Written by Br. J.B. Darcy C.F.C.

Published by Creative, 2003, paperback, 273 pages.

When Fathers Fleming became Vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland in 1830, Newfoundland was the hub of England’s empire, but the Irish Catholics who underpinned this prosperity with their manual labour were barely tolerated. In their defence, though without penny to his name, and without any influence beyond his own integrity, the now Bishop Fleming successfully challenged the Establishment, both civil and religious. This, together with his perilous journeys around the island to minister to his widely scattered flock and his extraordinary achievement in erecting the Basilica Cathedral, marks him as one of the giant personalities of the first half of the nineteenth century.