George Campbell Ommanney was born on the Feast of St. Crispin, October 25, 1850, and it is interesting: to note that the event is-perpetuated by a statue of the shoemaker saint in the reredos of St. Matthew's Church. He was educated at Merchant Taylor’s' School, and was Hody Hebrew Exhibitioner of Wadham College, Oxford, taking his B.A. degree; in 1872.; He served his diaconate and the first year of his priesthood at St. Frideswide's, Oxford; and then followed seven happy years of ministerial work with the late Fr. Ives at the church of-the Holy Nativity, Knowle. Mr. Gladstone appointed him to the living of St. Matthew's, Sheffield, in the early months of 1882; and there can be little doubt that the choice was made with the deliberate intention of providing for the spiritual needs of a minority of Catholic-minded laity, who lived in what was then an ultra-Protestant city.

Fr. Ommanney has on more than one occasion described to the writer the condition of St. Matthew's Church at the time of his institution.- It was an ugly, bare, and dirty building, closed from one Sunday to another, and a kitchen table did duty for an altar. The new vicar laboured under no delusions as to the magnitude of the task which lay before him. His coming to Sheffield had been heralded in the local press, and he was stigmatised before the public as an extreme and dangerous Romanizer. Protestant opinion was outraged by the appointment,
and war was at once declared on the intruder. : One  of  the  vicar's  first  efforts,  after setting the altar " upon his base " in place of the kitchen table, was to try to obtain a house for himself near the church; previous vicars had lived in the suburbs far from the slums of  Carver  Street. The action was typical of  the  man. He believed  that  a priest's place was among his people, he must live as they live, and share their discomforts. Ommanney was not, in

the strict sense of the word, an ascetic, but his needs were few, and his style of living was as simple as that of his parishioners. His devotion to the Spoor and  his love for their children were indeed the most attractive qualities of his magnetic personality; he was always ready, day or night, to minister to their needs, and they responded wholeheartedly to his affection. He waxed indignant when told that the Sheffield working-man was rude and uncouth. I refrain, deliberately, from considering in any detail the Protestant attacks on the vicar of St.  Matthew's, and  the exciting events which arose there from. They provided excellent press copy and attracted wide attention; but what  was of real  importance to the vicar was the, steady spiritual development of the congregation itself. The "rows," as we used to call them, drew' hundreds Of people to St. Matthew's, who came to scoff, and remained to pray, Ommanney was a good preacher, but he excelled as a teacher, and he regarded the; curious crowds as a God-sent opportunity for converting souls to the Catholic Faith. His dogmatic sermons were a revelation of how thrilling and interesting such discourses may be when delivered by a master of dialectic.

His obvious sincerity and personal conviction: completed  the  effect  of  his  unanswerable arguments. The opinion has been expressed by some people who knew him only slightly that he rather enjoyed religious controversy. This is a mistake which needs correction. He was: certainly a fighter, he" inherited this quality from his forbears who have rendered distinguished service in the Navy; but he fought justice as a Crusader in defence of holy things, and never as an aggressor. The truth is that his loyalty to the Catholic Church was absolute and he considered it his duty, whatever the; consequences might be to himself, to teach the. Catholic Faith in its entirety, and his conscience refused to acquiesce in any action which might be regarded as a dishonest compromise. When, after over fifty years of misunderstanding, an agreement was arrived at with the present Bishop of Sheffield, Fr. Ommanney remarked to the writer: " Thank God! I shall now be able to end my days in peace and in

communion with my Bishop." Although he was a born leader of men, strong and self-reliant, Ommanney was nevertheless extremely shy and reticent before strangers. He had no taste for social functions, and avoided them as far as possible, With his intimates he was a delightful companion, impressing them by his deep spirituality,  and enlivening them with his quaint, dry humour. He hated anything mean or underhand, and-he always refused  to  listen  to  gossip. The  writer remembers an occasion on which a certain lady  worker  exhibited  an  undue curiosity regarding  the, affairs  of  her  neighbours. " Do you know,1' asked the vicar, " how Mr. Jones of Chicago made a million  of money? " " No," she replied, "how did he do it ? " The answer was devastating "By minding his own business!"

A consciousness of his wishes in the matter makes  me  extremely  reticent  in  writing about his interior life; but a notice such .as this would be incomplete without any reference to it.  Let it suffice to say that he was a man of deep piety, constant in prayer and in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice, and I completely surrendered to the will of God in all things.  A celibate by conviction, he lived  a  life  of  strict  discipline  and  self surrender; he was able, in his prime, to do the work of three men because he was as; methodical  as  if he  were  living  under  a monastic rule.  He. Was a wonderful spiritual director,  and  thousands of penitents have cause to bless his memory for what he has done for their souls.
Fifty-three years ago, Fr. Ommanney went to Sheffield under a cloud of suspicion, and hostility he. Died the most respected and beloved priest in the diocese, and for' many years was chosen by his fellow-clergy in the City to represent them in Convocation. Like St. Paul, he could have said when the end came : " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." May he rest in peace!

Before

After

The inscription on the grave reads
JESU MERCY
PRAY FOR THE SOULS OF
George Campbell Ommanney
VICAR OF ST MATTHEW'S SHEFFIELD FROM 1882 UNTIL
HE DIED MARCH 10th 1936 AGED 85 YEARS
ALSO
Norman Larchin
ASSISTANT PRIEST OF ST MATTHEW'S CHURCH
WHO DIED JUNE 3rd 1904 AGED 40 YEARS