installation of Michael Robert Kennedy as Bishop of Armidale. The diocese, decreed by Pope Pius IX in 1862, has had 10 bishops. Their story is told briefly this week in an exclusive feature.
White settlement in Armidale commenced in 1835. Until 1871 Catholics were under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of a Benedictine monk, John Bede Polding. Appointed by Pope Gregory XVI in May 1834 to be head of the Church in Australia, Polding became the first Archbishop of Sydney in 1842. His large archdiocese extended from Cape York in the north to the Murray River in the south. Five new dioceses were later set up: Brisbane (1859), Armidale and Goulburn (1862), Maitland and Bathurst (1865). The first bishops were five Irishmen, including Timothy O’Mahony, who was appointed to Armidale.
Timothy O’Mahony
Born in 1825, O’Mahony was priested in 1849, chosen as bishop by Pope Pius IX, and consecrated at Cork in November 1869 before attending the First Vatican Council (1869-1870) in Rome. With Armidale’s first cathedral under construction in March 1871 Bishop O’Mahony was enthroned in the chapel where O’Connor Catholic College now stands. Undermined by some conniving clergy and leading laity, Bishop O’Mahony went to Rome, resigned in July 1877, and never saw Armidale again. He was succeeded by an Italian friar.
Elzear Torreggiani
Born in Italy in 1830, Aloysius Torreggiani took the name Elzear when he joined the Franciscan Capuchins in 1846, and was priested in 1853. He served the Capuchin missions in Wales, where his success among the Irish immigrants was noted. He was Superior at Peckham, in London when appointed by Pope Leo XIII to be second Bishop of Armidale. Consecrated at Peckham in March 1879, Bishop Torreggiani was enthroned in Armidale in November.
He laid the foundations of the infrastructure of the infant diocese and nurtured it to maturity. Before Canon Law made provision for bishops to offer their resignations when they turned 75, elderly or frail bishops stayed in office and asked for assistants. By 1902 Bishop Torreggiani’s health was failing, so he requested a coadjutor bishop.
Patrick O’Connor
Born in Ireland in 1848, Patrick Joseph O’Connor was priested in 1875. Arriving in Armidale in July 1876 he moved up from being a curate, to Dean in 1882, and Vicar General in 1884. Elected by the priests of the Armidale diocese, he was appointed by Pope Leo XIII to be Bishop Torreggiani’s coadjutor bishop. The consecration ceremony in May 1903 was the first of its kind in Armidale.
When Bishop Torreggiani died peacefully in January 1904, aged 74, Bishop O’Connor automatically succeeded. His labours resulted in significant growth in Catholic schools in Armidale (De La Salle College, St Ursula’s College, and two primary schools), the Ursuline Convent, and St Patrick’s Orphanage. His most lasting earthly monument is the magnificent cathedral, opened in October 1912. When Bishop O’Connor was 80 his health was failing and he requested a coadjutor bishop.
John Coleman
Born in Ireland in 1887, John Aloysius Coleman was priested in Rome in 1912 and awarded a double doctorate (DD, PhD). Arriving in Armidale in 1913 he served in the cathedral parish, becoming the Administrator in 1925. After the priests of the Armidale diocese voted, there was a long delay before Dr Coleman was appointed by Pope Pius XI to be Bishop O’Connor’s coadjutor bishop. Dr Coleman’s consecration on his 42nd birthday in September 1929 was the first of its kind in the new cathedral.
When Bishop O’Connor died peacefully in July 1932, aged 83, Bishop Coleman automatically succeeded. He encouraged religious education of children in all schools, and zealously cared for his flock during World War II. His most lasting earthly monument in Armidale is the impressive cathedral presbytery, opened in 1938. He died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney in December 1947, aged only 60.
Edward Doody
Armidale’s first Australia-born bishop was Edward John Doody. Born in Brisbane in 1903 and priested in Rome in 1927, he completed his doctorate (DD), returned to his native Archdiocese of Brisbane, and was Parish Priest of Nambour when appointed by Pope Pius XII to be fifth Bishop of Armidale. Consecrated in Brisbane on April 22, 1948, Bishop Doody was enthroned at Armidale three days later.
