Monsignor Justin McCarthy
Title:
Monsignor
First Name:
John
Middle Names:
Preferred Name:
Justin
Surname:
McCarthy
Order:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Dungarvan, Co Waterford
Country of Birth:
Ireland
Date of Ordination:
Place of Ordination:
Rome
Country of Ordination:
Italy
Ordination Diocese:
Brisbane
Seminary:
Irish College, Rome, Italy
Date of Death:
Place of Death:
QLD
Country of Death:
Australia
Date of Burial:
Place of Burial:
Nudgee, Brisbane QLD
Country of Burial:
Australia
Find A Grave URL:
Appointments Table
Diocese | Place | Role | Start Day | Start Month | Start Year | End Day | End Month | End Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | Bundaberg | Curate | 1922 | Priests of 1928 | |||||
| Brisbane | Coorparoo | Curate | 1922 | Priests of 1928 | |||||
| Brisbane | Kangaroo Point | Curate | Priests of 1928 | ||||||
| Brisbane | Gordon Park | Parish Priest | 1941 | Priests of 1928 | |||||
| Brisbane | Wynnum | Parish Priest | 1941 | Priests of 1928 | |||||
| Brisbane | Rosalie | Parish Priest | 1945 | 1970 | Priests of 1928 |
Biographical Notes
Fr Denis W. Martin, Priests of 1928, Brisbane, 2003, p 222:
Mons. John [Juddy] McCarthy
They were both John McCarthys and they were both Monsignors. Soon after THE Mons. McCarthy of Maryborough died, Fr John McCarthy was made a Monsignor, but he was always known as Justin and, in his absence, 'Juddy'.
Dungarvan in Co Waterford was the birthplace of John McCarthy in 1893. Progressing through the local Mercy Sisters and Christian Brothers schools, he entered Mt Melleray Seminary. It seems he was a promising student for he was sent to the Irish College in Rome where he was ordained in March 1919.
Soon after his arrival in Queensland, he was appointed to Bundaberg, at that time in the Brisbane Archdiocese. In 1922, he went to Coorparoo to assist Jerry O'Leary. Juddy recalled later that he had had to buy a second hand motor bike as little churches at Mt Gravatt, and later at Camp Hill were opened as outposts of St James. At Mt Gravatt, a good congregation was 'more than a dozen people' and the first collection amounted to 2/6d.
After Coorparoo, Juddy went to Kangaroo Point until he was appointed Parish Priest of Gordon Park. It was a small parish and during the depression he suffered with his people. He had to sell his car to pay parish debts and there were not always three meals a day, yet he was always able to give to others. In 1941, he was appointed Parish Priest of Wynnum where he celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1944. The next year he was made Parish Priest of Rosalie and not long after came his elevation to Domestic Prelate with the title of Monsignor. His great achievement at Rosalie was the building and paying off of the Marist Brothers College. His car was an unusual choice for a Monsignor - a little Simca.
At 77 years of age in 1970, Mons. McCarthy retired to live at Clontarf on the Peninsula. He died on 12th June 1981 and was buried at Nudgee.
(Reproduced by permission of Fr Denis Martin.)