iRecusant

2011-09-22T12:59:00.001-07:00

Lisbonian July 2011 Magazine

The Lisbonian, January 2011

2011-01-12T06:22:00.000-08:00

Lisbonian January 2011

Brentwood Diocesan Historical Society

2010-11-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

Brentwood Diocesan Historical Society

Essex Recusant Society

SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2010

AT THE GRANGE, 93 QUEENS ROAD, BRENTWOOD

2.30 PM

The guest speaker will be Dr Simon Johnson speaking on 'Covert Operations': the life and labours of John Shepherd, 1705 - 1761.

Light refreshments will be served at the end of the meeting.

Camp 186: The Lost Town of Berechurch

2010-10-31T09:31:00.000-07:00

A new book, written by Ken Free and entitled Camp 186: The Lost Town of Berechurch has just been published by Amberley Publishing (click here to buy).

It tells the story of the Prisoner of War camp in Colchester during the Second World War which, among other things, housed a Catholic seminary for captured students for the priesthood who had been serving in the German army. Monsignor Davis of Oscott visited the camp to lecture to the seminarians.

There is a chapter devoted to the seminary and to the links with the local Catholic community in Colchester.

2010-06-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

Lisbonian July 2010

English Martyrs Walk - 20 June 2010 (London)

2010-05-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

Martyrs Walk

Annual Conference Launch (2010)

2010-04-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

THE CATHOLIC RECORD SOCIETY'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE HAS BEEN LAUNCHED.

To download a PDF click here.

Short communications and work in progress is welcome - those wishing to give such should contact the Conference Director.

To e-mail the Conference Director click here.

Downside Abbey: an Architectural History

2010-04-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as, ‘the most splendid demonstration of the renaissance of Roman Catholicism in England’, the Neo Gothic abbey church at Downside Abbey, Somerset was built between the 1880s and the 1930s under the direction of some of the country’s most renowned ecclesiastical architects. This elegant new book reviews the history and construction of this magnificent building, designed to rival the scale of England’s great medieval Gothic cathedrals. Contributions by distinguished architectural historians explore, among other subjects, Thomas Garner’s majestic choir, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s soaring nave and the exquisitely redesigned Lady chapel of Sir Ninian Comper. Generously illustrated throughout with drawings, plans, archival photography and dramatic new images by Paul Barker, the UK’s pre-eminent architectural photographer. Downside Abbey is an absorbing account of a remarkable place of worship.

A unique and beautiful book celebrating the architecture of this magnificent English abbey church.
Features specially commissioned images by acclaimed architectural photographer Paul Barker.
Includes contributions from such leading architectural historians as Gavin Stamp and Alan Powers.

Dom Aidan Bellenger is Abbot of Downside Abbey and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries. He is the author of numerous historical studies.

Pre – publication offer at only £35
(November 2010)

Downside Abbey: an Architectural History (London, 2010) is available to pre-order from Downside Abbey. To place an order please detach this slip and enclose payment for £40 (incl. £5 p&p): cheques to be made payable to Downside Abbey Trustees and sent to Dr. Simon P. Johnson, Downside Abbey, Stratton on the Fosse, BATH, BA3 4RH e-mail: histresearch@downside.co.uk ; Tel.: (01761) 235 313. Credit card and online orders can be made via the Downside Abbey website: http://www.downside.co.uk/online_shop/History.html

The Lisbonian Magazine (Now available online)

2010-02-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Lisbonian is the bi-annual magazine for those educated at the English College at Lisbon up to the start of the 1970s.

Under the editorship of Kevin Hartley the magazine serves to keep alumni in touch with one another whilst also reporting on events. There are also a series of articles, written by alumni or those with an association to the College, on various themes - ranging from the historical to ecclesiastical.

The latest online magazine edition (2010) can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking on the College magazine's logo in the right hand pane of iRecusant.

Downside Abbey Research Centre

2010-02-01T02:30:00.000-08:00

Downside Abbey's Research Centre is now open and publications are coming out of the re-established Downside Abbey Press.

Click on the Pope above to be redirected to the Publications page...

