Legacy of St. Oliver

As a result of the Confederate wars of the 1640’s, the Cromwellian persecutions of the 1650’s and the Church dissensions of the 1660’s, the Irish Church after more than a generation of strife, was in grave danger of collapse. But into the 1670’s and not a moment too soon, by the grace of God, steps Archbishop Oliver, who wrote of these dissensions: “altar has been erected against altar.” Because of the deep divisions between Gael and Pale, the potential fault line in the Irish Church was much more pronounced in the northern province than in any other province. Providentially, it was here that Archbishop Oliver firmly took the tiller as Primate of Ireland, writing: “I imitate the Patriarch who without appearing on the stage, directs the whole show.” His strong calming presence, ensured that the Irish Church would not become ‘a house divided against itself’.

During that short window of opportunity between persecutions, he brought peace and order to the Church, thereby giving it hope. Through his many reforms, he left it on a more secure footing and better able to withstand the next prolonged assault of the penal laws, which was soon about to break. A former teaching professor, his efforts ensured that priests were educated, better organised and much more capable in their duties. The many ordination ceremonies he performed, his re-training of priests and his insistence on the high standards of those priests whether secular or religious, all of this helped in a significant way, in Oliver’s plan to rebuild the Church in Ireland and to leave it in good hands for future generations. His schools at Drogheda, although short lived, left an indelible mark for good in Irish Church and society.

Archbishop Oliver was renowned for his love and loyalty to Rome and he helped to strengthen the faithfulness of Irish Catholics to the Holy See, thereby helping future generations of Irish Catholics to remain steadfast in their faith. He re-established the principle that even in times of persecution, a bishop’s place is with his people, rather than taking the easier option of exile to the continent. Having brought peace to the Church, he also brought peace to the province by negotiating a peace agreement between the Raparees/Tories and the Government of the day. A tireless worker for peace in his day, St. Oliver has been adopted as a patron for peace and reconciliation in the Ireland of today, and we pray for his intercession in this regard. Many people recite daily the prayer to St. Oliver.

All saints have a vital role in God’s plan for our salvation, even those who may not appear important to us. Some saints however, are in the major league and have a tremendous impact on our lives. Such a saint is St. Oliver, who followed in the footsteps of St. Patrick in many respects, i.e. he was appointed in Rome and sent from there to Ireland, as the Archbishop of Armagh and leader of the Irish Church. In the centuries following St. Patrick, monks and missionaries from the ‘Island of Saints and Scholars,’ who were spiritually well prepared by an ascetic lifestyle, helped to re-conquer Europe for Christ. Well over a millennium later, having safely survived the incessant battering of the penal laws, millions of exiles and many thousands of Irish missionaries, who were spiritually well prepared by that unrelenting onslaught, set forth from Ireland mostly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and helped to spread God’s kingdom throughout the world. Through the great providence of God, other nationalities also owe a huge dept of gratitude to St. Oliver Plunkett and other holy people of his day, because of the substantial fruit hard won, by those same Irish missionaries and exiles who travelled to the furthest corners of every continent, from that time on even down to the present day.

Deo Gratias for the life, example and intercession of St. Oliver Plunkett.