Archief - Bishop George Conroy fonds

George Conroy (1833-1878), Papal Delegate to Canada and Newfoundland, was born in 1833 at Dundalk, Ireland. He died in Newfoundland on 4 August 1878.

Conroy was educated in Ireland and in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1857. He did parochial work in Ireland and served as secretary to Cardinal Paul Cullen in Rome. He was consecrated Bishop of Ardagh in 1871. In 1877, Pope Pius IX appointed Rev. Conroy as Apostolic Delegate to Canada. The following year, Bishop Conroy was appointed the first Apostolic Delegate to Newfoundland by Pope Leo XIII, with a special assignment as conciliator to the Harbour Grace Diocese, where factional disputes were causing problems for Bishop Enrico Carfagnini.

Bishop Conroy arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland, on 26 June 1878. Two weeks later, he developed a lung inflammation and died on 4 August 1878. His remains were conveyed to Ireland for burial on board the steamer Caspian, which departed St. John's on 8 August 1878.