Blessed Margaret Pole

2009-09-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Blessed Margaret Pole: Countess of Salisbury (1473 - 1541)

Dom Aidan Bellenger OSB, Abbot of Downside

This special number of South Western Catholic History was originally published as no. 19 (Downside Abbey Press, Bath, 2001). It is dedicated to the text of an address given at Farleigh Castle on the 28th May 2001 at a celebration of Margaret Pole's life organised by a Downside monk, Dom Gervase Murray-Bligh.

Limited copies have been reprinted. Copies are available from Dr. Simon P. Johnson, Downside Abbey, Stratton on the Fosse, BATH, BA3 4RH [£5 cheque including shipping payable to Downside Abbey Trustees].

To receive an e-order form (or a postal version) please e-mail: histresearch@downside.co.uk

Catholic History UK

2009-09-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

www.catholic-history.org.uk/crs

The details for the Catholic Record Society Conference (2010) have been announced on the Catholic History website run by Dom Anselm Cramer at Ampleforth (t'other place). We are currently in the process of selecting speakers and work in progress (short comms).

We would welcome suggestions for themes, papers (topics) and speakers. The (2010) jolly will be held at Liverpool Hope (26th to 29th July). Please leave comments below or e-mail me at sjohnson@downside.co.uk

Baron Corvo: 'A Genius for Inaccuracy'

2009-09-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

BARON CORVO STUDIES: A GENIUS FOR INACCURACY

by Robert Scoble

The publication of number nine in Robert Scoble's Raven Monographs about the life and work of Frederick Rolfe is now available.

The publication, as well as Scoble's many other monographs on Corvoiana can be purchased at Callum James Books: to visit the store click here.

The following blurb is from their site:

When in the early months of 1903 Frederick Rolfe decided to seek financial help from the Royal Literary Fund, he was unaware that the most influential of the Fund's committee members was determined to thwart him. Edmund Gosse was one of England's foremost men of letters, despite his reputation for literary criticism which was distinctly careless with the facts. At times his mistakes were so egregious that Henry James was moved to lament Gosse's 'genius for inaccuracy'. When Rolfe's case came before the committee, Gosse urged its rejection, embroidering his remarks with gratuitous exaggerations. He was a man used to getting his own way, and having come to the view that Rolfe was undeserving, he took his 'genius for inaccuracy' to the Committee table and ensured that Rolfe's long struggle against dire poverty would continue.

Baker Symposium (Douai Abbey)

2009-09-01T06:23:00.001-07:00

The Baker Symposium

Douai Abbey 3rd September 2009

ENGLISH BENEDICTINE HISTORY COMMISSION

ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2009

AT DOUAI ABBEY, UPPER WOOLHAMPTON, READING RG7 5TQ

The Symposium will reflect on the writings of Dom AUGUSTINE BAKER (1573-1641), the English Benedictine mystical writer. It will also mark the retirement of Dr. JAMES HOGG, the distinguished general editor of the Analecta Cartusiana series, and the work of Baker’s editor, REV. Dr JOHN CLARK.

For further information click here.

The Catholic Diaspora (Downside Abbey Conference)

2009-08-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

FIFTH ANNUAL HISTORY CONFERENCE

THE CATHOLIC DIASPORA

CATHOLIC EXILE ABROAD FROM THE BRITISH ISLES: 1559 - 1829

ST. BEDE CENTRE: FRIDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER

09.45 - 17.30

FOR A FULL PROGRAMME CLICK HERE or download the SCRIBD file in the right hand corner of the Blog.

The Hansom Legacy

2009-08-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

The Edwin Mellen Press has announced the pre-publication of the work of Penelope Harris (CRS Conference, 2008) on the eminent Victorian architect, Joseph Hansom entitled: The Hansom Legacy.

For further details and/or to order a copy, click here.

Courts and Capitals Conference: 1815 - 1914

2009-08-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Courts and Capitals 1815 - 1914

Conference

The Third Courts and Capitals Conference organised by the Society for Court Studies and the Victorian Society.

At the Art Workers' Guild, 6 Queen Square, London, WC1

Saturday 7th November 2009, 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

(Doors Open 9.30 a.m.)

