Brother Michael Paul Riordan (1789 - February 1862) was an early Christian Brother

Congregation of Christian Brothers

The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...

, and the second superior-general of this congregation

Congregation (catholic)

The term "congregation" has three usages specific to the Roman Catholic Church. One concerns the Roman Curia, the other two concern religious institutes.- Roman Curia :...

 from July 1838 until his death in 1862. He succeeded Edmund Ignatius Rice

Edmund Ignatius Rice

Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice , was a Roman Catholic missionary and educationalist. Edmund was the founder of two orders of religious brothers: the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers....

, the founder of the Christian Brothers, to this role.

Early life

Riordan was born in Clonmel

Clonmel

Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...

, County Tipperary

County Tipperary

County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...

 in 1789, and unlike many Catholics at the time, was fortunate enough to gain an education at the local school. As a young man he found work in Cork as a counting-house clerk. Having acquired a knowledge of Continental languages, his work sent him on trips to France and Spain.

Life at the North Monastery

Riordan joined the Christian Brothers in Cork in 1822 as part of the 'North Monastery' community. He spent the next sixteen years in the North Monastery community. He was one of the first brothers who worked down on the Cork quays.

Superior-General

Edmund Rice, by 1838 aged 76 and in poor health, decided to step down from the superior-generalship. He wrote to the different communities calling for a General Chapter to elect a new superior-general. The Chapter, which opened on July 24, 1838, resulted in the election of Br. Paul Riordan as Rice's successor. This election was tightly contested and ultimately resolved in a way that put into question the validity of the voting.

The First Australian Founding

At the request of 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...

 John Polding

John Polding

John Bede Polding OSB was the first Roman Catholic bishop and archbishop of Sydney, Australia.-Early life:Polding's father was of Dutch descent; his mother died when he was eight. He was placed in the care of his uncle, Father Bede Brewer, president-general of the English Benedictine Congregation...

 of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Riordan sent Brothers Stephen Carroll, Peter Scannell and Francis Larkin to establish a community in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. However, despite developing a good reputation amongst the locals, this mission failed in March 1847. The Brothers were not to return to Australia's shores until 1868.

Decline of the English missions

In contrast, Riordan's tenure as superior-general saw a great expansion of the Brothers' educational structure in Ireland.

Corporal Punishment

Another issue that Riordan had to deal with was that of increasing corporal punishment

Corporal punishment

Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...

 in the Brothers' schools.

Riordan died in February 1862. Brother James Aloysius Hoare succeeded Riordan as superior-general.

Riordan and Edmund Rice

Riordan is best remembered for his opposition to his congregation's founder, Brother Edmund Ignatius Rice. Several points of contention have been identified as a way of explaining the rivalry that clearly appeared between the two men. Riordan's disdain for Rice was only comparable to fellow North Monastery brother Joseph Leonard, and he has been described as Rice's "staunchest critic".

See also

• Congregation of Christian Brothers
  Congregation of Christian Brothers
  The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
  
  
• Edmund Ignatius Rice
  Edmund Ignatius Rice
  Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice , was a Roman Catholic missionary and educationalist. Edmund was the founder of two orders of religious brothers: the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers....