Denis Hurley (bishop)

Denis Hurley (bishop)

Denis Eugene Hurley (9 November 1915 – 13 February 2004) was Roman Catholic Vicar Apostolic of Natal and Bishop, and later Archbishop, of Durban from 1946 until 1992.

He was born in Cape Town to Irish parents, spending his early years on Robben Island, where his father was the lighthouse keeper. He joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) in 1931 and in the following year was sent to Ireland for his novitiate.

In 1933, he was sent to the Angelicum University (now known as Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas) in Rome to study philosophy and theology. He received the degree Licentiate of Philosophy from the Angelicum in 1936 and started studying at the Gregorian University.

Hurley was ordained as a priest in Rome on 9 July 1939 and was awarded his license in Theology in 1940. Later he was appointed curate at Emmanuel Cathedral, Durban, where he stayed until 1943, when he was appointed Superior at Saint Joseph's Scholasticate, then based in Prestbury, Pietermaritzburg. He stayed in this position until 12 December 1946 when, aged 31, was named Vicar Apostolic of Natal and Bishop of Durban. He was the youngest Roman Catholic bishop in the world at that time. He chose as his motto Ubi Spiritus, ibi libertas, which means "Where the Spirit is, there is liberty". On 11 January 1951, the Vicariate Apostolic of Natal was elevated to the Archdiocese of Durban and Hurley became Archbishop, also the youngest in the world at the time.

In the following year, Hurley became President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, a post he held until 1961. He was again President of this body from 1981 until 1987. In 1961, he was appointed to the Central Preparatory Commission for the Second Vatican Council.