Death of Bishop Lenihan

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIV, Issue 9, 2 March 1910, Page 6

Death of Bishop Lenihan

□ FOUND DEAD IN BED—WIDESPREAD MOURNING

/ r PAINFUL, sensation was caused fl in Auckland on Tuesday, Feb. J 22, on receipt of the news of the sudden death of his Lordship Dr. Lenihan, Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland. The information travelled quickly, and came as a profound shock to the community. None but his Lordship’s intimate friends knew that he had been suffering lately, but on Friday, prior to his departure for Whangarei, he was present at the opening day’s play of the match between the Auckland and Australian cricketers. As usual, the Bishop was jovial and hearty in manner, and his many friends were ignorant of the fact that he had the warning of his medical advisers that the end might come at any time. To a gentleman of Dr. Lenihan’s active and forceful disposition, however, a life of inactivity was uteri yimpossible, and so the Bishop died in harness, carrying on his great work in his extensive diocese, beloved by his people, a man whose friendships were not bounded by creed or colour. Hir Last Blessing. The late Bishop Lenihan arrived in Whangarei on Saturday by the steamer Ngapuhi from Auckland. He conducted the opening of the Convent boarding school on Sunday, and also a Confirmation service and Mass during the day. From the particulars wired by our correspondent, Whangarei. it appears that Bishop Lenihan was found dead in bed on Tuesday morning, at the Roman Catholic Presbytery, Whangarei, having expired in his sleep, presumably from heart disease. Going to call him in the morning, Father Patterson found the Bishop lying in a natural position, but quite cold. Dr. Good was immediately called in, and could only pronounce life extinct. In the doctor’s opinion, death ensued shortly after retiring to rest. His Lordship did not feel welt on Sunday, but seemed to recover during the evening. Yesterto recover during the evening. On MonMaungakaramea, and there held a Confirmation service. Returning to Whangarei, he was entertained at a social held in the evening in his honour, and was presented with a purse of sovereigns by Mr. P. J. Mulhern, on behalf of the parishioners. At 10.30 the gathering was uroughf to a close, and the Bishop then said good-bye to those assembled, and from the verandah of the Presbytery bestowed his final blessing upon them. During the evening the Bishop had, as usual, been jovial and kindly, but after the event he complained of ill-health. There was nothing to indicate a serious state, however, and he retired a little later. The next morning he was discovered in bed, lying as though peacefully asleep, but quite dead. A Peculiar Coincidence.

A Great Bishop. During the 14 years that he was Bishop of Auckland the late Dr. Lenihan was closely identified with almost every movement for the public good. In the church work of his diocese he was a dominant force, and his friends were legion, irrespective of ereed. He was devotedly attached to the orphans, and hie visits to the Orphans' Home were always looked forward to events, both by the Bishop himself and the children. The late Dr. Lenihan was himself an orphan, and was brought up by the priests in the Benedictine College at Ramsgate, London. More than once, in Auckland, he has been heard to remark, “I think I owe my worldly position to the good wishes and prayers of the little orphans.” The late Dr. Lenihan leaves two sisters, one of whom is married and living in Brussels, and the other resides in London. A Sketch of His Life and Work. The late Bishop Lenihan was 51 years of age. and was born in London, of Irish parents, in the year 1858. At the age of three he lost his mother, and eight years later his father. The young lad was not long permitted to remain in the world, for we find him, at the age of fourteen, in the Benedictine College at Ramsgate, then under the charge of the late Lord Abbot Alcoek and Father Edmund Luck, two names destined subsequently to be enshrined in the loving memories of Catholicity in the antipodean diocese. For nearly four years he studied at Ramsgate. Subsequently, by the advice of Canon Todd, formerly of Trinity College, Dublin, a noted convert and a most ardent Irish Nationalist, and then a priest in the London diocese, the young student was sent to St. Edmund’s College, Oldhall Green, to study for the Westminster diocese. In 1877 he was sent out to Spain to complete his philosophical and theological training. In April. 1882. being then subdeacon, he received word from Father Edmund Luck that he (Father Edmund) was likely to be appointed Bishop of Auckland, and asked if such were the case, would he accompany him to the Antipodes. He readily consented, being anxious to labour again under his old superior, and further hoping to meet in distant Auckland his other quondam and beloved tutor, Lord Abbot Alcock. In July, 1882. Fattier Edmund Luck was preconised. Bishop of Auckland, and at onee wrote to the young Levite, still in the famous peninsula, bidding him to return to England so that he might ordain him as soon as possible after his own consecration. On August 13th, 1882, Father Edmund was consecrated Bishop at Ramsgate by Cardinal Manning. On this occasion the saintly Cardinal shook him warmly by the hand, and said, "My young friend. I am so sorry that I am about to lose you.” On August 27th, Father Lenihan was raised to the priesthood. He was the first student of Ramsgate College ordained as a secular priest, and the new Bishop’s first-born to the ministry. On September 7th, 1882, the ship Austral left the London docks for Australia, conveying the Bishop, Father Lenihan, and a number of clergy. The Austral arrived in Melbourne on November Ist, the Bishop proceeding to Sydney, while Father Lenihan and party sailed from the Victorian capital in the Wairarapa for Auckland, via the Bluff. He reached Auckland on November 12th and was warmly welcomed by Fathers Walter and O’Gara and several of the laity. The Bishop arrived four days later, and at once placed him as curate under Father Walter at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where he laboured three and a-half years. He was a musician, and the various ehoirs in and around the eity are much indebted to him. His favourite instrument was the ’cello, and he possessed a good tenor voice. About this time, the growing needs of the western suburb, then attached to the cathedral parish, claimed the attention of the Bishop, and Father Leni-

The late Dr. Lenihan became Bishop of Auckland in 1896, and his work in the diocese has been carried on most successfully since. In accordance with the customs whereby Roman Catholic Bishops proceed to Rome onee every ten years to report to his Holinuss the Pope, the late Dr. Lenihan proceeded twice to Europe. It is an extraordinary coincidence that it is just twelve months ago to-day since his people in Auckland welcomed him back from Rome. Prior to his appointment as Bishop, the rev. gentleman was rector of the Parnell parish. The Right Reverend Bishop Luck was then in charge of the diocese, and his health was so feeble that he asked that a coadjutor mshop should be appointed. The clergy were called together, and as a result of their deliberations veted as follows:—Dignissimua. Father Lenihan; Dignior, Dean O’Reilly; DigBun, Fattier Hackett. Thia result was •ent to Rome, but in the meantime Bishop Luck died. This necessitated another election for the Bishop of Auckland, and the same result was again recorded. A few months later the selection •f the priests was ratified by the Pope, and Father Lenihan became the fifth Bishop of Auckland,

han was appointed over the new parish of Ponsonby, then without either church or presbytery. This was in April, 1886. On October 31st of the same year the new church was opened and dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Here were manifested Father Lenihan’s many and undoubted administrative qualities; for under his fostering care and attention a parish at once, mushroom-like, sprang into active life. So apparent was this to the late Bishop that he added to Father Lenihan’s already abundant parochial labours the charge of the Star of the Sea Orphanage at St. Mary’s. To this work he devoted long and incessant toil, the result of which was to place this laudable and deserving institution iir a prosperous condition. The little orphans were to their kindly and reverend manager an object of special and peculiar devotion. That his work was appreciated by the orphans goes without saying, for whenever he entered the grounds at St. Mary’s he was at once surrounded by the little ones, whose beaming faces betokened the gratitude felt for him who did so much to assuage their hard lot. On February 10, 1891, Father Lenihan was appointed irremovable rector of Parnell parish, where he remained till appointed Diocesan Administrator by his Grace Archbishop Redwood on the death of the late Right Reverend Bishop Luck. In the early part of 1895, prior to the death of Bishop Luck, his Lordship, feeling that his end was approaching, applied to Rome for a coadjutor-bishop This was assented to by the Roman authorities, and, by the ’ votes of the priests of the Diocese, Father Lenihan was recommended for the high position. Meanwhile the Bishop’s death necessitated another election by the same body, and for the second time Father Lenihan was chosen dignissimus. Hearkening to this voice, the Holy Pontiff, after due consideration of the many various and singular qualities requisite to the sacred, office of a Bishop in the Holy Church, saw fit to place on the roil of the Episcopate, as Bishop of Auckland, the honoured name of Father George Michael Lenihan. St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Luck died from heart disease on January 23, 1896, and was succeeded by the Right Rev. George Michael Lenihan. D.D., who became fifth Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland. Interment at the Cathedral.

The body of the late Right Rev. G. XL Lenihan, D.D., Bishop of Auckland, arrived in Auckland on Wednesday morning from Whangarei, and was met on arrival by the Rev. Monsignor Gillan, the Rev. Dean Hackett, and Fathers Holbrook, Wright, Creagh, C.S.S.R., and Ormond, as well as prominent members of the Roman Catholic laity, and of other denominations, including Messrs. M. J. Sheahan, C. Little, Dr. Stopford, and others. By the same boat there also arrived from Whangarei Fathers Patterson and Smears. The body of the late. Bishop was at once removed to the Bishop’s Palace, in New-street, Ponsonby, and there laid in state in the library.

One of the many works in which Bishop Lenihan was most interested was the completion and beautification of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and February, 1908, saw it completed and opened by Cardinal Moran, The whole of the beautiful interior design was Bishop Lenifhan’s idea, and carried out according to his instructions. In his last pastoral, issued this month, he stated, “I am glad to think tiic parishioners take such pride in their cathedral, and that it compels the admiration of visitors. As Auckland progresses, however, large stores and warehouses will surround the Cathedral, and in course of time a new site and new Cathedral will be required, but the present Cathedral will always be a useful churdh for the port, and will satisfy the needs of visitors by train or boat. The late Bishop was (beloved and respected by all classes of the community. Open minded and open handed, every deserving cause met with his assistance. In athletics of ail kinds he took a very prominent interest, and in football and cricket he was a keen enthusiast. Previous Catholic Bishops of Auckland. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland comprises t'he provincial district of Auckland, the surrounding islands, and the Kermadec Group, and took its rise from the mission founded by Bishop Pompallier, who, as Vicar Apostolic of Western Oceania, arrived at Hokianga in 1838. He subsequently fixed his headquarters at Russell, but removed them to Auckland in 184". In 1848 the diocese of Auckland was formed, with Dr. Pompallier as its first Bishop. During his episcopate old St. Patrick’s Cathedral was built, and now forms the transepts of the new building, which was erected during Bishop Luck’s term of office, and completed during the term of the late Bishop Lenihan. Bishop Pompallier resigned change of the diocese in 1869, and died in France in 1870. He was succeeded by Bishop Croke, who was consecrated Bishop of Auckland on June 23, 1870, and who. five yeans later, became Arohbishop of Cashel, Ireland. He was followed by Archbishop Steins, S.J., who was translated in April, 1879, from Bombay, but only occupied the See for a short time, as he died at Sydney in 1881. He was succeeded by Bishop Luck, who •was consecrated on August 13, 1882, by Cardinal Manning, in London. Bishop

A Remarkable Prophecy. One of the most touching incidents in connection with the death of the late Bishop is the fact that he recently prophesied that his end was drawing nigh. Always genial and hearty of disposition, only the most intimate of Bishop Lenihan's friends knew that a smiling countenance hid periods of physical suffering, and the knowledge that his earthly labours were drawing to a close. The lasts retreat of the priests of the diocese was held on the 24th of January, and his Lordship then made a remarkable prophecy. “It is a great joy to me to once again have my priests drawn around me,” declared the late Bishop, “for this will probably be the last retreat at which I will be with you. I feel that when you meet again next year your Bishop will not be amongst you.” Almost within a month of the fateful utterance the prophecy has been fulfilled. Administration of the Diocese. The administration of the diocese has been placed in the hands of Monsignor Gillan, of St. Benedict’s Church. During the late Bishop’s lifetime. Monsignor Gillan was Vicar-General. That office dies with the Bishop, however, and under ordinary circumstances the Metropolitan (Archbishop Redwood) would have had to appoint an administrator until a new Bishop is appointed. As already stated, Bishop Lenihan seemed to know that his life’s course was nearly spent, and he left written instructions that his Vicar-General, on his death* should become Administrator. This instruction suffices, and Monsignor Gillan will continue to administer the affairs of the diocese until a new Bishop is appointed. Service at Whangarei. Prior to the departure of the Ngapuhi from Whangarei, the body of the lat* Bishop was taken from the Presbytery to St. Francis Xavier’s Church. The Rev. Father Smiers recited the office* for the dead, and Father Patterson, of Takapuna, who had accompanied the late Bishop on his visit North, delivered a brief but eloquent sermon. From 4 o’clock till 5 all the business places of Whangarei were closed, and the church was filled to overflowing. After the service the body was borne on the shoulders of prominent townspeople to the Railway Station, and then conveyed by special train to the wharf, the coffin being covered with flowers. Representatives of every denomination were present at the service, which was a most impresaiy< one. “Till Death Do Us Part.” Father Patterson, of Takapuna, wfW accompanied the late Bishop on the visit to Whangarei, returned to Auckland by the Ngapuhi on Wednesday. Father Patterson states that it was arranged on Monday night that the Bishop should say the first Mass on the Tuesday morning, and Father Patterson the second. Early in the morning Father Patterson went into the church, and found the Bishop had not yet appeared. He therefore celebrated the first Mass himself, thinking that the Bishop was perhaps over-tired as the result of the previous day’s exertions. At the conclusion of the service his Lordship was still absent, and knowing the Bishop’s habits as an early riser, Father Patterson had a premonition that something must be wrong. Proceeding to the Presbytery, he entered the Bishop’s room, and found him lying in an attitude ae though still peacefully asleep. The bed-dothes were not disarranged in the slightest, and it is evident that the late Bishop Lenihan passed quietly away in his sleep. The body was quite cold, and though Dr. Good »'*• summoned, he eould only certify that

death had taken place some hours previously. On the Monday the late Bishop drove 32 miles to and from Maungakaramea, and the heat was intense. He complained of feeling very tired on the Monday night, but nevertheless maintained his usual cheerfulness throughout the social tendered in his honour on Monday evening. He spoke during the evening of the Church and educational matters, and expressed great pleasure at the cordial relationship existing between himself and the congregation, and also at the good feeling existing between the CathoBe tad other Churches in Whangarei. ■His last words in the address were in reference to his predecessors in office. After enumerating their many trials and pointing out their splendid qualities and speaking of his own pleasant relations ■with his Hock, he said, “I hope that good feeling and mutual love will exist till death do us part.”

Tributes of Sympathy. Many tributes of sympathy and regret ■were received at Bishop’s Palace and St. Patrick’s Presbytery. The aide-de-camp to his Excellency the Governor (Lord Plunket) wired:—"His Excellency desires me to convey the deep regret with which he has heard of the death of Bishop Lenihan.” The Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) telegraphed:—"l have heard of the death of Bishop Lenihan with the deepest regret, and tender you all sincerest sympathy for the great and sudden loss you have sustained.” The Hon. J. A. Millar wired from Dunedin: “It is with feelings of deep regret that I have just learned of w the death of my friend. Bishop Lenihan. The Roman Catholic Church, of which he was so distinguished an ornament, has suffered a great loss in his demise, and I desire to tender to yourself and of the members of your Church my sincere sympathy. His administration has always been marked by true religious principles, and conspicuous success, and the whole community is to-day the poorer by his untimely decease. His good works, however, will long live after him, and his memory will be revered by thousands who had the privilege of enjoying his friendship and goodwill.”—J. A. Millar.

Father Robinson. 8.A.. well-known in ecclesiastical and musical circles in Victoria, cabled as follows: "Deeply deplore Bishop’s death. Melbourne friends greatly shocked.” Sir George Clifford wired from Dunedin: "Deepest sympathy for enormous loss the diocese has sustained; added to personal regret for the loss of a dear friend.” The Hon. D. Buddo wired: “Deeply regret to hear of the decease of Bishop Lenihan. His scholarly attainments, high principles and fine administrative ability were appreciated by all who had the privilege of his acquaintance. I tender my sincere sympathy to the clergy and people of the Auckland diocese.” Telegrams have also been received from many other prominent men in the Dominion and in Australia.