Fr Denis W. Martin, Priests of 1928, Brisbane, 2003, pp 187-189:
Mons. Vincent Cleary

An arrow drawn well back at the start, shoots well forward at the end: Vince Cleary's career took a while to get off the ground.

The son of a country policeman, Vincent Francis Cleary was born in Roma in 1899. Primary education was at the Proserpine State School. In 1911, he went to board at Nudgee College where he was described as 'an outstanding schoolboy athlete and a brilliant scholar'. He was certainly in the College's cricket firsts for some years but his competitive nature was tested on other fields. One of his contemporaries was Max Irvine who, in the 1915 Senior class, was College Captain and the outstanding footballer. Neither was Vince the dux of the class nor one of the four Nudgee Open Scholarship winners in that year. Perhaps he put too much into cricket.

He was, however, accepted at Springwood and Manly. Ordination was a little unusual in that the ceremony took place in All Hallows Convent Chapel that year, 1921, as work was in progress extending the sanctuary and transepts of the Cathedral. Max Irvine and John O Brien were ordained with him by Archbishop Duhig. Owen Steele was also in the class but had asked to be ordained in Sydney.

Fr Cleary went as curate to Maryborough for two years, then to Toowoomba. For a while he was Inspector of Schools and assisted in the Ashgrove Parish. Then he made a break: he asked (or was asked by) Archbishop Duhig if he could specialise in the study of Social Science or Catholic Social Justice as it had developed in the light of recent Papal encyclicals. With an interest in the financial depression too, the Archbishop readily supported the move and Vince Cleary proceeded to the great Catholic University in Washington DC in 1931. He spent three years there and earned his MA, one of his professors being Mons. Fulton Sheen.

He also majored in Economics and presented a thesis on British Imperial Preference which won him a Doctorate in Philosophy. Returning home via the Continent, he attended lectures in London, Munich and Louvain.

In 1936, Dr Cleary was appointed to the staff of St Columba's at Springwood which prepared him well for the next promotion as first Rector of the Pius XII Provincial Seminary at Banyo in 1941. He was now: Mons. Cleary DPh MA, Rector, Professor of Moral Theology, Canon Law and Logic. The one thing former students of his time as Rector remember is his love of cricket. It was like another Seminary Subject and those who were not passionate about it always felt out of favour.

It is said that Archbishop O'Donnell found some 'canonical irregularities' in the running of the Seminary so that in 1954 Mons. Cleary was replaced by Vice-Rector Con Roberts. Whatever it was all about, some of the senior priests of Brisbane like Edmond Barry were sympathetic towards the Rector who was 'invited' to take charge of Wooloowin.

Mons. Cleary became Parish Priest of Wooloowin in 1954. He built a new school soon after, then a swimming pool at the school and in 1968, the new Holy Cross Church for which he donated the front window in memory of his parents. His curates, having been well trained by him in clerical dress at Banyo, still had to don their black hats and coats to cross Chalk St to the church.

Someone else said, 'All these old Monsignors drove big black cars with red upholstery'. It was certainly true of Cleary for he drove a black Humber Super Snipe with fitting interior. It was also recalled that 'Vince Cleary always had to be top dog.' He acted as Vicar-General, was a Diocesan Consultor, and was on the Board of Examiners of prospective students for the Priesthood. He was a loyal friend to all who fitted in with him but very reserved.

In 1971, Vince celebrated his Golden Jubilee and it was a major function at the Cathedral. Some years afterwards, the Cleary Library at Nudgee College was named for this past pupil who had 'made good'.

Mons Cleary retired early in 1975 but did not live long to enjoy it, for he died at Southport where he was staying with friend and classmate, Mons Owen Steele, on 8th August that year. After Requiem Mass at St Stephen's, the funeral proceeded to Nudgee Cemetery.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr Denis Martin.)

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Prayer Calendar: Deceased Priests who have ministered the Catholic Faith throughout Toowoomba and districts, 1864–2025, Compiled by Annie Carrett, Diocesan Archivist, 2001, Updated by Gabrielle Saide, Diocesan Archivist, 2023:
Rev Vincent (Vince) Cleary, died 8 Aug 1975

After Seminary training at St Patrick's, Manly, Vince Cleary was ordained for the Brisbane Diocese on 8th December, 1921. He spent time as Director at Banyo Seminary. Pugh's list him as serving at the Cathedral from 1927-29. He was religious Inspector of Schools in 1929 and at St Leo's University College.
(Ref. Pugh's and Manly magazines)

Reproduced by permission of Bishop Ken Howell.