Neil McNeil

Neil McNeil (November 23, 1851 – May 25, 1934) was a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Bishop of Saint George's (1904–1910), the second Archbishop of Vancouver (1910–1912), and the fifth Archbishop of Toronto (1912–1934).

Early life and education Neil McNeil was born on November 23, 1851, in Hillsborough, near Mabou, in Inverness County, Nova Scotia. He was the eldest of 11 children of Malcolm and Ellen (née Meagher) McNeil. His father worked as a blacksmith and Neil initially trained as an apprentice to him. His uncle, Nicholas Meagher, was a member of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court (1890–1916); his nephew, John Roderick MacDonald, also became a Catholic bishop. The following year, Bishop John Cameron, the coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Antigonish, sent him to study for the priesthood at the Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide in Rome. He there earned doctorates in theology and philosophy. He then continued his studies for a year at the University of Marseille in France, where he studied mathematics and astronomy.

Upon his return to Nova Scotia in 1880, McNeil joined the faculty of his alma mater, St. Francis Xavier College in Antigonish. Ahead of the 1891 Canadian federal election, McNeil refused to publish an article by Bishop John Cameron in The Casket on the grounds of political neutrality.

Episcopal career Newfoundland On August 6, 1895, McNeil was appointed vicar apostolic of Western Newfoundland and titular bishop of Nilopolis by Pope Leo XIII. On February 28, 1904, Pope Pius X elevated the vicariate to the Diocese of St. George's and named McNeil its first bishop. The French-speaking Oblates, who had managed the local Church for over 40 years, submitted their own terna to the Holy See to retain control of the region.

Shortly after being appointed as Archbishop, NcNeil was charged with completing St. Augustine's Seminary and the Canadian Catholic Church Extension Society created by his predecessor Fergus Patrick McEvay. right

Under McNeil, thirty more parishes were established, including those with non-English speaking immigrants in Toronto. He lobbied for fair taxation for Catholic schools.

McNeil founded the Federation of Catholic Charities when, in 1927, Toronto's umbrella Federation for Community Service refused to continue to fund Roman Catholic charitable institutions.

McNeil died in 1934, while serving as Archbishop of Toronto. He is buried at St. Augustine's Seminary.

Legacy Under his leadership, the China Mission Seminary, later renamed the Scarboro Foreign Missionary Society, and the Toronto Newman Club were established.

Neil McNeil Catholic High School in Toronto was named in his honour.