Colin Francis MacKinnon

Colin Francis MacKinnon
Bishop of Arichat, Nova Scotia
Diocese	Antigonish
Enthroned	September 21, 1851
Reign ended	August 30, 1877
Predecessor	William Fraser
Successor	John Cameron
Other posts	Titular Archbishop of Amida
Personal details
Born	July 20, 1810(1810-07-20) Near Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Died	September 26, 1879(1879-09-26) (aged 69) Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Colin Francis MacKinnon (July 20, 1810 – September 26, 1879) was a Canadian Roman Catholic Archbishop and founder of St. Francis Xavier University.

Born in William's Point, in the County of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, the son of John MacKinnon and Eunice MacLeod, MacKinnon's father came to the United States from Eigg, Scotland in 1791 and soon settled in Nova Scotia.

MacKinnon made his theological studies in Rome, where he was ordained priest by Archbishop Giacomo Filippo Fransoni on June 4, 1837. Returning to Nova Scotia, he was appointed the first resident pastor at St Andrews, Sydney County, Nova Scotia.

On November 9, 1851, he was appointed Bishop of Arichat by Pope Pius IX. On February 27, 1852 he was consecrated bishop by Bishop William Walsh, at St. Mary's Cathedral, Halifax and this was the first consecration of a Catholic bishop in Halifax. In 1853, he founded a seminary, St. Francis Xavier College, which grew into St. Francis Xavier University.

He resigned in 1877 and was then made an Archbishop. He died in 1879, aged 69.

References

• A.A. Johnston, A History of the Catholic Church in Eastern Nova Scotia, Vol. II, St. Francis Xavier University Press, Antigonish, N.S., 1971.
• Colin Francis MacKinnon at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Persondata
Name	Mackinnon, Colin Francis
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 20, 1810
Place of birth	Near Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Date of death	September 26, 1879
Place of death	Antigonish, Nova Scotia