Born in Cable Head, St. Peter's Bay, Prince Edward Island, Peter McIntyre was the son of Scottishimmigrants who arrived on the Island in 1788. He received his early education from St. Andrew's College on P.E.I., before being sent to study at the College of St. Hyacinthe, followed later by a theological course at the Seminary of Quebec. Ordained a priest in 1843, McIntyre served in a number of parishes, including in Quebec and his native Prince Edward Island. On the island, he was assigned to Tignish, where he is recognized as having built one of the finest churches in Canada. He served seventeen years in Tignish before he was appointed as Bishop of Charlottetown on May 8, 1860 and was consecratedAugust 15 of the same year at St. Dunstan's Basilica.
Bishop of Charlottetown
As bishop, his first trouble was anti-Catholic sentiment, that had been expressed in several Island newspapers. However, the problem seemed to eventually pass, and peace was restored. Bishop McIntyre would also become the first diocesan bishop to take up lodgings in Charlottetown, where the "palace" was built in 1875. The house continues to act as a home for the basilica and other clergy. In the fieldof education, McIntyre established many churches and schools in the diocese, including a convent in the Magdalen Islands. He was also responsible for erecting St. Patrick's School for Boys next to St. Dunstan's Basilica, and followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Bernard Donald McDonald by bringing Sisters of Notre Dame to teach on Prince Edward Island. In 1869, McIntyre was one of many who attended the First Vatican Council in Rome. Later, he toured parts of Europe and Asia. In 1878, the bishop was a key figure in the establishment of the Charlottetown Hospital, the first hospital in the city which was open to people of any religious background. McIntyre was also instrumental in establishing the Catholic Total Abstinence Union which spread through the diocese during the 1870s to help prevent the danger of alcohol consumption. Bishop Peter McIntyre died in 1891 at the bishop's house in Antigonish after serving as head of the Diocese of Charlottetown for thirty-one years. His funeral was held at St. Dunstan's Basilica and his remains were taken by train to his native parish of St. Peter's Bay to be interred in the basement beneath the church altar.
