The ordination of Bishop Michael Mulhall is a natural and delightful extension of his dedication to his vocation, according to family members.

“We’re just humbled by it and overwhelmed,” says the new bishop’s mother, Maureen Mulhall. “It’s not a thing that you’re proud of. It’s something very much beyond us.”

Bishop Mulhall’s involvement in the church began as an altar boy at St-Peter-In-Chains Cathedral in Peterborough. Like his two brothers, and their father before them, he was encouraged to take an active role and serve the priests at the congregational masses.

The family, which also includes two sisters, has always been active in the Peterborough parish. Their father, Vernon, who is now retired, was a professional engineer and chemist for General Electric. Their mother worked as a teacher before she married, and was a full-time at-home mother.

The five Mulhall siblings share a love of learning that was instilled from an early age by their parents. They also maintain the strong connections of a traditional Irish family.

“They were all blessed with intelligence,” says Mrs. Mulhall. She adds that she and her husband nurtured their children’s God-given talents and encouraged each of them to always do the best they could, and to be thankful.

The parents’ primary message for the Mulhall children was to keep things in their proper perspective.

“The spiritual things come before everything else,” Mrs. Mulhall concludes.

For young Michael, it was a lesson easily learned. A naturally quiet and reflective child, he had the gift of always being content with himself and his surroundings of the time, whatever they might be. While he could be playful and was certainly not dull, there was an undercurrent of seriousness in the way he approached life.

Bishop Mulhall blossomed when he found the opportunity to focus on the spiritual during his studies at Trent University. It was in the philosophy department there that he encountered a professor with a special interest in Thomistic philosophy. Seeing the future bishop’s aptitude and keen interest, the professor worked with him on a one-on-one basis for the entire year.

Philosophy, religion and the theoretical aspect of science were Bishop Mulhall’s primary areas of interest during the course of his post-secondary education.

When he decided to become a priest, Bishop Mulhall was following in the footsteps of an uncle he had long admired — Father John Joseph Hickey who served in the Peterborough Diocese.

Father Hickey was not able to travel to Pembroke for Bishop Mulhall’s ordination ceremony, but all who know him are certain that he was there in spirit. We can also be sure that he is just as pleased today as he was when he traveled to Rome for his nephew’s ordination as a deacon.

While his parents were not surprised by his decision to enter the priesthood, they were taken a bit off guard when the young man who had always lived at home announced that he would be moving to Rome.

While his siblings left home earlier in life to study at St. Michael’s College in Toronto, Bishop Mulhall completed his full education in Peterborough, beginning with St. Theresa’s Catholic School and progressing through St. Peter’s Catholic High School to Trent where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1985.

Though he had not appeared to be a traveler by nature, he adapted well to life in Rome.

He pursued theological studies there at the Angelicum, where he obtained his Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) in 1988, and at the Augustinianum, where he received his Licentiate of Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) in 1991 while following the formation program at the North American College.

Bishop Mulhall was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Peterborough on July 21, 1989.