Cornelius Michael Power

Cornelius Michael Power (December 18, 1913 – May 22, 1997) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Portland from 1974 to 1986.

Cornelius Power was born to Irish immigrants William and Katherine (Kate) (née Dougherty) Power in Seattle, Washington. He had five siblings, four of whom selected lives in religion as well. After receiving a public education in Beacon Hill from 1919 to 1923, Power attended St. Mary Parochial School from 1923 to 1927, whence he entered O'Dea High School before leaving a year later for St. Joseph College in Mountain View, California. He studied at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park from 1933 to 1935, and St. Edward Seminary in Kenmore from 1935 to 1939. While at St. Edward, Power was a classmate of Joseph McKeirnan of Pomeroy, Washington.

Power was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Gerald Shaughnessy, S.M., on June 3, 1939, and then served as assistant pastor at St. James Cathedral until 1940. He was subsequently sent to study canon law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. from 1940 to 1943. Upon his return to Washington, he was chaplain of Holy Names Academy (1943-1952) and of St. James Cathedral (1952-1955). Power was made administrator of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Seattle in 1955, rising to become its pastor in 1956. He remained at Our Lady of the Lake for the next twenty-six years, whilst concurrently holding several positions in the archdiocesan curia. He was promoted to the rank of Domestic Prelate of His Holiness on January 12, 1963.

On February 5, 1969, Power was appointed the second Bishop of Yakima by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 1 from Archbishop Thomas Connolly, with Bishops Thomas Gill and Joseph Dougherty serving as co-consecrators. He assumed as his episcopal motto: Servite Domino In Laetitia, meaning, "I will serve God cheerfully." Power was later named the seventh Archbishop of Portland in Oregon on January 15, 1974, being formally installed on April 17 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

During his tenure in Portland, he formed a five-year plan for the Archdiocese and ensured its financial stability by establishing an endowment fund. Power founded the Oregon Catholic Conference, held the first clergy and archdiocesan conventions, and reorganized the local curia, Catholic Charities, and Catholic Truth Society of Oregon, which was renamed the Oregon Catholic Press. He also encouraged ministries to Spanish-speaking and Southeast Asian residents. The Archbishop retired on July 1, 1986, after twelve years of service; he spent his retirement in providing retreats and assistance to parishes.

As a close family friend of Seattle's civic leader Jack Gordon, Power was called upon for things such as giving invocations at Seattle's Century 21. He was a featured speaker at Gordon's retirement.

Power died in Portland, at age 83. He is buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery.