Death of Right Rev. Mgr. O'Reilly, Auckland

New Zealand Tablet, 27 August 1914, Page 36

Death of Right Rev. Mgr. O'Reilly, Auckland

A pioneer of the Catholic Church in New Zealand passed away on Tuesday evening in the person of the Right Rev. Monsignor O’Reilly, at the age of 71 years. Monsignor O’Reilly was ordained by the late Bishop Croke at Auckland nearly 50 years ago. Later he took charge of the parish at Thames, where he labored faithfully and well for 22 years. He was very highly esteemed in the district, where he was for many years chairman of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. He spoke Maori very fluently, and was well known by the Natives of the northern districts and in his diocese. For the past few years his health had been failing, and three years ago he retired from parochial work. He had been residing in Dunedin for the past twelve months. t The following sketch of his life, which gives an admirable idea'of the splendid pioneer work done by the late Monsignor, is Taken from Mr. J. J. Wilsons work.. The Church in .New Zealand ; ‘ Than the Right Rev. Monsignor O’Reilly, of the Thames, no cleric is more widely known or respected—we had almost said belovedby men of all denominations in the Auckland province. Born at Rosscarbery, County Cork, Ireland, 'on February 24, 1843, Mon-

signor O Reilly came out to New Zealand with his parents in 1852, arriving in Auckland in May of that year. lie received private tuition from the priests of the diocese. It was at the Maori School, situated where the Bishop's house now stands in Poifsonby, that Monsignor O'Reilly began his ecclesiastical studies in 1858, later on taking charge of the school, which was established in connection with the Catholic Church. The Monsignor, it may bo here stated, is'a fluent Maori linguist, and has frequently acted as interpreter. llis intimate knowledge of, and acquaintance with, the language have been of immense service to him in the many vicissitudes of his life in New Zealand. Maori boys from all parts of the diocese were enrolled at the Ponsonby School, and some steady work v as put in, the ground-work of many a successful career being laid there. The Maori war breaking out in 1860 so affected the attendance, however, that it became necessary to close the school, for the pupils would not come to Auckland. Here it is worth noting that on the occasion of Cardinal Moran’s visit to Auckland the reception arrangements at Rotorua were carried out by a. committee, the three leading members of which Mita, Hira, and Waircmu —were former pupils of Monsignor Reilly s —a fact of which they made a special point of reminding his Eminence. In 1865 Monsignor O’Reilly went to Rotorua, with the object of establishing a Maori school there, and got matters so far under way that the timber was on the ground ready for the erection* of the school, when another war-scare broke out, occasioned by the Hau

Hau rising, when Patara and Kereopa passed through the country on the way to Opotiki, the scene of the Rev. Mr. Volkncr’s murder. The project was consequently abandoned, and Monsignor O’Reilly returned to Auckland and further prosecuted his studies, being ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Pompallier on February 24, 1866, which was the twenty-third anniversary of his birthday. It is interesting to note that Monsignor O’Reilly is the only connecting link with that time and the present in the Auckland diocese; and, indeed, there is only one other in New Zealand—viz., the Yen. Archpriest Walsh, of Westport.

‘ Monsignor O’Reilly was then stationed as curate at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where he remained for five years, until shortly after the arrival of Bishop Croke (the latter subsequently becoming Archbishop of Cashel, Ireland), who appointed him first resident priest at Coromandel. There he labored till July, 1878, when he was appointed to the charge of the Thames parish, remaining there to this day, with the exception of two years, when he took charge of St. Patrick’s during the Bishop’s visit to Europe in 1899. In 1900 .he had conferred upon him the title of Mohsignor by his Holiness the late illustrious Pope Leo XIII. He enjoys the distinction of being the senior priest of New Zealand, with tho exception of the Archbishop of Wellington, who is his senior by a few months. There are older men in the ministry, but not older priests than Monsignor O’Reilly.

O’Reilly said, on one occasion, harking back to the early seventies. lie had to practically open a new ecclesiastical district, and establish a church, school, and presbytery. Going to the Thames shortly after the gold fever had abated, in the days of the Queen of Beauty mine, Monsignor had a wide field to cover, for it embraced Paeroa, Te Aroha, Waihi (which, of course, was then unsettled), Karangahake, and Waitekauri. ‘‘Travelling was far from easy in those days. There were no coach roads : in fact, one could hardly take a horse over them, and it was ' quite a common occurrence to be bogged when making one’s wav over the ranges. - There was no Catholic church outside of the Thames,” and the Monsignor had to build churches at Paeroa and Te Aroha. “Not only our own neonle subscribed to the fund, but representatives of all denominations contributed; their quota, and often unsolicited.’.’ Monsignor O’Reilly was the first priest to celebrate 1 Mass at Whangapoua, Te Aroha, Paeroa, and Waitekauri.’. - The interment will take place at Auckland.l.P.