The life sized statue appears to have been cast in multicolored bronze, standing on a low concrete base. The statue is of the bishop, in his vestments and holding a long staff. It stands on the northern corner of the lot on which stands The Bishop's Residence, known locally as
The Bishop's Palace.
Born in Scotland February 8, 1759, Angus Bernard MacEachern's family emigrated to Prince Edward Island in 1772. Angus stayed behind to continue his studies for the priesthood in the secret Highland Catholic college at Buorblach near Morar Station. Catholicism being outlawed at the time in England, Ireland and Scotland, he received his seminary training in Spain. In 1790 he joined his family as a young missionary. Fluent in English, French, and Gaelic, he travelled the area extensively as a priest.
In 1816, while serving as priest in Charlottetown, MacEachern built a church in the city and dedicated it to St. Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was the first church of several on the spot now occupied by St. Dunstan's Cathedral. In 1819, MacEachern became Vicar General for most of the Maritimes, as well as a bishop. As the area was then part of the Archdiocese of Quebec, MacEachern felt that a new and more local diocese was needed, his desire becoming reality in 1829 with the creation of the
Diocese of Charlottetown, comprising Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and the Magdalen Islands. MacEachern became the first bishop of the diocese.
On 30 November 1831, MacEachern founded St. Andrew's College, the first college in the Atlantic provinces which provided seminary training, and the predecessor of St. Dunstan’s University. St. Dunstan’s, along with Prince of Wales College, are the founding institutions of the
University of Prince Edward Island.
Read a complete biography of
Bishop Angus Bernard MacEachern at Biographi Canada.
Angus Bernard MacEachern (1759-1835), first Bishop of the Diocese of Charlottetown, founded St. Andrew's College, the first post-secondary institution in the colony, on 30 November 1831. In January 1855, the college was re-located and re-opened in Charlottetown as St. Dunstan's College (later, University), which has carried on the rich tradition of Roman Catholic education in the province.
From the Plaque by the Statue