Michael Power (Canadian bishop)
| Michael Power | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Toronto | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Toronto |
| Province | Ontario |
| Diocese | Toronto |
| Installed | 1841 |
| Term ended | 1847 |
| Predecessor | None - newly created diocese from Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston |
| Successor | Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | August 17, 1827 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 17, 1804 Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Died | October 1, 1847 (aged 42) Toronto, Canada West |
| Buried | St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Residence | Toronto |
| Parents | William Power and Mary Roach |
| Occupation | Bishop of Toronto |
| Alma mater | Seminary of St. Sulpice, Montreal and Seminary of Quebec |
Michael Power (October 17, 1804 – October 1, 1847) was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Toronto.
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to Captain William and Mary Roach Power, immigrants from Waterford, Ireland. At the age of twelve he was sent to the Seminary of St. Sulpice, Montreal and completed his training at the Seminary of Quebec. He was ordained a priest on August 17, 1827 by Bishop John Dubois of New York. He served as missionary priest of the Archdiocese of Québec and the Diocese of Montréal. Father Power was appointed pastor at Drummondville, where he remained until 1831 when he was sent as pastor to Montebello. From 1833 to 1839 he was pastor of Sainte-Martine, near Valleyfield. In 1839 when he was appointed Vicar General of Montréal.
The diocese was created on December 17, 1841 out of the Diocese of Kingston. Father Power was appointed the first Bishop of the new See, and consecrated in 1842 in Laprairie, Quebec, by Bishop Rémi Gaulin of Kingston. Power was the first English-speaking Bishop to be born in Canada.
Bishop Power immediately drew up rules for the diocese, which were adopted by the clergy. During the course of his episcopate he had to cope with several unworthy clerics and did not hesitate to threaten and apply harsh punishment. In the autumn of 1842 he asked the general of the Jesuits for men to assume direction of the Indian missions in the western and northern parts of his diocese. They arrived the following July and established their base in Sandwich. Between 1843 and 1845, he visited the various areas of the diocese. In 1844, Power and other Canadian bishops successfully petition the Pope for the creation of an ecclesiastical province in Canada. The dioceses of Quebec, Montreal, Kingston and Toronto were united under the metropolitan Province of Quebec, and Quebec became the Archdiocese.
On May 8, 1845, Bishop Power laid the cornerstone for St. Michael's Cathedral.
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Wikipedia