Background
Born in Richibucto, New Brunswick, the son of Henry O'Leary and Mary O'Leary, O'Leary received his higher education from St. Joseph's College in Memramcook before going on to study at the Grand Seminary in Montreal.
Born in Richibucto, New Brunswick, the son of Henry O'Leary and Mary O'Leary, O'Leary received his higher education from St. Joseph's College in Memramcook before going on to study at the Grand Seminary in Montreal.
He later travelled to Rome, where he was ordained a priest in 1900 for the Diocese of Chatham in New Brunswick. He later received doctorates in Theology and Canon Law while in Rome. St. Dunstan's College was now a university since 1917 and during the 1920s modifications were made to the campus.
Also, the Sisters of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island continued to grow and officially became a congregation in 1923. In 1929, the Diocese of Charlottetown celebrated its 100th anniversary, as well as the founding of the Holy Redeemer Parish in Charlottetown. Also that year, St. Dunstan's Cathedral was elevated to the dignity of a basilica.
Throughout his tenure, Bishop O'Leary never enjoyed great health, spending a great amount of time at the Charlottetown Hospital and hospitals further away, including in Montreal. Following his release from hospital in 1929, the Bishop went for a period of rest at his brother's home in Dayton, Ohio. It is there that he died in 1930.
His funeral mass was held at St. Dunstan's Basilica in Charlottetown and was presided over by the late Bishop's brother, Archbishop Henry O'Leary of Edmonton. Bishop Louis O'Leary was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Charlottetown.