James Patrick O'Collins KBE (1892 - 1983)

Born 31 Mar 1892 in Port Melbourne, Victoria (Australia)

Ancestors

Died 25 Nov 1983 at age 91 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Jim O'Collins KBE was born in the Colony of Victoria (1851-1900)

Jim O'Collins KBE is Notable.

Bishop Sir James 'Jim' Patrick O'Collins was born on 31st March 1892 in Port Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). He was the second of five sons of Patrick James O'Collins, an iron worker, and Ellen Mary Fitzgerald. ^[1]

At 14, the usual age for doing so at that time, Jim left St Joseph’s Primary School, Port Melbourne, to join his father in the meter shop of the South Melbourne Gas and Light Co. Later he commenced a course in plumbing and tin-smithing at the Working Men’s College. In 1914, he toured Europe, England, Ireland and the United States of America with his elder brother, Will, who had just been ordained as a priest in Rome.

Deciding also to enter the priesthood, Jim studied at Hassett’s Coaching College, completing his Leaving certificate in 1917, before undertaking ecclesiastical training at St Columba’s College, Springwood, New South Wales. In 1918 he was sent to the Pontifical Urban College of Propaganda Fide, Rome. Ordained on 23rd December 1922, he returned to Melbourne and served as assistant-priest at Yarraville and East Brunswick.

Just seven years later, Jim was appointed Bishop of Geraldton in Western Australia on 11th February 1930; becoming Australia’s youngest bishop. On 23rd December 1941 he returned to Victoria upon appointment as Bishop of Ballarat, becoming the fifth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat and based at St Patrick's Cathedral in that city. He remained so into his thirtieth year, retiring on 1st May 1971. He was appointed Bishop Emeritus of Ballarat. ^[2]

A man of many interests, Jim established an aviary, beehives, an orchard and a garden with ponds in the grounds of his palace in Ballarat. He enjoyed company, entertained hospitably, played golf regularly and remained immensely proud of his family, of whom two brothers were priests and two sisters nuns.

Jim was appointed to the Order of Polonia Restituta (1978) for his service to Polish people in his diocese, and was created Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1980 for 'services to religion and the community'. ^[3]

As well as Will, another brother also served as a Roman Catholic priest and two sisters as nuns.

Aged 91 years, he passed away on 25th November 1983 in Ballarat and is buried in the crypt of St Patrick’s Cathedral. ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #16426/1892
2. ↑ Bishop James Patrick O’Collins; accessed 24 Jun 2023
3. ↑ Australian Honours: KBE; accessed 24 Jun 2023
4. ↑ Victoria Death Index #1561/1983

See also

• McCarthy, W J. 'O'Collins, Sir James Patrick (1892–1983)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2012; accessed online 24 Jun 2023.
• Wikipedia: James O'Collins; accessed 24 Jun 2023.