McDonough County IL Archives Biographies.....O'Brien, Rev. Father Michael Paul ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sandy Morrey sandymorrey@yahoo.com November 9, 2009, 8:39 pm Source: Hancock, McDonough and Henderson Counties, Illinois Author: Unknown REV. FATHER MICHAEL PAUL O'BRIEN, pastor of the Catholic Church of Carthage, is a native of County Waterford, Ireland, but at the age of four years was taken by his parents to England, where he was reared to manhood, his boyhood days being spent in Darling- ton, in Durham County. He was educated in the public schools and by private study, and then engaged in school teaching, being for two years a teacher in St. George's Academy, of London. He was also employed in St. George's Industrial School of Liverpool, and at St. Joseph's Academy, Oxford Street, London. Having resolved to devote his life to the work of the ministry, Father O'Brien began studying for the priesthood in a college in Turin, Italy, and at Mondovi, Piedmont, Italy. He was ordained by Bishop Chadwick in St. Cuthbert's College, Ushaw, Durham, England, in 1873, and served as priest in the Diocese of Hexham and New- castle-on-Tyne until 1890, when he determined to devote his life to church work in America. Crossing the Atlantic, he landed on the shores of this country, and after a short time was appointed to the Catholic Church at Carthage. This was in July, 1890. The parish over which Father O'Brien now has charge includes four churches, namely, at Carthage, La Harpe, Gidding's Mound and West Point, with about fifteen hundred members. He devotes his time entirely to the work of the church and is laboring earnestly for its upbuilding and ad- vancement. He has now had charge of his present parish for about four years. Under his manage- ment the church has been considerably improved and enlarged by the addition of a beautiful sanct- uary and the useful sacristies, or vestries. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/mcdonough/bios/obrien1554gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 2.3 Kb