By a Staff Reporter Mgr. Toner, Bishop of Dunkeld, Scotland, died on Monday last, aged 92. He had been Bishop since 1914, and was the oldest English-speaking Bishop in the world.
Bishop Toner was the son of a Glasgow business man, and at the age of 12 was sent to Blairs College, and from there he went for his priestly training to Valladolid. While at the seminary he taught himself Spanish and developed two of the enduring passions of his life, a love for Spain and a Wee for St. Teresa of Avila. ' Be was ordained in 1882, and his first appointment was to Port Glasgow, where he showed a tremendous energy, walking and cycling remarkable distances.
He then went •to Patrickhili Seminary as Professor of Philosophy. In 1890 he was appointed parish priest of St. Michael's, Parkhead. He stayed long enough to rescue the parish from a crippling debt and then moved on to St. Patrick's.
Being in poor health. he went, soon afterwards, to Rutherglen, which, at that time, was a comparatively easy parish to run, but he was also entrusted with much of the work of the diocese, and, in 1914, he was consecrated Bishop of
Dilnketd The diocese, covering a large part of the East coast of Scotland and the Highlands, grew slowly, but everything that was added was solid. New parishes were not launched in the air; progress in any one year was not striking, but, over 30 years of quiet development, was impressive enough.
War-time brought special difficulties to the aged bishop. The choice of Bishop Maguire as Coadjutor was fortunate and his energy relieved Bishop Toner of many anxieties. But the sudden death of Bishop Maguire left him alone, once more, with all the burdens and responsibilities of a scattered diocese.
In April, 1946, Mgr. James Scanlan, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Westminster, was appointed Coadjutor and now succeeds to the See.