Sir James Darcy Freeman KBE (19 November 1907 - 16 March 1991) was an Australian cardinal and the sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney and Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia. He was ordained a priest of the Sydney archdiocese on 13 July 1930, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney on 9 December 1956 and ordained Titular Bishop of Hermopolis. In 1973 he was elevated to the cardinalate.
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Early life and priesthood
Freeman was born on 19 November 1907 in Annandale, New South Wales, to Robert Freeman, a tramway driver and his wife Margaret Smith. He was educated at the Sisters of Charity, Elizabeth Bay, and the Christian Brothers high school at St Mary's Cathedral College, Sydney where he was regarded as a good student who enjoyed literature, music and sport.
He attended seminary at St Columba's Springwood and St Patrick's Seminary Manly. He was ordained on 13 July 1930 by Archbishop Bartolomeo Cattaneo and incardinated in the Archdiocese of Sydney.
He served as an assistant priest in Grafton, Murwillumbah, Strathfield, Mosman and at St Mary's Cathedral. From 1941 - 1946 he became the private secretary to the archbishop and chaplain to the Christian Brothers College of St Patrick's College, Strathfield. He also served as administrator of Haymarket parish and parish priest of Stanmore.
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Episcopate
Freeman was elected in partibus infidelium as Bishop of Hermopolis and auxiliary of Sydney on 9 December 1956. He was consecrated on 24 January 1957 at St Mary's Cathedral by Cardinal Norman Gilroy and spent twelve years as a loyal auxiliary to the man he has served as secretary. In October 1969 he was appointed Bishop of Armidale.
It came as no surprise to many within and without the church that nn the retirement of Norman Thomas Gilroy in July 1971, Freeman's appointment as Archbishop of Sydney was announced.
Cardinalate and character
Freeman was made Cardinal Priest of the Title of Our Lady of Peace of Ostia, 5 March 1973. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1977.
In May 2016, to mark the 25th anniversary of his death, his former secretary, Peter Ingham preached at an anniversary Mass, recalling "the widespread honour, affection and respect with which he was held in the communities where he was known." He further recalled that he sometimes called him the "'the reluctant cardinal' - he never sought honours yet they came to him anyway."
Retirement and death
Freeman retired as Archbishop of Sydney on 12 February 1983, to St John, Vianney Villa, Randwick. He died on 16 March 1991 at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, at the age of 83 and was buried in the crypt of St Mary's Cathedral.
Legacy
Freeman is the Patron of the Freeman Catholic College at Bonnyrigg Heights, which opened in 1985 and has a student population of 1,220 and a teaching and support staff of 114. In 1987, the Cardinal Freeman Centre was established at Granville as part of the St Vincent de Paul Society to provide accommodation and support for the homeless men in the western suburbs of Sydney who have been affected by drug- and alcohol-related problems. The Cardinal Freeman Village in Ashfield is a retirement home providing accommodation to 380 people.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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