Archbishop Carr
Thomas Joseph Carr (10 May
1839 – 6 May 1917) was the second Roman
Catholic archbishop of Melbourne
, Australia.
Early life
Carr was
born near Moylough
, Galway
, Ireland
, and
educated at St Jarlath's
College, Tuam
, and at
St Patrick's
College, Maynooth
, where he did a brilliant course.
He was
ordained on 19 May 1866, was a curate for six years, and was then
appointed dean of the Dunboyne
establishment of Maynooth. In 1874 he was elected to the
vacant chair of
theology and in 1880 he
became vice-president of Maynooth and editor of the
Irish
Ecclesiastical Record, which he conducted with success. In
1883 he was made
bishop
of Galway, was consecrated on 26 August of that year, and three
years later, almost to the day, was appointed
archbishop of
Melbourne. He arrived in Melbourne on 11 June 1887.
Archbishop of Melbourne
One of the first problems brought before Carr was the question of
education. The education act of the period had been framed for the
purpose of training children in State schools without regard to
sectarian differences. The new archbishop lost no time in urging
that there could be no true education without a religions basis,
and that it was not just that his co-religionists should be taxed
to support a system of education that their conscience would not
permit them to use. During his episcopacy of almost 30 years there
was no wavering from this position, but no government could be
prevailed on to take up this cause. In the circumstances it was
felt that every effort would have to be made to extend the Catholic
schools, and in the first 20 years considerable progress was made.
Between 1887 and 1907 the number of primary schools increased from
75 to 108, and the pupils from 12,000 to 24,000. Even greater
progress followed, as by 1916 the number of students was nearing
30,000 and in addition there were 37 colleges and high schools with
4751 pupils.
The founding of an affiliated college at the
University of
Melbourne
was another project very near to Carr's
heart. He saw the foundation stone of Newman
College
laid, but did not live to see its
completion.
Another
important work was the completion of St Patrick's
Cathedral, Melbourne
. When Carr came work had been in progress
for some 30 years but much remained to be done. In March 1890 he
brought the question before a small gathering and almost at once
£10,000 was promised. At a general meeting held on 20 April 1890
this amount was doubled. Soon after a contract for £42,000 was
signed, but the bursting of the land boom and the failure of many
financial institutions made it impossible for any of the
subscribers to carry out their promises.
The archbishop
travelled the country and met with a ready response, a cathedral
fair was held at the Royal Exhibition Building
, Melbourne, which in four weeks yielded £11,000,
and by one way and another the crisis was surmounted. The
building, save one tower and the spires, was completed free from
debt, and on 31 October 1897 was solemnly and impressively
consecrated.
Between 1893 and 1897 Carr on more than one occasion was drawn into
controversy with representatives of the
Church of England and the Rev.
John Laurence Rentoul of the
Presbyterian Church. He conducted his
case with courtesy, dignity and ability.
When he allowed
himself to be nominated for a seat on the council of the University of
Melbourne, sufficient prejudice was left from old unhappy far
off things to prevent his election. In April 1898 Carr
visited
Europe and returned in July 1899. In
that year he took over the publication of the monthly journal
Austral Light, and in 1907 was begun the long series of
tracts published by the Australian Catholic Truth Society. To this
society was entrusted the collection and publication of Carr's
writings on controversial subjects, which appeared in 1907 in a
volume of about 800 pages, under the title
Lectures and
Replies.
In August 1908 he visited Rome
and not long
after his return he asked that a coadjutor might be
appointed. In 1913,
Daniel
Mannix was given this position and thenceforth Carr took less
part in the direction of the affairs of the diocese. Carr died at
Melbourne on 6 May 1917.
Legacy
Carr was slightly over medium height and in his later years was
heavily built.
Tom Roberts, the artist,
said he had the "typical head of a prelate". Roberts, who was not
of his church, records that "speaking of the frailties and sins of
people, he said he had never met a thoroughly bad man or woman...
He's a man you could tell anything to-except something
trumpery".
Legacies
- St.
Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne was his largest accomplishment, but
there are many other markers to Carr’s lasting contributions,
including the parish of Werribee, Victoria
, which he established in 1906.
External links
References
Wikis
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