John Pius Dowling - Archbishop of Port of Spain

John Pius Dowling OP - 6th Archbishop of Port of Spain
Born - 23 June 1860 (Freshford, Ireland)
Died - 6 June 1940

4 Jun 1887 - Ordained Priest of Order of Friars Preachers
9 Mar 1909 - Appointed Archbishop of Port of Spain,


John Pius Dowling, O.P., ran the archdiocese for 31 years from 1909 to 1940. He nurtured an increase in the number of religious orders to serve Trinidad . He welcomed Spanish Augustinians - the Recollect Hermits of St Augustine - who were placed in charge of a number of rural parishes where there were many Spanish speakers. In 1911, Dom Mayeul de Caigny, O.S.B., sought entry into the Archdiocese in the light of political pressures in Bahia , Brazil . A year later the first monks arrived to found the Abbey of Our Lady in Exile at Mt. St Benedict . In 1919, Dowling welcomed from England to the Archdiocese, the newly established Corpus Christi Carmelites. They were destined to do critical social work for the local church in the years to follow.

Dowling’s most difficult moments as archbishop were during the years 1926 to 1932 when he fought tenaciously but unsuccessfully against the introduction of Divorce legislation into the colony. In 1931, he presented yet another Solemn Protest to the Governor, Claud Hollis, signed also by the Anglican Bishop, Arthur Anstey, the Kazi of the Islamic faith and many Hindu pundits. On 22nd March 1931, Dowling addressed a mass protest rally at the Savannah along with Anglican, Hindu and Labour Leaders. The church was painted as being reactionary; divorce was seen as a “progressive” bit of social legislation. The government won the day.


The following is this Archbishops Episcopal Lineage:

Archbishop John Pius Dowling, O.P. † (1909)
Archbishop William Joseph Walsh † (1885)
Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran † (1872)
Paul Cardinal Cullen † (1850)
Castruccio Cardinal Castracane degli Antelminelli † (1844)
Pope Bartolomeo Alberto (Mauro) Cappellari, O.S.B. † (1831)
Bartolomeo Cardinal Pacca † (1786)
Giovanni Carlo Cardinal Boschi † (1760)
Pope Carlo della Torre Rezzonico † (1743)
Pope Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini † (1724)
Pope Pietro Francesco (Vincenzo Maria) Orsini de Gravina, O.P. † (1675)
Paluzzo Cardinal Paluzzi Altieri Degli Albertoni † (1666)
Ulderico Cardinal Carpegna † (1630)
Luigi Cardinal Caetani † (1622)
Ludovico Cardinal Ludovisi † (1621)
Archbishop Galeazzo Sanvitale † (1604)
Girolamo Cardinal Bernerio, O.P. † (1586)
Giulio Antonio Cardinal Santorio † (1566)
Scipione Cardinal Rebiba †


Ref Bernard Tappin
Ref Catholic Hierarchy