Basil Maturin

Basil William Maturin (born February 15, 1847 in Ireland , † May 7, 1915 in the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland) was an Irish clergyman, author and from 1913 chaplain of the University of Oxford . He published several books that dealt with religious and psychological topics.

Life

Basil Maturin was born in Ireland in 1847 as the third of ten children of Pastor Dr. William Basil Maturin (1806–1887) and his wife Jane, b. Cook born. He was a grandson of the Irish writer Charles Robert Maturin . He attended Trinity College in Dublin and originally belonged to the Anglican Church . In 1870 he was in the Church of England ordained and went as trustees for Peterstow, a village in the English county of Herefordshire . He only worked there for a few years, but made a big impression on the congregation and led many to attend church. His novitiate began on February 22, 1873 at Cowley, St. John's, Oxford .

In 1876 he became a member of the Anglican Society of St. John the Evangelist. In the same year he was sent to Philadelphia , where he was first pastor and later rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Clement's Church. During his time in Philadelphia, St. Clement's Poor Hospital came into being. He also became a friend of Arthur Hall, the Bishop of Vermont . In 1890 Maturin returned to England. In 1897, at the age of 50, he turned to the Roman Catholic faith and was ordained by Cardinal Herbert Vaughan in 1898 .

Both before and after his conversion, Maturin was known for his sermons and psychological expertise. He settled in London, became a pastor in the Archdiocese of Westminster and published several religious and psychological books. In 1913 he was appointed chaplain of the University of Oxford . In 1914 he was also offered the parish The Holy Redeemer in Chelsea .

In the spring of 1915 Maturin preached in the USA and went on May 1, 1915 in New York as a first class passenger on board the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania to return to England. On May 7, the Lusitania was sunk a few miles off the coast of southern Ireland by the German submarine U 20 by torpedo fire. The following day, the Lusitania would have reached its destination Liverpool . According to reports from surviving eyewitnesses, he looked "pale but not frightened." He did not wear a life jacket and did not board a lifeboat, but handed a toddler into one of the boats with the request "Find his mother". He also gave several passengers, the absolution . Maturin was among the 1198 victims of the sinking. His body (# 223) was found by two fishermen in Ballycotton Bay. He could only be identified from the papers and valuables he was carrying. The funeral took place in London's Brompton Oratory .

Works (selection)

• Some Principles and Practices of the Spiritual Life (1896)
• Laws of the Spiritual Life (1908)
• Self-Knowledge and Self-Discipline (1909)
• Christian Self-Mastery
• The Price of Unity (1912)
• Sermons and Sermon Notes

Web links

• CV of Father Basil Maturin
• Biographical information and excerpts from Maturin's letters
• Short biography in The Lusitania Resource ( Memento from June 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive )