John Brady (bishop)
|
The Right Reverend John Brady |
|
|---|---|
| 1st | |
| Province | Sydney |
| Diocese | Perth |
| Installed | 9 May 1845 |
| Term ended | 3 December 1871 |
| Successor | Martin Griver |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1825 (Priest) in France |
| Consecration | 25 May 1845 (Bishop) in Collegiate Church of Propaganda, Rome |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
circa 1800 Cavan, Ireland |
| Died | 3 December 1871 (aged 71) Amélie-les-Bains, France |
| Buried | Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Perth |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Occupation | Roman Catholic bishop |
| Profession | Cleric |
John Brady (circa 1800 in Cavan, Ireland – 3 December 1871 in Amélie-les-Bains, France), an Australian metropolitan bishop, was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth, serving from 1845 until his death in 1871, despite having been suspended of his functions motu proprio in October 1851 by Pope Pius IX.
Educated in a French seminary, Brady served on Réunion Island for twelve years. On his return to Rome in 1836 he met Dr William Ullathorne who was recruiting priests for the Australian mission and was eager to secure his services. Brady arrived in 1838 in Sydney with the first large group of secular Irish clergy to reach Australia. Bishop John Bede Polding appointed Brady to Windsor where his extensive parish included Penrith and all branches of the Hawkesbury from Windsor to Broken Bay. His charges were mainly Irish convicts assigned to the landholders, and he rode hundreds of miles a month to serve them. After repeated incidents of coercion he was instrumental in establishing the convicts' right to freedom of worship. He was in touch with the Aboriginals and ministered to the French Canadian prisoners at Longbottom.
After five years Brady was appointed vicar-general of Western Australia. Accompanied by a Dutch priest and an Irish catechist, he arrived in Perth on 13 December 1843 and was gratefully welcomed by the small group of Catholics who had been without a priest. Brady dealt reasonably competently with the colonial authorities and Governor John Hutt granted land for a church and school. Brady became convinced that he was working in a field ripe for the harvest and hastened to Rome to petition for priests and missionaries. He was particularly interested in evangelizing the Aboriginals and recommended that missions be established at King George Sound and Port Victoria. When it was decided to make Western Australia a separate diocese, Ullathorne declined the see and Brady was appointed bishop and consecrated in the Collegiate Church of Propaganda in May 1845. He returned to Perth next January with twenty-seven missionaries: French priests and brothers, Irish nuns and catechists and Spanish Benedictines. The small Catholic community could not absorb this group of differing nationalities and ecclesiastical training. Only one of the seven priests spoke English fluently. The French priests could do little with the Aboriginals near Albany, were suspected by the English settlers and finally transferred to Mauritius. Dom Joseph Serra and Dom Rosendo Salvado after initial difficulties established the flourishing Aboriginal mission at New Norcia.
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