Denis O'Connor (bishop)

Denis T. O'Connor C.S.B. (26 February 1841^[1] – 30 June 1911) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto from 1899 to 1908 and the first Canadian born Archbishop of Toronto and the first Canadian head of the diocese since Michael Power.

O'Connor was born in Pickering, Ontario, attended St. Michael's College, Toronto,^[2] and professed as a member of the Congregation of St. Basil in 1860. He was ordained a Basilian priest in 1863 by John Joseph Lynch.

O'Connor became a theology professor at St. Michael's College in Toronto and Superior of Assumption College in Windsor, Ontario. O'Connor left his academic posting and was appointed Bishop of Diocese of London, Ontario in 1890 and finally as Archbishop of Toronto in 1899.

O'Connor's academic background made him a strong supporter of education. Under O'Connor, there was a drive for certification for Separate School teachers and he guaranteed an equal education for all Catholics. In Toronto, however, O'Connor refused to allow the Knights of Columbus to expand into his archdiocese on the grounds that there were already too many Catholic societies in existence.^[3]

He also served as Titular Archbishop of Laodicea in Syria from 1908 and made Archbishop Emeritus in 1911. Forced to resign due to his poor health (O'Connor suffered from Bright's Disease and diabetes), he died in Toronto in 1911. He is buried in a Basilian plot at Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery in Ontario.

A Catholic High School in Ajax, Ontario is named for him.

References

^ Baptism Register of St. Michael's Parish, Cobourg, Ontario
^ Dictionary of Canadian Biography
^ McGowan, Mark G. (1999). Waning of the Green: Catholics, the Irish, and Identity in Toronto, 1887-1922. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-7735-1789-9.

External links

Religious titles
Preceded by John Walsh	Archbishop of Toronto 1899–1908	Succeeded by Fergus Patrick McEvay
Preceded by John Walsh	Bishop of London 1890–1899	Succeeded by Fergus Patrick McEvay

[1] Baptism Register of St. Michael's Parish, Cobourg, Ontario

[2] Dictionary of Canadian Biography

[green-3] McGowan, Mark G. (1999). Waning of the Green: Catholics, the Irish, and Identity in Toronto, 1887-1922. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-7735-1789-9.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Ordinaries of the Archdiocese of Toronto
Bishops of Toronto	Michael Power Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel John Joseph Lynch
Archbishops of Toronto	John Joseph Lynch John Walsh Denis O'Connor Fergus McEvay Neil McNeil James McGuigan Philip Pocock Gerald Emmett Carter Aloysius Ambrozic Thomas Christopher Collins Frank Leo
Auxiliary bishops, current	John Boissoneau Ivan Camilleri Robert Kasun Vincent Nguyen
Auxiliary bishops, former	Timothy O'Mahony Benjamin Webster Francis Allen Francis Marrocco Thomas Fulton Leonard Wall Michael Pearse Lacey Robert Clune John Knight Nicola de Angelis Terrence Prendergast R. Anthony Meagher Richard Grecco Daniel Bohan Peter Hundt William McGrattan Wayne Kirkpatrick
Bishops who served as priests in the Archdiocese	Francis Carroll John O'Mara
Catholicism portal The Diocese of Toronto was elevated to the status of archdiocese in 1870.