Bishop John Brady: The First Bishop of Perth remembered
Jonathan Smyth focuses on Bishop John Brady, the first Bishop of Perth, in his latest Times Past column...
Recently, Eamon Hughes was telling me about his great book on the ‘Heritage Homes of South Longford'. His uncle, Fr Eddie Brady, often shared some fantastic stories with me and he was always happy for those stories to be told in the Times Past column. During our chat Mr Hughes told me of another Castletara luminary, a priest named Fr John Brady who went to Australia and, a couple of weeks later, I met Mr Hughes again when he lent me a book called, ‘Our Cathedral - A History of St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, Western Australia’, which included an extensive chapter on Fr Brady, who became the first Bishop of Perth.
On April 18, 1959, an Anglo-Celt article told the story of two Cavan-born Bishops in Perth. The other bishop was the Most Rev Matthew McGibney, born in Killeshandra in 1824. Fr John Brady was born in Castletara, in 1788. The greater portion of his education took place in France and, following ordination, he joined the French missions in Mauritius. Brady was ordained in France, 200 years ago this year.
From 1826, his early ministry was in Bourbon (later renamed Réunion Island) – where he lived for 12 years. In 1836, Brady was en route back to Rome when he met Dr Ullathorne who was looking out for suitably energetic priests to join the mission in Australia. Catholic religious personnel were still thin on the ground on that continent and Ullathorne persuaded Brady to accept an invitation.
In 1838, Brady arrived in Sydney in the company of other priests who had accepted the Australian call. He was appointed to St Matthew’s Church, on Tebutt and Little Church Streets, Windsor City, New South Wales.
Many of Brady’s early parishioners were convicts sent from Ireland to New South Wales. They were placed under the charge of Australian farmers. Life was not too easy for the convicts and going to Mass, as they might have wished, was not always allowed by their taskmasters.
Brady was keen to help convicts have the right to attend Mass just like everyone else had the freedom to do so.
Perth
A few years later, Brady’s gift of ministry was acknowledged, and he was appointed Vicar General of Western Australia. He could see that the people were spiritually undernourished and realised the potential of spreading the word of God to a population long without religious guidance. Fr John Brady headed to the Vatican and pleaded for more priests and missionary workers to help accomplish the task, which was enormous.
In 1843 Archbishop Polding of Sydney gave the go-ahead for a priest to be sent to Perth. Polding chose two priests - Fr Jooslens from Belgium and Fr John Brady. By then, Brady had earned a strong reputation as the Dean of Windsor, Penrith and Hawkesbury Districts. His vocation was not a cushy calling, and he had to travel hundreds of miles to attend to his flock in the course of his duties.
Fr Brady and his fellow missionaries made a good impression on Governor Hutt at Perth and, when Brady asked him for a site to build a school and church, the Governor allowed them. Brady was even told to go out and choose the place. John A. Winship’s book, quoting the Inquirer from 1843 stated: ‘The arrival of Fr Brady and his two coadjutors has brought great satisfaction to the members of the Church of Rome, who have long been left without the ministration of the offices of their religion.’
The Church’s foundation stone was laid on January 20, 1844, and the location chosen on the side of Church Hill was described as having a commanding view.
In 1844, Brady sailed for Europe and as John A. Winship points out, the prelate had at least three matters in mind when travelling to Rome which were firstly, to brush up on his knowledge of the Aboriginal languages; secondly, to prepare a ‘very far-sighted proposal’ for the development of liturgical infrastructure; and thirdly, the task of missionary work and to ‘clarify’ his thoughts in relation to outreach missionary endeavours in connection to the Aboriginal peoples.
On May 6, 1845, Pope Gregory XVI announced in a Papal bull, news of the formation of the Diocese of Perth and the establishment of the office of bishop for Perth. Then he announced that the small church in Perth would be known from then as the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist. However, some years later it was changed to St Mary’s Cathedral.
When the cardinals picked the Very Rev Ullathorne to be Bishop of Perth, they were surprised when he turned down the job. Instead, Ullathorne pointed them to Fr John Brady, a missionary priest, known for his ‘humility, lack of ambition, piety and zeal for souls’ and who had laboured on the Island of Bourbon. It was felt that his experience would stand him in the ministering of the Aboriginal population.
But Brady was not initially up for the job and protested that he had spent more than 20 years in the field as a missionary and wanted to return to Europe. The task, he said, would be too great for him and he felt unworthy of the calling to such an office. The Pope however became even more impressed by his honesty and, according to Winship, it only served to ‘elevate him in the estimation of the Pope who commanded him under obedience to accept the charge’.
There had been some difficulty a few years earlier between Dr Serra, coadjutor, and Brady. Serra had his own selfish ambitions and eventually the ‘government of the church of Western Australia’ was taken from Brady and passed to Serra. However, Rome did permit Brady to hold on to the title, as Bishop of Perth, amidst the spreading of malicious rumours made-up to destroy Brady’s reputation.
There was said to be enormous dissent between the Irish and Spanish sections of the church at that time. A suspension was imposed in Perth, upon Bishop Brady, but this was eventually lifted. In later life, while still remaining Bishop of Perth he returned to Europe spending his time between Ireland, assisting in the diocese of Kilmore, and then retiring to France.
In recent times John A. Winship has done much to rectify the reputation of Bishop John Brady. In 2011, Bishop Brady’s remains were exhumed and brought to Australia where they were buried following a short ceremony at St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth, therefore showing that his reputation had finally been restored.
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