Charles Horan

Charles Horan O.F.M., (aka Hugh Horan), 19 November 1837-27 January 1900, opponent of St Mary of the Cross

Early life

Horan was born in Galway and upon been received into the Order of the Friars Minor in Ireland on 17 March 1859, at St. Isidore's College, Rome, he took the name Charles. Returning to Ireland, he was guardian of the friaries of Bantry (1863), Cashel (1864) and - while resident in Cork - Meelick (1866). On 26 November 1867 he was reappointed guardian of Cashel. At some point during these years he was stationed in Ennis.He was known as an eloquent speaker at sermons.

Australia

Horan left Ireland for Australia in 1868 in the company of the Bishop of Adelaide, Laurence Bonaventure Sheil (1866-1872). The following year he was reported for over-consumption of alcohol. He became vicar general, though not formally appointed. After the death of Bishop Sheil a feud developed between him and Fr Christopher Reynolds. As Reynolds was a friend of MacKillop, she became an object of Horan's ire. A divisive issue over jurisdiction and canonical distinctions between her nuns led to a meeting with Horan:

One Thursday evening, 21 September 1871, Horan told Mary MacKillop that the bishop (who had called while she was out that day) wanted her to go to another convent. She could not go that night and wanted to discuss matters with the sisters and the bishop as well. Horan told her that the bishop would not see her and added, 'I suppose you won't go.' She answered: 'Father, how can I under these circumstances.' Horan led her to believe that she was excommunicated. The next morning the bishop arrived with four priests and, in a ranting mood, amid the hysteria of some of the sisters, and with MacKillop kneeling down on her knees in the chapel, he excommunicated her and sent her back into the world.

Citing this account, Ignatius Fennessy stated that "…Horan was at least in part responsible for setting the spark to the bishop's short fuse." Fennessy goes on to say that the entire business may have been based on a misuderstanding as Horan never claimed to have excommunicated her; when some of the sisters - in the presence of Sheil - did not go to church the following day (as, they believed, excommunicates), he thought they were defying him. However, Bishop Sheil lifted the penalty some five months later and died on 1 March 1872.

Later life

Sheil was succeeded in June 1873 by Reynolds, who later became the first Archbishop of Adelaide. A visitation by the secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) in August 1872 informed the minister general of the Franciscans that Horan should be recalled "for the greater tranquility of the region". Horan accecpted his recall the following August.

Horan's life after Australia is unclear. He may have served in various dioceses in the United States for 15 years from c.1876, apparently in Wisconsin and Milwaukee. He was back in Ireland by October 1892, dying at Limerick in 1900.

References

• Hugh Charles Horan of Galway and Mother Mary MacKillop, Ignatius Fennessy, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, volume 51, 1999, pp. 140–146.

Persondata
Name	Horan, Charles
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Date of birth	1837
Place of birth
Date of death	1900
Place of death