Nicholas Wiseman

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Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman
Nicholas Cardinal Wiseman, engraving around 1860, from “History of the Church of Christ” by Johannes Ibach, Benziger, Einsiedeln, 1916

Nicholas Patrick Stephen Cardinal Wiseman (born August 2, 1802 in Seville , † February 15, 1865 in London ) was the first cardinal and archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in England after the Reformation .

Life

Wiseman was the son of James Wiseman, a Waterford merchant who was living in Seville at the time, and his second wife, Xaviera Strange, who was also from Waterford. He received his early education at Waterford and Ushaw College in Durham, England. Wiseman studied in Ireland and Rome Catholic theology , he was a seminarian at the Pontifical English College , where he on July 7, 1824. Doctor of Theology doctorate was. On December 18, 1824, he received minor orders and on March 19, 1825, he was ordained a priest . He became Vice Rector of the Pontifical English College. In 1827 he taught Hebrew and Syro-Chaldean as an associate professor at La Sapienza University . From June 1828 to May 1840 he was rector of the Pontifical English College.

Pope Gregory XVI appointed Nicholas Wiseman on May 22, 1840 as coadjutor of the Apostolic Vicar for the Midland District in Birmingham with the titular diocese of Milopotamus . He was ordained bishop on June 8, 1840 in the chapel of the Pontifical English College in Rome by Cardinal Giacomo Filippo Fransoni ; Co-consecrators were Vicar Apostolic of the North , Jean Théodore Laurent , and James Kyle , Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District of Great Britain . Nicholas Wiseman was appointed papal assistant to the throne on July 14, 1840. On September 2, 1847 he became Apostolic Provicar of the Archdiocese of Westminster and on July 28, 1848 coadjutor with the right to succeed the Vicar Apostolic of London. After the death of Bishop Thomas Walsh , Nicholas Wiseman succeeded him on February 18, 1849, and on September 29, 1850 was raised to be the first Catholic Archbishop of Westminster after the Reformation. With this he succeeded in restoring the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales by Pope Pius IX. to complete.

Pope Pius IX elevated him to cardinal priest in the consistory of September 30, 1850 . The Pope awarded him the cardinal's hat and the titular church of Santa Pudenziana on October 3 of the same year. Nicholas Wiseman was the first cardinal to reside in England since the Reformation.

Wiseman was instrumental in driving the conversions of John Henry Newman and Henry Edward Manning .

His grave is in the crypt of Westminster Cathedral in London.

Works

His historical novel Fabiola (not identical to St. Fabiola ), which links the fate of several well-known victims of the Diocletian persecution of Christians (including St. Sebastian and Agnes ) and his familiarity with the shows early Christian literature.

obituary

The death of Cardinal Wiseman received extensive commentary in the British newspapers. The London evening newspaper The Star exemplified what the public felt:

“We have the world upon the great political and religious crisis which jumped up on the coming of Cardinal Wiseman, because it is mainly in connection with that crisis that England will remember the distinguished ecclesiastic who now lies dead. He came in storm; he has passed away in quiet. We do not say that his manner of coming was free from open, but once installed it cannot be denied that he demeaned himself so as to discourage the revival of ill-feeling in the country. Despite the strange blending of nationalities represented in his parentage, birth, and education, Cardinal Wiseman was essentially an Englishman at heart. He was indeed thoroughly a man of the world, a courteous polished gentleman, a brilliant writer and speaker, an accomplished linguist. He was fund of society, and made friends and intimates among men of all parties and creeds. He loved art and the more elegant branches of literature. He represented his Church in her more showy, brilliant, and social character - as she is when she mingles with society and takes a quiet but active part in politics, and patronises art and loves pomp, and sustains the idea of ​​hierarchial grandeur. Protestants as well as Catholics can well afford to bear cordial testimony to the great abilities, the varied acquirements, the high character, and, where private intercourse was concerned, the entirely liberal sentiments of Cardinal Wiseman. It was his misfortune, and ours, that he should have been introduced to the British public as the first English Cardinal of the modern era. But all must alike admit that he bore himself amongst us like a gentleman and a scholar; and all must surely regret to hear of the death of one who had so many splendid intellectual qualities and so many exalted and Christian virtues. "

“We have dealt with the great political and religious crisis that broke out when Cardinal Wiseman took office, because it is particularly in connection with this crisis that England will remember the important cleric who is now dead. He came in a storm; he walked in silence. We are not saying that the way it came was free from offense; but after it was installed it undeniably behaved as to undermine a resurgence of ill humor in the land. Cardinal Wiseman was, in spite of the strange mixture of nationalities in his ancestry, his place of birth and his education, essentially and by heart an Englishman. He was indeed a man of the world through and through, a gentleman with the finest manners, a brilliant writer and speaker, a master of language. He valued sociability and made friends and confidants among men of all parties and creeds. He loved art and higher literature. He embodied his church in its more outward-looking, glamorous and social nature - as it is when it mingles with society, when it plays a quiet but active role in politics, when it promotes art and the external effort loves when she represents the idea of ​​hierarchical greatness and dignity. Protestants and Catholics alike do not forgive themselves if they frankly acknowledge Cardinal Wiseman's great abilities, his extensive knowledge, his superior character and, as far as private dealings are concerned, his utterly liberal sentiment. It was a misfortune for him - and for us - that he appeared before the British public as the first modern English cardinal. But all without distinction must admit that he appeared among us like a gentleman and a scholar; and everyone must certainly regret hearing of the death of someone who had such a brilliant intellect and so many outstanding and Christian virtues. "

- Memoir of His Eminence Cardinal Wiseman. 1865, p. 57.

literature

Web links

Commons : Nicholas Wiseman  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Catholic Literature That You Can Really Read . In: Andreas Wollbold . May 27, 2018 ( awollbold.de [accessed June 7, 2018]).
predecessor Office successor
Thomas Walsh Archbishop of Westminster
1849–1865 		Henry Edward Cardinal Manning
personal data
SURNAME Wiseman, Nicholas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick Stephen Cardinal (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English clergyman, theologian, archbishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
DATE OF BIRTH August 2, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH Seville
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 1865
Place of death London