Michael Anthony Fleming
Encyclopedia
Michael Anthony Fleming (c.
1792 – July 14, 1850) was Catholic
bishop
of St. John's, Newfoundland. He was principally responsible for changing a small mission with several priests in four parishes into a large diocese with over 40,000 congregants and was the single most influential Irish
immigrant to come to Newfoundland in the 19th century.
Michael Anthony Fleming was born about three miles from Carrick-on-Suir
, Co. Tipperary
, Ireland
. As a boy, Fleming studied the classics for two years at Stradbally, Co. Waterford
and entered the Franciscan
seminary at Wexford
. Fleming was ordained on October 15, 1815 and assigned to a friary at Carrickbeg
. His experience in helping to rebuild the Franciscan chapel there marked him at an early age as a "builder", and stood him in good stead for his later work in Newfoundland.
In 1823, at the invitation of Bishop Thomas Scallan and the Benevolent Irish Society
, Fleming was recruited to come and work as a priest in St. John's. From the outset, Fleming proved to be of a very different temperament from Scallan. His ideas about the place of the Irish and Catholicism in Newfoundland were informed by his experience of his close friend Daniel O'Connell
's nationalist politics in Ireland.
Soon after he was consecrated coadjutor bishop in the Chapel in St. John's in 1829, Fleming implemented his Ultramontanism
ideology; he embarked on a systematic expansion of institutional Catholicism in Newfoundland. This included the construction of new parish churches, the subdivision of existing parishes into new parishes, the recruitment of Irish priests, and the introduction of two religious orders of Irish
women to teach young female children. He took pains to visit outport Newfoundland, and during the winter of 1835 lived in a fishing room at Petty Harbour, administering smallpox
vaccine to the whole community of Catholics and Anglicans, and remaining in quarantine with them when no physician or other clergyman would go there.
Fleming’s influence was not limited to the religious sphere. As Vicar Apostolic, and later as Bishop, he promoted the interest of the Irish Catholics in Newfoundland’s political sphere. Through petitioning the governor and the Colonial Office, Fleming was instrumental in enforcing the Emancipation Act
for Irish Catholics in Newfoundland in 1832. In addition, with the parallel granting of Representative Government for the colony, Fleming was outspoken in the political process, lending support to candidates, both Catholic and Protestant, who furthered the rights and privileges he felt were important for the Irish Catholic population in the colony. Whether in church administration, education or political activities, Fleming’s bold actions and attitude marked a significant departure for the Catholic clergy in the Newfoundland colony.
Because of his deliberate political influence, Fleming, himself an “Irish nationalistic”, was viewed by many as a disruptive force in Newfoundland politics. He saw himself as the leader of the Irish community and was not shy about taking on the local British establishment, much as his friend and countryman Daniel O'Connell was doing at home, especially since he felt threatened by the Church of England's attempts to counteract growing Catholic influence. The struggle spilled over into inflammatory newspaper editorials, and lawsuits between increasingly bitter rivals. Tensions were made worse by the actions of partisans on both sides of the divide. Fleming intervened to get particular men elected, raising in the Tory minds the specter of a “priests' party” dominating the Assembly. From this point, church influence remained a dominant factor in Newfoundland politics from the 1830s onward.
In popular though false legend, Fleming is credited with creating the "Pink, white and green" tricolour flag
of Newfoundland. It is told that during annual wood hauls for the Anglican cathedral
and Roman Catholic cathedral
, considerable rivalry developed between the two groups involved. The Protestant English marked their wood piles with the pink flag of the Natives' Society, while the Catholic
Irish used green banners. The threat of violence was such that Bishop Fleming intervened, and persuaded them to adopt a common flag , on which the pink and green would be separated by a white stripe to symbolize peace. The pink symbolized the Tudor Rose
of England
(The Protestants) and the Green symbolized St. Patrick's Emblem of Ireland
(The Catholics). The White is taken from St. Andrew's Cross
(St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Fishermen and Scotland
). This legend, it's symbolism and origins, have all been disproven by historical evidence. In reality, the Newfoundland "pink, white and green" tricolour didn't appear until at least 41 years after the inception of the Irish tricolour and was almost certainly based on the Irish flag
.
