The liberal and anticlerical Spanish government had published a ban on ordination in 1835 to reduce the size of the Catholic Church's clerical body, which in the previous century had reached approximately 200,000.
Travelling from Spain with Joseph Serra, Griver arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia, and applied his knowledge of medicine together with his religious fervour from Albany to Geraldton, as well as across Perth.
[2] An 1846 establishment of a Benedictine mission in New Norcia by Griver's compatriot, Rosendo Salvado, was not supported by Serra and created tensions in the sprawling colony.
[3] Travelling to Rome for the First Vatican Council In 1869, Griver was appointed Titular Bishop of Tlos and consecrated the following year; changing to Perth following the death of Brady in 1871.
During 2006, as part of the restoration of St Mary's, Bishop Griver's remains were exhumed from a brick lined grave by a group of archaeologists under the supervision of Fr Robert Cross and Dr Shane Burke.