John Thomas McNally

John Thomas McNally (24 June 1871 – 18 November 1952) was a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Halifax from 1937 to 1952. He was previously Bishop of Hamilton from 1924 to 1937, and Bishop of Calgary from 1913 to 1924.

Biography Early life and education McNally was of Irish background and born on 24 June 1871 in Hope River, Prince Edward Island. He graduated high school in 1886 and attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown. Upon his graduation, he attended the University of Ottawa and graduated in 1892. During his time in Ottawa, he answered the call to priesthood and was sent to Rome to obtain a doctorate in Theology, where he was a classmate of the future Pope Pius XII. The Archbishop of Saint-Boniface—along with his suffragan bishops, who had hoped that the Holy See would select their nominee—was caught off guard and was not pleased by McNally's appointment, and the new bishop also faced significant opposition in his diocese.

Bishop of Hamilton The cornerstone of the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King was laid on 20 September 1931.

Pope Pius XI appointed him Bishop of Hamilton on 12 August 1924, and McNally was installed on November 26th of that year.

One of McNally's bold ventures was the construction of the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King. The bishop, having already transferred his cathedral church from St. Mary's church to the fifty-year-old St. Patrick's church on King Street East in 1927, recognized the need for a new and prominent cathedral to serve the growing diocese and selected a suitable site that would enhance the splendor of the future cathedral. The venture, made during the Great Depression, drew a storm of protests but McNally remained committed to his plan of building "the finest church in Canada." The cornerstone of the future cathedral was laid on 20 September 1931, and the dedication of the cathedral—"in all its 13th and 14th century English Gothic beauty"— on 19 December 1933 was attended by the Prime Minister of Canada, R. B. Bennett. He fought the Town of Dartmouth in court over its attempt to collect local taxes on the Catholic schools' properties. At Saint Mary's University, he replaced the leadership of the Irish Christian Brothers by a Jesuit administration.

Legacy Bishop McNally High School McNally Building, a major building on the SMU campus