MCKENNA, Michael Frederick
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Unit: | Australian Army Chaplains' Department |
| Born: | Kyneton, Vic., 2 February 1879 |
| Home Town: | Elwood, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Roman Catholic Priest |
| Died: | Fitzroy, Vic., 17 October 1936, aged 57 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Kyneton Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Dec 1914: | Involvement Australian Army Chaplains' Department, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Dec 1914: | Embarked Australian Army Chaplains' Department, HMAT Ajana, Sydney |
Help us honour Michael Frederick McKenna's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sharyn Roberts
Chaplain Australian Expeditionary Force.
Fr. McKenna, who was born in Kyneton, is the son of the late Mr. Martin McKenna, ex M.L.A. He was educated at Xavier College, Kew, and thence went to Manly, and later to Rome. On his return to Victoria, he was stationed at St. James' (Elsternwick),' St. Francis', and St. Patrick's (city), and in each place performed zealous work. Fr. McKenna is a ship's chaplain, and will not proceed to the front, but will merely accompany the troops to the landing place. He is a man of winning character and amiable personality, and will prove a most successful officer on the boat. Fr. McKenna takes with him the good wishes of a host of friends on his long journey.
Tribune Thursday 07 January 1915 page 5
The Rev. M. F. McKenna, Roman Catholic parish priest at Elwood, died suddenly on Saturday evening in a private hospital in Fitzroy. His death was deeply regretted by the clergy and laity of his Church. A member of a well known family in Kyneton, Father McKenna was born in 1879. His father the late Martin McKenna was the first president of Kyneton Shire and he represented that district in Parliament for many years. His brother Mr. Gerald McKenna is president of Kyneton shire. Father McKenna was educated at Xavier College and afterward he studied theology at St Patrick's College, Manly (N.S.W.), and the Propaganda College Rome where he was ordained in 1903. In 1914 he went as Roman Catholic chaplain with the first A.I.F. contingent overseas. After the war he was appointed parish priest at Heidelberg and in January, 1922, he was transferred to be the charge of the Elwood parish which has since become one or the best equipped parishes in the archdiocese. His five sisters entered religious life and four survive him - Madame Eva (Japan), Madame Florence (Wellington), Madame De Sale, and Mother Clare (Mercy Convent Rosanna): and there are four brothers residing in Kyneton. A solemn Pontifical Requiem Mass will be celebrated in St Columba's Church, Elwood, at 10.30 a.m. to-day. The Bishop of Sandhurst (Dr McCarthy) will be the celebrant. Archbishop Mannix will preside and the Bishops of Wagga and Sale will also be present. After the Mass the body will be taken to St Mary's Church, Kyneton, where the funeral will leave at 4 p.m. for
the Kyneton cemetery.
The Argus Monday 19 October 1936 page 10
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