 In 1894 , O 'Reily was appointed to replace the deceased Christopher Reynolds as Archbishop of Adelaide . The archdiocese he inherited was burdened with substantial debt , again left over from the old Diocese of Adelaide . Through the sale of church assets and a fundraising campaign , O 'Reily was able to eliminate most of the Archdiocese 's liabilities while still investing in church infrastructure . He also actively participated in public discussions relating to education policy at a time when the role of the state in supporting religious education was topical . O 'Reily publicly advocated government assistance for religious schools , stating that it was unfair Catholics paid taxes to support state schools , but received no funding for their own . In the later years of his life , poor health forced him to spend less time attending to his episcopal duties , and from 1905 , he largely retreated from public life . At his request , Robert Spence was appointed as his coadjutor and successor in 1914 , and on 6 July 1915 , he died at his house in Adelaide . O 'Reily was highly regarded by many in South Australian society , with Adelaide 's daily newspapers praising his character , administrative ability and positive relations with non @-@ Catholics . 
