Fr Denis W. Martin, Priests of 1928, Brisbane, 2003, pp 40-41:
Albert Power, SJ, MA

The 'brilliant, saintly, lovable little Fr Power,' is Fr Walter Ebsworth's description of this Jesuit retreat master seated beside Archbishop Duhig. It was an old tradition in the Archdiocese where there were no religious communities other than the Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers that a Jesuit was invited to give the annual clergy retreats. Parish Missions, on the other hand, were usually entrusted to the Redemptorists. Even before Archbishop Dunne's death, however, Duhig took the initiative to invite the Jesuits to Brisbane. They took over the parish of Toowong in 1916.

At that time, Archbishop Mannix wanted Jesuits to staff Newman College at the University of Melbourne. He applied to their Provincial in Ireland and specifically asked for Frs Albert Power and George O'Neill. The Provincial acceded to his request and forwarded a list of the priests he would be sending. The name of Fr Power was missing. Characteristic was Mannix's reaction: he sent a cable, 'Power or nobody'. Fr Albert Power came! It illustrates the stature of both men.

Fr Power spent five years at that College where he left an indelible mark on both the College in its formative years and the students. In 1923 he was appointed first Rector of the new Corpus Christi College [Werribee Seminary]. When his term as Rector came to an end, he remained on the staff as Spiritual Director and Professor of Latin, Hebrew and Scripture.

Another duty which he was called on to perform was to assist in the running of the weekly Catholic Hour on Victorian radio, inaugurated in 1932. On the first night of the program, Fr Power gave the opening lecture by developing the legend of Rip Van Winkle in brilliant and entertaining fashion. Like 'the Village Schoolmaster', many wondered how that one small head could carry all he knew, and with great humility too. Fr Albert Power died in Melbourne on 12th October 1948.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr Denis Martin.)

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Fr David Strong SJ, The Australian dictionary of Jesuit biography 1848-2015, Second Edition, 2017:
Power, Albert

Teacher, theologian, spiritual director; born Dublin, 12 November 1870; died Melbourne, 12 October 1948, aged 77.

Albert Power came from a pious Catholic family, uninterested in politics. Their life centered on the Jesuit church in Gardiner Street, and the Jesuits educated Power at Belvedere College. Albert's vocation was believed to be a great blessing by the whole family.

He entered the Society, 13 August 1887, first at Dromore, and then moved to Tullamore under John Colgan. He studied for his humanities degree as a junior at Tullamore and Milltown Park, Dublin. His health was not good, and he was sent to Australia, 1895-1901, to teach the classics at Riverview. He was prefect of studies from 1899-1901. He returned to Europe and Valkenburg, for philosophy, and to Milltown Park for theology, 1903-1907. He lectured in dogma, and scripture, and held the office of prefect of studies and rector at Milltown Park, 1907-18. He was a consultor of the province from 1914-1918.

Power returned to Australia to become the first rector of Newman College, Melbourne University, where he tutored in history and English. He was appointed the first rector of the diocesan seminary, Corpus Christi College, Werribee, as well as being consultor of the mission in 1923. He taught Latin, Greek, history, elocution, and Hebrew, as well as scripture at various times, and was much sought after by nuns for spiritual direction, which was 'wise, firm and sure'. He had a special liking for Our Lady's Nurses at Coogee, founded by Eileen O'Connor, a good and holy lady.

Power had much Irish piety, but was not good in the apologetics of dealing with non-Catholics. He was a clear teacher, but not an original thinker. He had great devotion to God, the Church, the Society, and to all in trouble. His published works included: Six world problems (NY: Postet, 1927); Our Lady's Titles (NY: Postet, 1928); Plain Reasons for being a Catholic (NY: Postet, 1929), and many ACTS pamphlets, including The sanity of Catholicism and Do Catholics think for themselves? He retired to Xavier College in 1945 and remained there until his death.

Power was a very small man, and called 'the mighty atom' because of his abundant energy and ceaseless activity. He was first and foremost a devout Irish Catholic and all his later learning did nothing but reinforce the faith he had learned from his mother. But the intensity of his faith and devotion appealed enormously to the devout and to struggling souls, and he had a very wide spiritual clientele, especially among women.

He was also a genuine classical scholar and a first-class teacher, much appreciated at Riverview by staff and students. He deepened his knowledge of scripture and was able to expound it better than most people. He was not particularly contemporary with theology, but about Latin, Greek or Hebrew, he was an expert. While his sympathies were somewhat narrow, and he found it hard to understand different personalities, he was a highly respected priest.

From external appearances, Power was a very successful Jesuit, projecting confidence and friendliness. His diaries, however, revealed an inner struggle to become the kind of person he believed that God and the Society of Jesus expected him to be. He typified most Jesuits who seemed to experience a continual tension between their individual personality and the expectations of formal authority.

But being a Jesuit for Power was not all romance and adventure to the ends of the earth. It also meant some internal changes in the person. Through socialisation processes in the Society, he believed that to be a good Jesuit he should avoid the things of the 'world'. For him this meant obedience to the rules of the Society, avoiding material and secular distractions, such as visiting 'externs', or interest in the political or social questions of his time. In the diaries he expressed the struggle within him to be such a person. In particular he recognised a tension in his life between fear and love, believing that love, confidence and hope were better motives for the Christian life than fear.

While respecting and admiring men who preached an austere life with much mortification and self-denial, he was never comfortable with that more traditional spirituality, which had frequently caused him tension and 'nerves'. Power suffered from scruples, and he needed to be encouraged in his convictions about a more joyful spirituality. However, he was sufficiently clear-minded to observe that too much self-introspection inflamed the scrupulous conscience and led to depression. He would prefer to convince himself that somehow his personal problems would be resolved once he became close to God.

He enjoyed meditating on the life of Christ, entering well into St Ignatius' use of the senses as the retreatant contemplated Christ in his humanity. Power was more comfortable relating to a loving and caring Christ. In his diaries, sermons and lectures, he expressed a spirituality that accepted the whole human person, intellectual and affective.

Power's spirituality reflected much of the emotion of the French spiritual writers whom he claimed to value and whom he read at various stages through his life. St Francis de Sales was a good counter balance to Michael Browne's severe spirituality. He read de Maumigny, de Ravignan, Lallemant, and St Thérèse. All these authors wrote about the importance of human emotions in the spiritual life. Human and consoling thoughts of joy and hope were needed in a soul that was torn by self-doubt and anxiety.

Power regularly expressed recognition of the movement of strong spirits within him, especially guilt, but as he grew in understanding of himself and learnt how to discern these spirits, he could offer himself sound advice; but he was not always able to put it into practice. He also worried about not possessing many human qualities. He wanted to be more patient, amiable, large-minded, more generous and self-sacrificing, courteous, and tolerant.

Despite his weaknesses, through direction and reflection, Power seemed to grow in his spiritual life, becoming less introspective, more controlled and happy with his life. Learning to live with tensions, and working hard through teaching, writing, spiritual direction, and retreats, towards the end of his active life, he found the confidence to record

I find it hard to resist a cry for help from someone in distress (of body or soul). And I think I can say - honestly - that during the past 20 years I have rarely (if ever) refused help when I could give it...

Living in an age that generally promoted a severe spirituality, Power exemplified those Jesuits who experienced tension when presented with an exclusively austere spirituality, and he came to prefer a more fully human integration - a balance paradoxically more natural and instinctive to the older Irish traditions in which he had his roots.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr David Strong SJ.)