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Francis William Redwood | |
|---|---|
| Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington | |
.jpg) Redwood in 1932 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francis William Redwood 8 April 1839 Tixall, England |
| Died | 3 January 1935(1935-01-03) (aged 95) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Buried | Karori Cemetery |
| Denomination | Catholicism |
Francis William Mary RedwoodSM (6 April 1839 – 3 January 1935), was the firstRoman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington,Metropolitan of New Zealand.
Redwood was born on 8 April 1839 on theTixall estate,Staffordshire, England, a known historical Catholic centre. His parents were Henry Redwood and his wife Mary (née Gilbert).[1] In 1842, he sailed to New Zealand with his parents, siblings (including his brotherHenry and his brother in lawJoseph Ward) on theGeorge Fyfe.[2][3]
His father had bought land from theNew Zealand Company, and the family settled in Waimea West in theNelson district. The locality became known asAppleby and his parents hadStafford Place built in 1866. The house is registered as a Category I heritage building byHeritage New Zealand, with registration number 1678.[4]
Redwood was educated at the Nelson school of Fr Antoine Garin, SM. In December 1854 he went to study at St Mary's College at St Chamond, nearLyon, France, and in 1860 he entered the scholasticate of theSociety of Mary (Marists) at Montbel, nearToulon. He entered the Marist novitiate at Sainte-Foy. He was ordained priest at Maynooth in 1865 and gained his baccalaureate in theology atDublin.[1]
After three years of teaching at Catholic University School, Redwood suffered a near fatal bout ofpneumonia in 1867 and went to Lyon to convalesce. There he metPhilippe Viard, Bishop of Wellington, who was going to Rome to discuss his diocese and later to attend theFirst Vatican Council. Viard was impressed and even perhaps thought of Redwood as hiscoadjutor. However, before any appointment could be made, Viard died. There was a long delay before Redwood was appointed his successor in January 1874.[citation needed]
Redwood was consecrated byHenry Edward Cardinal Manning at St Anne's,Spitalfields, London, on 17 March 1874. Redwood spent his time appealing for funds in France and personnel in Ireland before returning to New Zealand in November 1874. When consecrated second Bishop of Wellington, Redwood was the youngest Roman Catholic bishop in the world. At his death, aged 95, he was said to be the oldest.[1] The overwhelming size of the Wellington diocese led to the decision to create a new diocese comprisingCanterbury andWestland.[citation needed]
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At the same time a metropolitan archdiocese was created. Redwood favoured the appointment of his fellow MaristJohn Grimes, who was English-born, asBishop of Christchurch, but in 1885 the firstplenary council of Australasian bishops recommended that the appointment go to a diocesan priest and thatDunedin be the new archdiocese. This would have strengthened the largely Irish diocesan clergy at the expense of the Marists, who successfully petitioned Rome to overturn both recommendations. In 1887, Grimes became bishop of Christchurch and Redwood archbishop of Wellington and metropolitan of New Zealand. Redwood was created archbishop by a papal brief dated 13 May 1887.[5]
Redwood attached great importance to personal visitation. He established numerous churches, hospitals, and orphanages, was a founder ofSt Patrick's College, Wellington in 1885, and lived to open the newSt Patrick's College, Silverstream in 1931 in the Hutt Valley. He expanded and completedSt Mary's Cathedral and, after it was destroyed,[clarification needed] replaced it with abasilican church which eventually becameSacred Heart Cathedral.[5]
During his episcopate, Redwood invited many religious orders into New Zealand, notable among these being the Sisters of Mercy, the Marist Brothers, the Little Company of Mary, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters of St Brigid, the Sisters of the Mission, and the Sisters of St Joseph. He also encouraged the foundation of the New Zealand order, the Sisters of Compassion.Redwood was also Provincial of the New Zealand Marists. He founded the Seminary inHawke's Bay and lent his support to the foundation ofHoly Cross College, Mosgiel.[citation needed]
For 26 years (1877–1903), he served on the Senate of theUniversity of New Zealand where he played an active part in its proceedings. He became the first life member of the Early Settlers' and Historical Society, Wellington.[citation needed]
Redwood's concerns extended to all aspects of life. He agreed that alcohol was one of the evils of the day, but advocatedtemperance rather thanprohibition. He resolutely resisted pressure to support prohibition, and a pastoral letter of 1911 urging Catholics to vote against prohibition was widely believed to have been responsible for the defeat of the measure in that year.[citation needed]
At the Diocesan Synod, in 1878, Redwood framed the practicalCanon law for the New Zealand Church. His Statutes provided a pattern later followed by the Auckland and Dunedin dioceses. He convened and presided over the first Provincial (Ecclesiastical) Council of Wellington (1899), and played a prominent role in the first Plenary Council of Sydney (1885).[citation needed]
Archbishop Redwooddied at Wellington on 3 January 1935, aged 95.[6] He was succeeded by ArchbishopThomas O'Shea SM, Coadjutor-Archbishop since 1913.[7]
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (France) – 1934| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | 2ndBishop of Wellington 1874–1887 | Succeeded by New Title |
| Preceded by New title | 1stArchbishop of Wellington 1887–1935 | Succeeded by |
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