Right Rev. Dr. P. V. Dwyer

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 47, 30 November 1922, Page 35

Right Rev. Dr. P. V. Dwyer

Bishop of Maitland i f ■' SILVER JUBILEE- CELEBRATIONS. ; V In 1 connection with the historic event (the celebration of the Episcopal Silver Jubilee of his Lordship the , Right Rev. Dr. Patrick Vincent Dwyer, Bishop of Maitland, N.S.W.) which drew all Catholic eyes to Maitland on Sunday and Monday, the sth and 6th November, a magnificent Catholic Hall was opened at a cost of about £15,000, including site’and equipment; and in this was fittingly celebrated the Communion breakfasts of the Guild and Hi-

bernians, at which were welcomed the personal reperesentatiye of the Pope, and archbishops , and bishops from all parts of Australia. ,On Monday religious ceremonies held pride of place, followed by a banquet tendered by the jubilarian to the visiting prelates and priests. Then came a series of entertainments, the most important of which was the presentation of cheques and gifts, totalling nearly £I4OO, from the laity, nuns, societies, and children. ' Among the visitors were his Excellency the Apostolic ,Delegate, his Grace . the Archbishop of Sydney, his Grace the Archbishop of Perth, their Lordships the Bishops of Arraidale, Lismore, Wagga Wagga, and Cooktown, the Right Rev. Mgr. Meagher, V.G. (Singleton), 'the. Right Rev. Mgr. O’Gorman, P.P. (Parramatta), the Right Rev. Mgr. Power (Wellington, N.Z.), 54 priests, including representatives of. the various Orders, and seven Marist Brothers. ' ‘ ‘V. • ' > , A CHARACTER SKETCH. ; ? : The Right Rev, Patrick Vincent Dwyer was born at Albury, New South Wales, on August 21, 1858, and received his primary education in denominational schools, and also at ’St. Stanislaus’ College, Bathurst. He spent a short period in the ecclesiastical seminary of St. Charles, which was. attached to St. Stanislaus’ College, and then proceeded to Dublin, where he was received as a; student in vClonliffe College. He completed his studies in theology and philosophy at the Irish College, Rome, and was ordained priest ■for the diocese of Maitland in the Church• of St. John Lateran, on March 4, 1882, by the Most Rev. Dr. Lenti, ';Vice-Gerent. > 1

Early in December of the same year he arrived in Maitland, and was appointed curate . in the cathedral parish, where he .became a great favorite with the parishioners, ever taking a deep interest in their spiritual and material welfare, and attending with unremitting solicitude to the sick and the needy under his care. During the first months of 1883, when State aid had been withdrawn from denominational schools, he had charge of St. John’s Boys’ School, with two assistants, Messrs. J. Whitely and D. J. Ryan. In the same year he was placed in charge of Catholic education in the diocese as Diocesan Inspector of Schools, and fulfilled the duties of that office with unquestionable skill and remarkable success until December of 1888, when he was relieved by Father Joseph O’Donohoe. ' ■ \ - Work for Pious Associations. ' In August of 1886 he became Director of the cathedral branch of the Arch-confraternity of the Holy Family, and, by dint of earnest, whole-souled endeavors, he gathered around him the men of the parish, taught them their confraternity hymns, instructed them in the fundamental truths of our holy religion, and delivered a series of lectures on historical, biographical, archaeological, find scriptural subjects, thus making his meetings attractive and interesting to the members. • At the close of the year 1888 he was appointed president of the Sacred Heart College, arid, retired from the charge of the Arch-confraternity, the members of which presented him- with a substantial token of their recognition of his services in their interests. In 1890 he was named as one of the Diocesan Consultors to the venerable Dr. Murray, late Bishop of Maitland. > Travel in Europe. ... P llr * n " 1896 he was temporarily freed from his responsibilities in the diocese, and, accompanied by his father and his youngest sister, Miss Mollie Dwyer, left Maitland on a trip to Europe. The party visited Ireland, England, and France, and naturally a visit was paid to the Eternal City, where, as a student, Dr. Dwyer had spent so many happy days. He returned to Maitland towards the close of the year, and resumed his duties at the college, and in the work of the diocese. i r Dr. Dwyer is of commanding presence, and splendid physique. He is a man of marked force of character and executive skill, and his administration in every office he has; filled has been marked by energy, wisdom, and discretion. He is a man of wide reading and large cultivation, and as a preacher is forcible, graceful, and interesting. Replete with the spirit of his calling, his love for his' sacerdotal duties is intense, and he labors with an enthusiasm’ that shows an utter forgetfulness of self. In his private life he is wholly unselfish, kind, and, considerate. - Labors as a Bishop. His 25 years of labor as Bishop of Maitland have been fruitful of many blessings. The diocese is splendidly equipped with churches, schools, and institutions of charity, and boasts a of priests second to none in Australia for piety and devotion ■, to the duty of the sacred ministry. Specially noteworthy is the institution at Waratah for the training of deaf-mute children, conducted by the Dominican Sisters. His Lordship has always had a special love for this good work,, and the Sisters owe much. of the success achieved to the kindly and generous interest taken by his Lordship in their noble work. - Born of a family of educators, the. Bishop has ever shown himself most devoted to his diocesan schools. The period of years he spent v as Diocesan Inspector has given him a clear, practical grip of all the details of school work, and he has ever been a source of light, guidance, -and inspiration to the educators who t work under his jurisdiction ■ - -'"V ' ■ Di;. Dwyer’s kindly, holy, and laborious life (says the Catholic Press) has won him admirers all over Australia, while his sincere, simple, elevated character has endeared, him to all who ever had - the pleasure of -personal contact with him. .Numberless friends all over this generous land of his birth will join in congratulating him oh the attainment of his jubilee, ’oh- his splendid record of labors for faith and country, on the fine . health and clear mind that have stood so well the, brunt, of . hard-working years. : :