REV. PETER FRANCIS O'HARE.
 



	The Rev. Peter Francis O'Hare, priest in charge of the Roman Catho-
lic parish of the Holy Rosary of Regina, first became acquainted with
western Canada during the Great war, when he was stationed at the Sas-
katchewan capital as chaplain in the Twelfth Military district. Although
at the conclusion of his military service he returned east, he had become
much attached to this part of the country, so that he welcomed his trans-
fer to the Holy Rosary parish of Regina, where he has been working
since September, 1921.
	Father O'Hare has had a varied experience in the priesthood that has
preeminently fitted him for the multiple duties of his present position.
Born at Mount St. Patrick, Ontario, on the 6th of March, 1880, he is the
youngest of a family of twelve children-nine sons and three daughters-
of whom six are living. His parents, Edward and Katherine (O'Dea)
O'Hare, came to Ontario from their native Ireland in 1846 or 1847 and
lived there the remainder of their lives, the father following the occu-
pation of a farmer. The O'Hares were among the early Irish pioneers
in Canada and came in the days when the voyage in a sailing vessel re-
quired seven weary weeks. They were both born in the town of Dundalk,
province of Linster, County Louth.
	Peter Francis O'Hare received his early education in the public schools
of Admaston, Ontario, where he was a pupil for four years; and the
parochial schools of Springtown and Shamrock, which he attended for
three years each. After taking a three-year course in the Renfrew high
school he entered the juniorate of the Redemptorist Order and as a mem-
ber of this order took up his classical studies at St. Anne de Beaupre.
 Subsequently he studied philosophy at Montreal and theology in Ottawa,
thus preparing for the priesthood, into which he was ordained by His
Grace, Archbishop Gauthier, in St. Anne's church of Montreal in 
1910.
	Archbishop Gauthier was the Archbishop of Kingston at the time.
The year following his ordination Father O'Hare spent as a profes-
sor at St. Anne de Beaupre, where a few years before he had been a
pupil. From there he was transferred to St. Patrick's church of Quebec
as assistant priest, remaining in that parish for four years before he was
sent to St. Peter's church at St. John, New Brunswick. Three years later
he signed up for military service at Montreal and after remaining there
a month was transferred to Regina, in September, 1918, as chaplain of
the headquarters of Military District, No.12. From here he visited the
camps at Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and Saskatoon, as well as officiating
at the Roman Catholic services in the camp at Regina. On Sundays he
held mass in the basement of the church for all the soldiers of his faith
and any others who cared to attend, as well as doing much personal
welfare work among the men, by whom he was highly regarded. In 1919
he was discharged from the military service and returned to Montreal
for a rest of two months. When he again took up the active duties of
a parish priest it was in his former parish in Quebec, where he worked
among his old parishioners for a year. From Quebec he was assigned to
mission duty at St. Anne's of Montreal and came to Regina as priest in
charge of the Holy Rosary parish, in September of 1921.
	About four hundred and sixty families are under Father O'Hare's care
in his present parish.  In addition to his pastoral work among these
people he has charge of a Separate school with an enrollment of two hun-
dred pupils and the Sacred Heart Academy for Girls, which has an aver-
age attendance of one hundred and thirty. During the summer of 1922
his parish built a chapel on the north side of the city and near it a new
Separate school, which has ninety pupils at the present time. From this
brief sketch it will be seen that the religious and educational work of
Holy Rosary has been greatly advanced under the direction of Father
O'Hare, who has accomplished much in the short space of time he has
been in charge. Besides his parish work, he is the supervisor of the house
in which he resides. Although by the very nature of his duties his activi-
ties are chiefly confined to the work of his church, schools and house, his
influence has been far-reaching in Regina as a force on the side of the
spiritual and moral betterment of the city.




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