Biography:
Early Life
William Collins was born at Knockdoc, County Galway, Ireland on March 25,1912. He was one of 14 children born to Nora and Thomas Collins. One brother was a Columban priest and one sister a member of a religious order. His early education was at St Mary’s College in Galway and his ecclesiastical studies were undertaken at All Hallows College in Dublin. He was ordained priest at All Hallows on June 21,1936.
Early appointments
When he arrived in Adelaide later that year, just after the 1936 National Catholic Education Conference, his first appointment on January 1,1937 was to be on loan to the Port Augusta Diocese (now Port Pirie Diocese) for a period of one year and three months. There he lived in the presbytery at Peterborough. That was the residence of the Bishop of the time. St Anacletus Church was the pro-Cathedral.
William spoke of Bishop Gilroy’s (later Cardinal Gilroy’s) tireless commitment to visiting his far-flung diocese. Fr Collins’ duties took him to different towns for Sunday Masses. He related the tale of having to sleep in the Sacristy at Quorn, while the coffin with the body of a young man lay in the church for the funeral next day.
When he returned to Adelaide on March 31, 1938, he was appointed Assistant Priest in the St Peter’s Parish at Ellengowan. A year later he returned to the Cathedral parish to assist particularly at St Patrick’s Church and the west end of the city.
War time service as chaplain
Two years later, his life changed completely. On January 1, 1941, he was appointed as a Chaplain to the Armed Forces where he served for six years during World War II. At the end of the war, Archbishop Beovich asked him to remain in the army for a short while, as there was no parish vacancy to which he could be assigned.
Having returned from his army service he was appointed firstly as locum tenens in the Parkside Parish and then in June 1948 he went as Assistant Priest to Woodville.
Major ministry at Brighton
At the end of 1950, Archbishop Beovich entrusted the rapidly expanding parish of Brighton to his care as Parish Priest. But before settling down to hard work he took some extended leave to his home country, Ireland. He then spent 20 years at Brighton during a very challenging time. Faced with the growth of the area, Fr Collins was responsible for the building of new Churches at Brighton, Seacombe Gardens, Warradale, Seacliff and Somerton Park.
Under his leadership, St Teresa’s School Brighton was expanded. Marymount College at Seacombe Gardens and the adjacent Stella Maris Primary School came into being in the mid-1950s. The Good Samaritan Sisters staffed both schools, as they did for St Ann's School, Marion (now closed) and Christ the King School at Warradale (1963).
A priest of the people
All these were the fruit of his persistent pastoral care for his people. He was one to work well with people, and long before Pastoral Councils became the norm, Fr Collins had a lay consultative committee to assist with facing the challenges of a parish.
His pastoral forte was daily visitation, street by street, to all the families of his section of the parish. The two assistant priests were assigned other areas for the exercise of their ministries. On Sunday mornings after two Masses, Fr Collins always visited Minda Home, a residence for the intellectually disabled at Somerton, to catechise the Catholics. It was a case of the medium being the message.
St Joseph’s Church at Brighton, consecrated in June, 1965, was his opus magnum. It was the first Church in the Archdiocese to have a free-standing altar, as directed by Vatican II.
He took some extended leave to Ireland again in 1961.
Expanding ministry within the archdiocese
Back in the archdiocese again, his energy and wisdom were not restricted to the parish. He took an active role in many diocesan organizations. He served on the Diocesan Liturgical Commission from 1964 to 1970. He was a member of the Council of Sites and Architecture from 1966 to 1981, and in June 1970 he was the Archbishop’s nominee to the Board of Management of the Diocesan Salaries Scheme. He was one of the driving forces in encouraging many of the senior priests of the diocese to agree to the introduction of a common salary scheme for all priests.
He also served as a member of the Senate of Priests, a Diocesan Consultor to Archbishop Gleeson and a member of the Jordan Kennedy Scholarship Committee. He was widely recognized as a man of great wisdom and a generous spirit of service to the local church.
In the meantime he had several trips to Ireland on leave, in 1961, 1967, 1972, 1976, 1979 and 1982. It was clear that he never lost his great love for Ireland.
In July 1971, after his long stay at Brighton he was appointed Parish Priest of Edwardstown, replacing one of his great friends, fellow countryman Mgr Henry Skehan. Though well on in years, he remained a man of great energy and enthusiasm for his priestly ministry, continuing many of his diocesan responsibilities.
Retirement, death and funeral
Approaching the age of 73 he decided to retire on January 24, 1985, and took up residence, with the title Pastor Emeritus, to live at Villa Beovich at Myrtle Bank. But he certainly did not disappear off the scene. For several years to come he was well known and saught after as a Supply Priest in many parishes in the city and country.
In June 1996 he celebrated his 60th anniversary of ordination, but sadly a few months later he died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital on November 3, 1996. His Funeral Mass was celebrated in St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral and was attended by more than 700 people. His burial took place at Centennial Park Cemetery
May he rest in peace. |
