John Dalton (bishop)

John Dalton, O.S.F., (c. 1821 – May 5, 1869) was an Irish-born Friar Minor who served as the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, from 1856 to 1869.

For the Irish cardinal, see John D'Alton. For others, see John Dalton (disambiguation).
The Right Reverend

John Dalton, O.S.F.
Bishop of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland
ArchdioceseSt. John's Newfoundland
DioceseHarbour Grace
InstalledFebruary 29, 1856
Term endedMay 5, 1869
SuccessorEnrico Carfagnini, O.S.F.
Orders
Ordination1849
ConsecrationMay 25, 1856
by John Thomas Mullock, O.S.F.
Personal details
Bornc. 1821
Thurles, County Tipperary, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
DiedMay 5, 1869
Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, Canada
BuriedCathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada (1869 - 2018), Harbour Grace Roman Catholic Cemetery (2018)
NationalityBritish
DenominationRoman Catholic

Life

Dalton was born in Thurles, County Tipperary, in 1821. In 1839 he left Ireland for Newfoundland, where his uncle, Charles Dalton, O.S.F., a Friar Minor, was serving as the parish priest of Immaculate Conception Parish in Harbour Grace. The following year, John also entered the Franciscan Order and was sent to study at St. Isidore’s College in Rome, the seminary of the Irish friars of the Order. He was ordained a Catholic priest there in 1846.[1]

Dalton returned to Newfoundland that same year. He was then assigned as a curate by Michael Anthony Fleming, O.S.F., the Vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland, to assist his uncle by caring for the congregation of St. Patrick's Parish in Carbonear.[2] When Charles Dalton was later transferred to Harbour Grace, John became parish priest in Carbonear.[1]

In early 1856, the Diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland, was divided by the Holy See to form the new Diocese of Harbour Grace, and Dalton was appointed by Pope Pius IX on February 29 as its first bishop. He was ordained a bishop on May 25 of that year by John Thomas Mullock, O.F.M.. the Bishop of St. John's.[3]

For the first few years Dalton continued to live at Carbonear but, following the death of his uncle, he moved in 1860 to the rectory at Harbour Grace. He spent the rest of his administration working to establish the structures of the diocese, including commencement of the construction of a cathedral for his diocese. He was also active in the local politics of the province. One of his first acts as bishop had been to ordain a native of Newfoundland as a priest.[1]

Dalton died in his post in 1869. His remains are interred under the main altar of the present cathedral, built in 1892, which is currently inactive.[4] In August of 2018, Bishop Dalton, along with the Donnelly family were exhumed from the crypt and buried in the Harbour Grace Roman Catholic Cemetery. This was due to the cathedral being sold.

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References
  1. "John Dalton". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
  2. "Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming, O.F.M." Catholic Hierarchy.
  3. "Diocesan History". Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Falls.
  4. "Cathedral of Immaculate Conception (Harbour Grace)". Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador.
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