O'Byrne, Paul J., 1922-2004

• Bishop Paul John O'Byrne

Sixth Bishop of Calgary, 1968-1998. Born in 1922, the youngest of five children, Paul grew up in Calgary, where his father, Dan was a small retail business owner who died in 1927. Paul’s mother Beebeanna had a strong faith which she passed on to her children. Nicknamed Pee Wee, Paul attended Sacred Heart and St. Mary’s Boys Schools, Calgary. He entered St. Joseph’s Seminary in Edmonton in 1942. He was ordained a priest on February 22, 1948, months after his mother died. Fr. O’Byrne served first as assistant at St. John’s, Calgary and then at St. Patrick’s, Medicine Hat. His first appointment as pastor was at St. Edmund’s, Medicine Hat in 1954. He moved to Banff in 1961 until 1967 when he was transferred to St. Joseph’s, Calgary. Shortly thereafter he became regional dean for North West Calgary. He was one of the first to be appointed after election by the priests of the deanery. Elected chair of the Priests’ Senate, O’Byrne was chosen as administrator of the Diocese on Klein’s death by the Diocesan Consultors. After a consultation meeting on February 15, 1968, O’Byrne was named Bishop of Calgary on June 21, 1968 and consecrated at St. Mary’s Cathedral on August 22, 1968. He submitted his resignation to the Vatican on his 75th birthday in December 1997. He officially retired on March 9, 1998. Bishop Paul O'Byrne died in Calgary in 2004.

Calgary, AB; Medicine Hat, AB; Banff, AB

Created Jul 10, 2015; Revised Sept 28, 2017; Revised Apr 4, 2021

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