Peter McKeefry

Styles of Peter McKeefry
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Wellington

Peter Thomas Bertram Cardinal McKeefry (3 July 1899 – 18 November 1973) was the third Archbishop of Wellington (1954–73) and Metropolitan of New Zealand and its first Cardinal.

McKeefry was born in Greymouth, the fifth of seven children of Michael McKeefry, a police constable, and Mary (née McAlary). Both his parents were from County Londonderry, Ireland. After living briefly in Christchurch, the family moved to Dunedin, where McKeefry was educated at the Christian Brothers' Boys' School. He began training for the priesthood in 1916 at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel. In 1922 he was sent to study for four years at the Collegium Urbanum de Propaganda Fide, Rome. He was ordained a priest on 3 April 1926 at the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano.

McKeefry initially served as a curate at the cathedral in Auckland. He also became secretary to Bishop Henry Cleary, whom he assisted with the diocesan newspaper the Month. After Cleary's death in 1929 his successor, Bishop James Liston, appointed McKeefry as his own secretary and as editor of the Month. Under McKeefry's editorship the Month became in May 1934 the fortnightly Zealandia, which started weekly publication from June 1937. McKeefry played an important role in organising the 1938 celebrations to mark the centenary of Bishop Pompallier's arrival in New Zealand.

Editorially, McKeefry concentrated on the need to apply Catholic ideals to contemporary society. While avoiding party politics, he criticised the response of the coalition government (1931-1935) of George Forbes to unemployment and exhorted readers to vote for candidates most likely to act in accordance with "Christian charity, justice and order".

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