{ { Infobox Christian leader
| type = Cardinal
| honorific-prefix = His Eminence
| name = Francis Cardinal Moran
| honorific-suffix =
| title = Archbishop of Sydney
| image = Patrick Cardinal Moran.jpg
| caption = Portrait of Cardinal Moran taken in Brisbane, Queensland, circa 1900
| province =
| archdiocese = Sydney
| enthroned = 1884
| ended = 1911
| predecessor = Roger Vaughan
| successor = Michael Kelly
| ordination = 19 March 1853 (Priest) | consecration = 5 March 1872 (Bishop) | cardinal = 27 July 1885 | rank = Cardinal priest of S. Susanna | other_post = Bishop of Ossory 1872–1884 | birth_name = | birth_date = 16 September 1830 | birth_place = Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland | death_date = | death_place = Sydney, Australia | buried = St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney | nationality = Irish | religion = Roman Catholic Church | residence = | parents = Patrick Moran, Alicia Mary Cullen | spouse = | children = | occupation = | profession = | alma_mater = Irish College, Rome | signature = | coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Patrick Francis Moran.svg }}
Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran (16 September 183016 August 1911) was the third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney and the first cardinal appointed from Australia.
Early life
Moran was born at Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland, on 16 September 1830. His parents were Patrick and Alicia Cullen Moran. Of his three sisters, two became nuns, one of whom died nursing cholera patients. His parents died by the time he was 11 years old. In 1842, at the age of twelve, he left Ireland in the company of his uncle, Paul Cullen, rector of the Irish College in Rome. There Moran studied for the priesthood, first at the minor seminary and then at the major seminary.
Moran was considered so intellectually bright that he gained his doctorate by acclamation. By twenty-five he spoke ten languages, ancient and modern. He focused on finding and editing important documents and manuscripts related to Irish ecclesiastical history. Some editions of his works remain important source materials to this day.
He was appointed vice-rector at the Irish College and also took the chair of Hebrew at Propaganda Fide. He was also some-time vice-rector of the Scots College in Rome. In 1866 Moran was appointed secretary to his mother's half-brother, Cardinal Paul Cullen of Dublin. Moran was also appointed professor of scripture at Clonliffe College, Dublin. He founded the "Irish Ecclesiastical Record" (on which he later modelled the "Australasian Catholic Record").
In 1869 he accompanied Cardinal Cullen to the First Vatican Council, a council also attended by Melbourne's then first archbishop, James Alipius Goold. According to Michael Daniel, it is generally agreed that the definition of the Catholic doctrine of papal infallibility was based on Cullen's proposal, and Ayres suggests that there is strong evidence that Cullen's proposal was largely drafted by Moran. While in Rome and Ireland he was very active politically in opposing English Benedictine plans for monastic foundations undergirding the Catholic Church in Australia.
Bishop of Ossory
Moran was appointed coadjutor bishop of Ossory on 22 December 1871 and was consecrated on 5 March 1872 in Dublin by his uncle, Paul Cardinal Cullen. On the death of Bishop Edward Walsh, he succeeded as Bishop of Ossory on 11 August 1872. He championed Home Rule and was consulted by W. E. Gladstone prior to the introduction of his Home Rule Bills.
Cardinal
Moran was personally chosen and promoted by Pope Leo XIII to head the Archdiocese of Sydney – a clear policy departure from the previous English Benedictine incumbents (Polding and Vaughan) who were experiencing tension leading the predominantly Irish-Australian Catholics. In the archbishop's farewell audience with Leo XIII, it was evident that the intrigues of parties, the interference of government agencies and the influence of high ecclesiastics had made the matter almost impossible of decision by Propaganda. In the presence of others the Pope said clearly: "We took the selection into our own hands. You are our personal appointment." Moran was appointed to Australia on 25 January 1884 and arrived on 8 September 1884. He was created cardinal-priest on 27 July 1885 of the title of St Susanna. The new Irish-Australian cardinal made it his business to make his presence and leadership felt.