Bishop J. T. Mcnally and the Anglicization of the Diocese of Calgary: 1913-1915‪.‬

Abstract/Resume The appointment of John Thomas McNally as Bishop of Calgary in 1913 marked the beginning of a series of ethnic and cultural tensions in Alberta that were prevalent in eastern Canadian Catholicism. Indeed, a disputation between French and English speaking Catholics in Calgary could be considered a microcosm of the contrast in viewpoints at the national level concerning the nature of the Canadian identity. In order to enhance the prestige of Catholics, Bishop McNally used a pretense of concern about English-language education in Catholic schools that enabled him to eliminate the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a major French-speaking influence in Calgary. It was a step in his larger plan of anglicization in the Diocese, part of an even larger vision of ensuring that Catholicism would be an effective force on the prairies.