Fleming's greatest domestic projects, the ones for which he became best remembered, were the recruiting of two orders of Irish religious women to work as teachers, and the construction of a new cathedral
for St. John's. In 1833 at Fleming's request, the Presentation Sisters
came to Newfoundland from Galway
and opened a school for children. Within weeks the sisters were inundated with new pupils, the children of the Irish of St. John's, who saw education as the best means of economic and social advancement. In 1842, Fleming invited the Sisters of Mercy
to come to teach girls and to help create a Catholic middle class. Through Fleming's influence, the Education Act of 1836 introduced the precedent of granting state funds to denominations for educational purposes. In 1847, Bishop Fleming recruited four brothers of the order of Irish Franciscasns to come to Newfoundland to teach at the Benevolent Irish Society's school. Through the 1830s, Fleming pursued a grant of land on which to build a cathedral. By 1838 the land was awarded, and construction began, continuing until 1855. The cathedral
was the largest building project in 19th century Newfoundland, and thereafter became the definitive icon of Newfoundland Catholicism.
On 9 September 2005, the 150th anniversary of the consecration of Fleming's cathedral, a plaque was unveiled by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designating Bishop Fleming as a person of Canadian National Historic Significance.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1792 – July 14, 1850) was Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of St. John's, Newfoundland. He was principally responsible for changing a small mission with several priests in four parishes into a large diocese with over 40,000 congregants and was the single most influential Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
immigrant to come to Newfoundland in the 19th century.
Michael Anthony Fleming was born about three miles from Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. As the name – meaning "the rock of the Suir" – suggests, the town is situated on the River Suir. The of the town gives the population as 5,906 and shows that it has grown by 5.7% since 2002...
, Co. Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. As a boy, Fleming studied the classics for two years at Stradbally, Co. Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
and entered the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
seminary at Wexford
Wexford
Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
. Fleming was ordained on October 15, 1815 and assigned to a friary at Carrickbeg
Carrickbeg
Carrickbeg is a village on the County Waterford side of the Waterford-Tipperary border in southern Ireland. Carrickbeg comprises that part of the town of Carrick-on-Suir on the southern side of the River Suir and hence in County Waterford.-History:...
. His experience in helping to rebuild the Franciscan chapel there marked him at an early age as a "builder", and stood him in good stead for his later work in Newfoundland.
In 1823, at the invitation of Bishop Thomas Scallan and the Benevolent Irish Society
Benevolent Irish Society
The Benevolent Irish Society is a philanthropic organization founded on 17 February 1806, a month before the Feast of St. Patrick, in St. John's, Newfoundland. It is the oldest philanthropic organization in North America. Membership is open to adult residents of Newfoundland who are of Irish birth...
, Fleming was recruited to come and work as a priest in St. John's. From the outset, Fleming proved to be of a very different temperament from Scallan. His ideas about the place of the Irish and Catholicism in Newfoundland were informed by his experience of his close friend Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
's nationalist politics in Ireland.
Soon after he was consecrated coadjutor bishop in the Chapel in St. John's in 1829, Fleming implemented his Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a religious philosophy within the Roman Catholic community that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope...
ideology; he embarked on a systematic expansion of institutional Catholicism in Newfoundland. This included the construction of new parish churches, the subdivision of existing parishes into new parishes, the recruitment of Irish priests, and the introduction of two religious orders of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
women to teach young female children. He took pains to visit outport Newfoundland, and during the winter of 1835 lived in a fishing room at Petty Harbour, administering smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
vaccine to the whole community of Catholics and Anglicans, and remaining in quarantine with them when no physician or other clergyman would go there.
Fleming’s influence was not limited to the religious sphere. As Vicar Apostolic, and later as Bishop, he promoted the interest of the Irish Catholics in Newfoundland’s political sphere. Through petitioning the governor and the Colonial Office, Fleming was instrumental in enforcing the Emancipation Act
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
for Irish Catholics in Newfoundland in 1832. In addition, with the parallel granting of Representative Government for the colony, Fleming was outspoken in the political process, lending support to candidates, both Catholic and Protestant, who furthered the rights and privileges he felt were important for the Irish Catholic population in the colony. Whether in church administration, education or political activities, Fleming’s bold actions and attitude marked a significant departure for the Catholic clergy in the Newfoundland colony.
