Michael Power:The Struggle to Build the Catholic Church on the Canadian Frontier (review)

Mark McGowan grabs and holds the attention of his audience, from beginning to end, in this important biography of Michael Power, first bishop of Toronto, Ontario. Born in Halifax in 1804, Power went to Montreal and Quebec City for studies. He never returned to work in Halifax but, ordained at twenty-two, stayed in the Montreal region. His education and early ministry gave him experience and knowledge of French such that, at age thirty-seven, he was nominated bishop of the newly-created diocese in 1841. Ontario was pioneer territory when Power was consecrated. Despite the lack of personnel, resources, and the basic amenities of life, Power accomplished a great deal in a mere six years, as McGowan reports. It is no surprise that he was universally mourned at his untimely death in 1847, resulting from typhus contracted while caring for sick diocesans.

Presenting the story, McGowan serves the local and national Church but also a much larger audience, as this really is a "Life and Times" biography. McGowan gives the reader a picture of the man who was devout in faith, loyal to the Church and Magisterium, and rigorous in application of church law, while utterly pastoral, a tireless worker, truly humble and far-reaching in his thinking and planning for the nascent diocese.

Just as important, McGowan paints a larger picture giving context to Power's story. From his background in Nova Scotia, to the province of Quebec, to Ontario, McGowan provides a picture of the Church with its various accomplishments, tensions, and "growing pains." This was when Canada was moving toward nationhood, with the colony itself experiencing "growing pains" as a result of imperial rule and tensions leading to various rebellions. The universal Church figures prominently through Power's loyalty to the pope and with the influence that ultramontanism had in Quebec and on Power himself.

Such things and more allow the reader to see the man and the environment that shaped him. McGowan makes it eminently possible for the historian to gain the significance of events by seeing them in their context. Further, as he did in his earlier work, The Waning of the Green (1999), he weaves together the institutional, sociological, and popular history, giving a complete picture. Among other benefits, the reader will find maps, illustrations, and tables. These will appeal to all who appreciate a good biography. For other researchers, there are a useful index and copious notes. It is difficult to find any work with footnotes these days, since publishers have a penchant for saving space and money! However, these notes are easy to follow, being set out in a manner that makes them accessible merely by using a second bookmark.

A few errors are found: McGowan makes reference to the Penal Laws which were used to persecute Catholics in the British empire, stating they were implemented by the Stuarts in 1701 (p. 15), but which began much earlier under Elizabeth I in 1560. The Stuarts made things worse, for sure, with the plantations of Ulster and Connaught (1603-1649) during which time many Catholics lost their homes and land there. Two other errors reflect Vatican II theology before its time. Power was not ordained to the episcopacy, but rather consecrated a bishop (pp. 137, 186). He uses both terms, but "ordination" reflects a more developed theology of Orders not seen in the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. The same would be true of reference to the Easter Triduum (p. 241). "Triduum" would only surface in the reforms of Vatican II. These are minor in the face of the whole work.

Dr. McGowan provides not only a great story, but a wonderful resource for students of religious and secular history alike, in and outside of Canada. This work should be found in every library attached...