Robert Wauchope (Archbishop)

Robert Wauchope (also Wauchop or Vauchop , * around 1500; † November 10, 1551 in Paris ) was a Scottish Roman Catholic theologian and archbishop .

Life

Robert Wauchope came from the Midlothian- based Laird Wauchope family . Although he was almost blind from a young age, he showed exceptional achievements in theology, which is why he was sent to study at the Sorbonne with the assistance of the Archbishop of St. Andrews James Beaton . It is documented here for the first time in 1526. Paris was a center of Scottish learning at the time; Wauchope's teachers and fellow students included fellow countrymen John Major , Hector Boece , William Manderstown, and George Buchanan . After obtaining the theological doctorate, he stayed at the university and gained a reputation as a successful teacher and excellent theologian of the humanistic wing of reform. Until the end of 1538 he was elected procurator of the Natio germanica (which included the Scots) nine times and also served as treasurer.

On July 23, 1539 Robert Wauchope was by Pope Paul III. appointed Administrator of the Archdiocese of Armagh , Ireland. Archbishop George Cromer , who was in office there, was simultaneously declared suspended because of heresy (meaning the recognition of the Anglican Supreme Court ). Cardinal Reginald Pole , who knew Wauchope's theological abilities from his own experience, is considered the decisive advocate of the surprising appointment . The cardinal and the pope tried to move the most powerful diocese of Ireland to a Scot to get King James V to actively support the Irish Catholics. This venture quickly failed, however, as Wauchope fell out of favor with his king, primarily due to a conflict over the income of Dryburgh Abbey (which had been promised to him by the Pope, but which the king wanted to give to the Erskine family ). Since without Scottish support there was no realistic chance of ousting George Cromer , now reigning on behalf of Henry VIII, from the Archbishopric in Armagh, Wauchope remained in Rome at the Pope's side. He asked Ignatius of Loyola (with whom he was probably friends since they were studying together in Paris) to send some priests of the newly founded Jesuit order to Ireland; however, the mission was initially delayed until the end of 1541 and ultimately ended virtually unsuccessfully.

Meanwhile, the Pope appointed Wauchope as one of his envoy for the German territories. Wauchope, who was known for his sharp-tongued criticism of Protestantism , then took part in an advisory position in 1540/41 together with the Jesuit Pierre Favre, first in the Worms Religious Discussion and then in the Regensburg Religious Discussion . From the beginning of 1542 he belonged to Bishop Giovanni Morone and the Jesuits Claude Le Jay and Nikolás Alfonso de Bobadilla of a papal mission that was to initiate the Counter-Reformation in Germany . In the following years he therefore worked first in Regensburg and then in Ingolstadt .

Wauchope returned to Rome at the beginning of 1545. Since the suspended George Cromer had died in 1543, he was ordained Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in March 1545 . However, King Henry VIII had already installed his own Anglican Archbishop in George Dowdall , so that it was in fact a mere titular dignity .

From the middle of the year until 1547, Archbishop Wauchope took part in the first session of the Council of Trent and distinguished himself here particularly in the creation of the decree on justification . His appearance and his positions were, however, not without controversy, for example he came into conflict with the Council Secretary Massarelli .

After the council was moved to Bologna , he first went back to Rome. King Henry VIII had since died, which is why Wauchope finally dared to try to get his diocese. In 1549 he first traveled to Scotland and from there crossed to Donegal in Northern Ireland around the turn of the year . Here he tried to convince the Irish clans of the O'Neill of Tyrone and the O'Donell of Tyrconell of an alliance with France and Scotland. The Irish were hostile to the foreign bishop, however, so that Wauchope soon had to leave the island. He returned to Rome and was appointed papal legate and apostolic nuncio to Ireland to strengthen his claim . However, he died a few months later in Paris before he could go on another mission to the island.

Initially, the Pope did not appoint a successor. In 1553 the diocese was finally given to Wauchope's former Anglican opponent George Dowdall, who had moved back to the Roman camp.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christopher Harvie: Scotland: A Short History: new edition , Oxford University Press, 2014, section " Monarchs, Religion, People " (" friend of Erasmus and humanist ", " reformer of the Wauchope sort ")
2. ^ John Durkan: Robert Wauchope, archbishop of Armagh , In: The Innes Review , Volume 1 Issue 1, pages 48-66
3. ↑ Benignus Millett: The Pastoral Zeal of Robert Wauchope: Administrator and Later Archbishop of Armagh , In: Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society , Vol. 2, No. 1, 1956, pp. 32–60 (here: pp. 33–35) ( full text available online )
4. ↑ Thomas M. McCoog: The Society of Jesus in Ireland, Scotland, and England 1541-1588: Our Way of Proceeding? , Brill, 1996, p. 14ff
5. ↑ Benignus Millett: The Pastoral Zeal of Robert Wauchope: Administrator and Later Archbishop of Armagh , In: Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society , Vol. 2, No. 1, 1956, pp. 32–60 (here: pp. 37–54)
6. ↑ James MacCaffrey SJ: History of the Catholic Church: From the Renaissance to the French Revolution , Volume II, 1914, Chapter VIII: The Church in Ireland During the Reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI

predecessor	Office	successor
George Cromer	Administrator, then Archbishop of Armagh (Roman Catholic) 1539 / 1545–1551	George Dowdall