Henry Joseph O'Leary
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Henry Joseph O'Leary (March 13, 1879 - March 5, 1938) was the fifth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown, and would later go on to become the third Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Edmonton.
Born in Richibucto, New Brunswick, O'Leary received his higher education from St. Joseph's College in Memramcook before going on to study Theology at the Grand Seminary in Montreal. On September 21, 1901, O'Leary was ordained a priest in Richibucto. That same year, he went to Rome, where he later earned doctorates in Theology, Philosphy, and Canon Law.
In 1907, O'Leary was appointed priest for the Sacred Heart Parish in Bathurst, New Brunswick. The following year, he was appointed Vicar General for the Diocese of Chatham. In 1913, the young O'Leary was appointed as Bishop for the Diocese of Charlottetown, on Prince Edward Island. Due to the fact that St. Dunstan's Basilica in Charlottetown had recently burned down, O'Leary was consecrated at the Sacred Heart Church in Bathurst.
One of O'Leary's first acts of business was the construction of a new cathedral on the site of the ruined St. Dunstan's Basilica. The basilica see today in Charlottetown was completed during O'Leary's tenure, with the grand opening taking place in 1919.
When World War I broke out, many parishioners in the Diocese went to battle, including several priests who became chaplains. During this time, the new Saint Vincent Orphanage was completed to replace the old one in Charlottetown.
O'Leary even founded a convent in 1916 when the Sisters of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island was established. The Sisters took part in good deeds throughout the Diocese and finally received their own residence in 1920.
In 1919, a great step forward under O'Leary's tenure came when St. Dunstan's College, which had been started all those years ago by Bishop Bernard McDonald following the closure of St. Andrew's College, was elevated to the position of a university, therefore permitting the establishment to grant its own degrees. Later, the first fundraising for the university would take place, raising over $40, 000.
In the field of medicine, the Charlottetown Hospital, which had been backed by Bishop Peter McIntyre in the 19th century continued to grow as a new maternity department opened in 1918 and a school of nursing was established in 1920. All the happenings at the Hospital were under the titulage were under the supervision of the Grey Nuns of Quebec, whose presence had been felt in the Diocese of Charlottetown for many years.
After just seven years as Bishop of Charlottetown, O'Leary was called away to a greater office when he was appointed Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Edmonton, in the flourishing Western Canadian region. It is in the West where Archbishop Henry Joseph O'Leary died in 1938. Following the funeral service, his remains were interred in St. Joachim's Cemetery in Edmonton.
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| Preceded by: James Charles McDonald |
Bishop of the Diocese of Charlottetown 1913–1920 |
Succeeded by: Louis James O'Leary |
| Preceded by: Emile Joseph Legal |
Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Edmonton 1920–1938 |
Succeeded by: John Hugh MacDonald |
