Patrick Phelan (bishop of Sale)

Patrick Phelan
Bishop of Sale
In office
2 November 1912 – 5 January 1925
Personal details
Born(1856-01-02)2 January 1856
Johnstown, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Died5 January 1925(1925-01-05) (aged 69)
Dublin, Ireland

Bishop Patrick Phelan DD (2 January 1856 – 5 January 1925) was Roman Catholic Bishop of Sale, Victoria, Australia.

Biography

Phelan was born on 2 January 1856, in Johnstown, Kilkenny, Ireland, to Martin and Margaret Phelan,[1] and educated at Mount Melleray Seminary, and St. Patrick's College, Carlow.[2] He was ordained a priest for Melbourne, Australia in 1888.[3] Phelan was a founder and frequent contributor to Austral Light.

In 1900, he was appointed Dean of Melbourne, and served as Vicar-General from 1908 to 1913. On 2 November 1912, he was appointed Bishop of Sale, a position he held until his death on 5 January 1925, in a private hospital in Dublin, Ireland where he was receiving medical treatment.[4]

He was noted for his administration, where he raised £25,000 over three years to build St Patrick's College in Sale, which opened in 1922, and when he died both the parish and college were debt-free. The Bishop Phelan Stadium, on the St Patrick's Campus of the Catholic College Sale, is named in his honour.

Phelan's brother Micheal became a Jesuit priest and also ministered in Australia.

References

  1. ^ Patrick Phelan Dictionary of Australian Biography
  2. ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia and its Makers. The Encyclopedia Press. 1917. p. 136. Retrieved 27 September 2021 – via archive.org.
  3. ^ Bishop Phelan www.catholic-hierarchy.org
  4. ^ "Bishop Phelan Dead – Catholic Prelate of Sale" The Age, 7 January 1925.