page_title: John O'Reily
section_title: Later life and legacy
hierarchical_section_title: John O'Reily / Later life and legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: John O'Reily, Archbishop of Adelaide (1895-1915), c. 1910
context_page_description: John O'Reily was an Australian Roman Catholic clergyman, the first Bishop of Port Augusta, and the second Archbishop of Adelaide. Born in Kilkenny, Ireland, O'Reily studied for the priesthood in Dublin. Upon his ordination in 1869, he migrated to Western Australia, serving as a parish priest in Fremantle, and founding a Catholic newspaper there. When the Diocese of Port Augusta was established in 1887, Pope Leo XIII named O'Reily as its first bishop. Concerned about the financial position of the diocese, he accepted the posting reluctantly. As bishop, he greatly improved the financial position of the new diocese, reducing its debt by half and earning a reputation as a competent administrator.
  In 1894, O'Reily was appointed to replace the deceased Christopher Reynolds as Archbishop of Adelaide. The archdiocese he inherited was burdened with substantial debt, again left over from the old Diocese of Adelaide. Through the sale of church assets and a fundraising campaign, O'Reily was able to eliminate most of the Archdiocese's liabilities while still investing in church infrastructure.
context_section_description: In 1904, O'Reily travelled Europe to make his ad limina visit to Rome, and to visit his native Ireland where he was made a freeman of Kilkenny. Due to poor health, from 1905, O'Reily kept to himself in his house in Glen Osmond, leading to the local press referring to him as the "Recluse of Glen Osmond". Increasingly, his episcopal duties were fulfilled by Bishop of Port Augusta John Norton, who would have to visit the more remote parts of O'Reily's see on his behalf.  As he became more frail, O'Reily would ask certain priests to accompany him when he travelled, among whom was the Dominican prior Robert Spence.  When O'Reily requested a coadjutor in 1913, he chose Spence as his first preference for the role. Despite the reluctance of some clergy to the appointment of a religious as Archbishop, Spence was consecrated as coadjutor, with right of succession, in August 1914. O'Reily died on 6 July 1915 at his house in Glen Osmond, and was buried under a large Celtic cross at the West Terrace Cemetery.
  During his time as Archbishop, O'Reily had formed positive relationships with many senior members of South Australian society, including the Anglican Bishop of Adelaide Nutter Thomas, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, Samuel Way, who considered him a friend. In an editorial in 1913, The Advertiser praised O'Reily, lauding his administrative abilities and crediting the good relations between Protestants and Catholics in South Australia to his "broadness of mind and to his quiet determination to avoid all unnecessary controversy." Upon his death, The Register gave a glowing editorial, describing him as "loveable and highly estimable", a "hard hitter" and asserting that, had he not been a religious leader, he could have been "a leading financier, Imperial legislator or even an eminent military commander."
caption: Archbishop O'Reily, c. 1910
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