James Liston

James Michael Liston CMG (9 June 1881 – 8 July 1976) was the 7th Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand.

Early life

James Michael Liston was born in Dunedin on 9 June 1881, one of a family of five children of James Liston, a hotel-keeper, and his wife, Mary (née Sullivan). His parents were both born in Ireland. He was educated at Christian Brothers' School in Dunedin. At the age of 12 in 1893 he began his training for the priesthood at St Patrick's Seminary, Manly, Sydney. He later attended Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, Dublin (1897–1900) and then went on to the Irish College in Rome from which he graduated in 1903 with a doctorate of divinity. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Verdon in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin On 31 January 1904. Bishop Verdon was a very important figure in Liston's life. Verdon was a very "Roman" bishop. He always placed a strong emphasis on Roman models and on devotion to the Holy See. Liston was deeply influenced by Verdon, who encouraged his vocation, sponsored his studies and was Liston's bishop for the first 14 years of his priesthood. He regarded Verdon as his ultimate role model and throughout his career kept a photograph of Verdon on his desk "for guidance through reflection on his way, and for seeking his heavenly intercession".^[1] The next 16 years after ordination Liston spent teaching scripture and dogmatic theology at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel, the national seminary established by Verdon in 1900. He was Rector of the college from 1910. On 12 December 1920, Liston was consecrated as coadjutor Bishop of Auckland under Bishop Cleary, the sixth Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland, in St Joseph's Cathedral.

Sedition trial

In 1922 during a St Patrick's night address in the Auckland Town Hall, speaking on the Irish question, Liston queried the worth of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, praised the rebels of the Easter Rising of 1916 (allegedly stating they had been "murdered by foreign troops"), and reportedly predicted a successful fight for the complete freedom of Ireland.^[2] The subsequent furor ended only when Prime Minister William Massey's government announced that Liston was to be prosecuted for making seditious utterances. After a two-day trial in Auckland's Supreme Court in mid-May 1922, Liston was acquitted by an all-Protestant jury.^[3][4]

Bishop of Auckland

In December 1929 Liston became Auckland's seventh Roman Catholic bishop and remained so for the next 41 years. Loreto Hall was established in 1950 for the training of lay and religious teachers. Liston's decisive support of Bishop Lyon of Christchurch enabled the establishment of Holy Name Seminary as a minor seminary in that city in 1947.^[5] By 1970 there were 118 schools, with 23,000 pupils, in his diocese. Twenty-three religious orders came from overseas, largely to staff the schools, while 80 new parishes came into being. He took a deep personal interest in planning and financing convents, churches, monasteries, schools, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the aged, retreat and rest houses. He helped to found Newman Hall, the centre and hostel for Catholic university students, and to set up the Auckland Diocesan Federation of Catholic Parent Teacher Associations, Catholic Social Services, the Catholic Youth Movement, and the Christian Family Movement. In 1944 he ordained the first Maori priest, Wiremu Te Awhitu. With the post-war drift to the city by Maori, he encouraged the Mill Hill fathers to establish two centres for their care, as well as fostering work of all kinds among the Maori people.^[3]

Honours

In 1935, Liston was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.^[6] In 1954 he was given the honorary title archbishop, for his services to the church. He was also alive to the needs of the wider community and assisted many worthy causes. In later life, as his quiet contributions to community life became more widely appreciated, he was the recipient of several honours, including, on 1 January 1968, the CMG. Two years later he received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) from the University of Auckland.^[3] Liston was appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur as a foreigner, by a French decree of 15 September 1938 in recognition of his service as the Catholic Bishop of Auckland.

Last years

His last years of office were marked by controversy over such issues as the suspension of two anti-war priests and the removal of two editors of the diocesan weekly newspaper, The Zealandia, (Fathers Ernest Simmons and Patrick Murray) and their replacement by the conservative Father Denzil Meuli.^[7] But even his critics on these issues acknowledged his devotion to his church and his city, a respect that transcended denominational boundaries.^[3] In 1970, aged 88, he retired and died, aged 95, at the Mater Hospital on 8 July 1976.

Legacy

The Society of James Liston was founded in honour of Bishop Liston. This Society continues to be active in the Roman Catholic Church of New Zealand. Liston College in Henderson, Auckland is also named after Bishop Liston who was present at its opening in 1975.

Notes

1. Nicholas Reid, p. 35.
2. "Catholic Bishop found not guilty of sedition". 17 May 1922. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
3. Sweetman, Rory. "Liston, James Michael 1881 – 1976". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
4. Rory Sweetman, Bishop in the Dock: the sedition trial of James Liston, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1997
5. Nicholas Reid, p. 183.
6. "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
7. Nicholas Evan Reid, The bishop's paper: a history of the Catholic press of the Diocese of Auckland, Catholic Publications Centre, Orewa, 2000.

Sources

• E.R. Simmons, In Cruce Salus, A History of the Diocese of Auckland 1848 – 1980, Catholic Publication Centre, Auckland 1982.
• Rory Sweetman, Bishop in the Dock: the sedition trial of James Liston, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1997,
• Nicholas Evan Reid, The bishop's paper: a history of the Catholic press of the Diocese of Auckland, Catholic Publications Centre, Orewa, 2000.
• Nicholas Evan Reid, James Michael Liston: A Life, Victoria University Press, Wellington 2006.
• Nicholas Reid, The Life and Work of Reginald John Delargey Cardinal, Catholic Diocese of Auckland/Pindar, Auckland, 2008.
• Archbishop James Michael Liston Catholic Hierarchy website (retrieved 12 February 2011)

External links

• Catholic Diocese of Auckland
• Catholic Church in New Zealand