Because of his deliberate political influence, Fleming, himself an “Irish nationalistic”, was viewed by many as a disruptive force in Newfoundland politics. He saw himself as the leader of the Irish community and was not shy about taking on the local British establishment, much as his friend and countryman Daniel O'Connell was doing at home, especially since he felt threatened by the Church of England's attempts to counteract growing Catholic influence. The struggle spilled over into inflammatory newspaper editorials, and lawsuits between increasingly bitter rivals. Tensions were made worse by the actions of partisans on both sides of the divide. Fleming intervened to get particular men elected, raising in the Tory minds the specter of a “priests' party” dominating the Assembly. From this point, church influence remained a dominant factor in Newfoundland politics from the 1830s onward.
In popular though false legend, Fleming is credited with creating the "Pink, white and green" tricolour flag
Newfoundland Tricolour
The Newfoundland Tricolour, more commonly known as the "Pink, White and Green", is a popular but unofficial flag in use in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and is incorrectly believed by many to have once been the Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador, or more usually, of just the...
of Newfoundland. It is told that during annual wood hauls for the Anglican cathedral
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (St. John's)
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is located in the city of St. John's, Newfoundland. This parish in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador was founded in 1699 in response to a petition drafted by the Anglican townsfolk of St. John's and sent to the Bishop of London, the Rt. Rev....
and Roman Catholic cathedral
Basilica of St. John the Baptist
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland....
, considerable rivalry developed between the two groups involved. The Protestant English marked their wood piles with the pink flag of the Natives' Society, while the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Irish used green banners. The threat of violence was such that Bishop Fleming intervened, and persuaded them to adopt a common flag , on which the pink and green would be separated by a white stripe to symbolize peace. The pink symbolized the Tudor Rose
Tudor rose
The Tudor Rose is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty.-Origins:...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(The Protestants) and the Green symbolized St. Patrick's Emblem of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(The Catholics). The White is taken from St. Andrew's Cross
Flag of Scotland
The Flag of Scotland, , also known as Saint Andrew's Cross or the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. As the national flag it is the Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, which is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both...
(St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Fishermen and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
). This legend, it's symbolism and origins, have all been disproven by historical evidence. In reality, the Newfoundland "pink, white and green" tricolour didn't appear until at least 41 years after the inception of the Irish tricolour and was almost certainly based on the Irish flag
Flag of Ireland
The national flag of Ireland is a vertical tricolour of green , white, and orange. It is also known as the Irish tricolour. The flag proportion is 1:2...
.
Fleming's greatest domestic projects, the ones for which he became best remembered, were the recruiting of two orders of Irish religious women to work as teachers, and the construction of a new cathedral
Basilica of St. John the Baptist
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland....
for St. John's. In 1833 at Fleming's request, the Presentation Sisters
Presentation Sisters
The Presentation Sisters, also known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary are an order of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland by Nano Nagle in 1775....
came to Newfoundland from Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
and opened a school for children. Within weeks the sisters were inundated with new pupils, the children of the Irish of St. John's, who saw education as the best means of economic and social advancement. In 1842, Fleming invited the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
to come to teach girls and to help create a Catholic middle class. Through Fleming's influence, the Education Act of 1836 introduced the precedent of granting state funds to denominations for educational purposes. In 1847, Bishop Fleming recruited four brothers of the order of Irish Franciscasns to come to Newfoundland to teach at the Benevolent Irish Society's school. Through the 1830s, Fleming pursued a grant of land on which to build a cathedral. By 1838 the land was awarded, and construction began, continuing until 1855. The cathedral
Basilica of St. John the Baptist
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland....
was the largest building project in 19th century Newfoundland, and thereafter became the definitive icon of Newfoundland Catholicism.
On 9 September 2005, the 150th anniversary of the consecration of Fleming's cathedral, a plaque was unveiled by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designating Bishop Fleming as a person of Canadian National Historic Significance.
Additional reading
- Fire Upon the Earth: A Biography of Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming, O.S.F. by Brother J.B. Darcy, ISBN 1-894294-59-9, Creative Press St. John's, Newfoundland