His episcopate was “the crest of the wave’, the highpoint in the history of the Armidale diocese, marked by great growth, with new parishes, new churches, new schools for the rapidly increasing number of baby-boomers, and missions for the pastoral care of the Aborigines, and a great swell in the number of priests, nuns and brothers. He implemented the reforms decreed by the Second Vatican Council, whose four sessions in Rome he had attended between 1962 and 1965. He died suddenly on April 9, 1968. He was 64, and his successor was almost as old.
James Freeman
Born in Sydney in 1907, James Freeman was priested in Sydney in 1930, appointed by Pope Pius XII to be an auxiliary bishop in Sydney, and consecrated in 1957. Devout, loyal, popular, talented and enthusiastic, Bishop Freeman contributed to the Church’s work in many fields. An excellent public speaker, with a photographic memory of his skilfully crafted texts, he spoke superbly in a crisp voice. Enthroned as Bishop of Armidale in December 1968, he served less than three years. The highlight was the spectacular diocesan centenary in 1969. Returning to Sydney in 1971 as Archbishop, he was created a Cardinal in 1973, participated in the elections of Popes John Paul I and John Paul II in 1978, retired in 1983, and died in 1991, aged 83. Meanwhile, he had enthroned his successor in Armidale.
Henry Kennedy
Born at Balmain in 1915, Henry Joseph Kennedy was priested in Sydney in 1938, served in various parishes, and then at the Sydney cathedral chancery for nine years. Appointed by Pope Paul VI as an auxiliary bishop in Brisbane, Monsignor Kennedy was consecrated in November 1967. Appointed to Armidale, Bishop Kennedy was enthroned by Archbishop Freeman in February 1972, the only time that a former Bishop of Armidale has enthroned his successor. A gifted raconteur, Bishop Kennedy regularly amused audiences with stories about his early years in his rural diocese, especially his first western tour, when driving towards Walgett he got a broken windscreen, then drove through a plague of locusts which filled his car, then rain fell and soaked him, and as the rain increased, the creeks rose and washed out a causeway, which ripped the sump from his car and left him stranded, and when he finally reached Walgett and flew to Sydney for a meeting, he was tempted not to return to the bush. Very popular and well liked by people of all ages, classes and creeds, Bishop Kennedy retired on April 26, 1991, aged 76. Simultaneously, his successor was appointed. Bishop Kennedy moved to Tamworth, where he died on September 3, 2003, aged 88 – the greatest longevity of any of Armidale’s Catholic bishops. He is popularly remembered as a devout pastor, an enthralling preacher, and a lifelong supporter of Balmain rugby league teams.
Kevin Manning
Born in Coolah, NSW, in 1933, Kevin Michael Manning was priested in Rome in 1961. He served in several parishes and in the chancery in his native Bathurst diocese, then spent 13 years in the Australian Catholic Bishops Secretariat. Appointed Bishop of Armidale by Pope John Paul II, Monsignor Manning made history on July 10, 1991 when he was the first to receive episcopal ordination and be installed in one ceremony at Armidale. He moved the diocesan administration from the cathedral presbytery to a purpose built chancery. On July 10, 1997 he was appointed Bishop of Parramatta, and retired in 2010.
Meanwhile, Monsignor Frank Ryan was in charge of the Armidale diocese for almost two years from July 1997, because several priests had declined the offer to be Bishop of Armidale. In March 1999, the waiting ended.
Luc Matthys
Born in Belgium in 1935, Luc Julianus Matthys was priested in South Africa in 1961. After moving to the Melbourne archdiocese, he served in several parishes before becoming Dean of the Melbourne Cathedral. Appointed Bishop of Armidale in March 1999, he received episcopal ordination and was installed in one ceremony at Armidale on May 14. His retirement was announced in December 2011, coinciding with the appointment of his successor. Bishop Matthys will make history this week when he officiates at his successor’s episcopal ordination.
Michael Kennedy
Born in Wagga Wagga in May 1968, Michael Robert Kennedy was priested in August 1999 and served in the Wagga Wagga diocese. This week he will make history as the youngest Bishop of Armidale, and as the first to have the same surname as one of his predecessors. Ad multos annos.
