Henry Cleary


Henry William Cleary was the sixth Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland from 1910 to 1929.

Life

Henry Cleary was born in County Wexford, Ireland. He was educated at St. Aidan's Academy, Enniscorthy, St Peter's College, Wexford and St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. He attended the Roman Seminary and the seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris. Cleary was ordained in 1885.
From 1885 to 1888, Cleary was a professor of modern languages at St. Peter's, and a member of the Society of Volunteer Diocesan Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1888, he went to Australia due to poor health, and from 1888 to 1897 was involved in parish work at Ballarat, Victoria. From 1898 to 1910, he served as the editor of the New Zealand Tablet.
Cleary was appointed Bishop of Auckland in 1910. He was very active in the Australian Catholic Truth Society, and in ministering to the Maori people in their own language. He was author of numerous pamphlets and brochures, and a contributor to various newspapers, periodicals, and the Catholic Encyclopedia.