Papers include (selected)

The Slow Death of Royal Dresden, 1814 - 1914 by Giles MacDonogh

Athens: the creation of a Royal Capital by George Vassiliades

'It is the Sovereign who makes the Palace, as a sotne in a field may become an altar': Bucharest under the Hohenzollerns by John Villiers

Further information can be obtained from, The Victorian Society on (020) 8747 5895 or e-mail: events@victoriansociety.org.uk

Downside Abbey Recusant Colloquium (2009)

2009-08-04T03:27:00.001-07:00

DOWNSIDE ABBEY RECUSANT COLLOQUIUM

FRIDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER (2009)

Downside Abbey will be hosting its fifth annual Recusant Colloquium on Friday the 11th September at the St. Bede Centre, Downside Abbey, BATH, BA3 4RH on:

The Catholic Diaspora: Catholic Exile from the British Isles: 1568 - 1829

Speakers include Dr. Gabriel Glickman (Hertford College, Oxford) on Jacobite Approaches to Louis XIV: c. 1640 - 1745; Mr. Andrew Nicoll (Keeper of the Scottish Catholic Archives); Dr. James Kelly (QMUL) on The Petre Dynasty and Dr. Simon Johnson on The English College at Lisbon and the Napoleonic Occupation (selected).

For further enquiries or to make a free booking call (01761) 232 205 or e-mail for an order form and booking information at: histresearch@downside.co.uk

To download the flyer, click here.

The Raven Series: Frederick Rolfe, Baron Corvo

2009-07-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

The Raven Series: Frederick Rolfe (Baron Corvo)

For every young Catholic gentleman, no library is complete without a work by Frederick Rolfe the self styled Baron Corvo. Described by Time magazine as a, 'freakishly talented eccentric', Rolfe, after a somewhat troubled youth, grew into a literary polymath in later life before he succumbed to alcoholism and a plethora of other unsavoury activities. Nevertheless, much of his life went with the territory of being a young Catholic artist. Rolfe's infamous, Hadrian VII (1904) remains one of the few books that I re-read time and time again - no seminarian should be without a copy. It's genius represents a literary parallel with similar cultural shifts in late nineteenth century Europe: what Pugin and Hardman did to imagine ecclesiastical architecture as it would have been without the Reformation, Rolfe provided a narrative utopia of Catholic England without the nasty hangover of the Elizabethan Settlement: the canonisation of Mary Queen of Scots, the papal golden rose to Empress Victoria - a 'do it yourself' vade mecum to the Reconversion of England - Victoriana style.

A few years ago, I was contacted by a PhD student in Sydney, Australia, who asked for information as to Rolfe's links with the English Catholic Diaspora and the Ecclesiastical Missionary Infrastructure on the Continent. At first I was horrified to think that Rolfe had anything to do with Douai, Lisbon, Valladolid et. al. However, after years of communication with Robert Scoble, the latter provides a convincing narrative of Rolfe the man - a literary hero and a deeply misunderstood yet troubled man. Yet another English Catholic in dire need of historiographical rehabilitation.

Anyone interested in Rolfe should take a look at Scoble's series of monographs on the author - published by James Callum books - some of these are sold out already.

[Rolfe the Jacobite]

For the full series and more information click here.

Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor (Part 2)

2009-06-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

No one would really expect the journalist Christopher Howse to side with the Protestant apologists in reviewing Duffy. Howse writes for The Spectator, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Catholic Herald. This short review, in last week's Telegraph in his Sacred Mysteries column was a good overview of Duffy for the casual public. Entitled, Why Queen Mary wanted to burn' Howse noted:

He [Duffy] has done for the policy of Mary Tudor [...] what Henry Kamen did in 1998 for the Spanish Inquisition in a book of his own - exploding myths and explaining thinking of the time.

Copyright of The Telegraph

Click on Howse's beard for the full article:

Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor (Part 1)

2009-06-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

I've always considered Eamon Duffy's work to be nigh on infallible and his humour always impeccable. Few can argue that the subject matter of Duffy's recent opus Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor (Yale University Press, 2009) could ever be described as humourous. Duffy is acutely aware of the current global climate and naturally opens himself up to accusations of cold heartedness and a lack of compassion. An historian is not a novelist and I think, having finished the book, Duffy doesw well to avoid the bloody coating that has oozed through centuries of ecclesiastical historiography. Historical understanding is not enhanced by an endless debate as to who suffered most.

As a triumvirate of works, with, The Stripping of the Altars and, The Vicar Morepath, Professor Duffy has done more to attack the monolithic A.G. Dicken's classical text, The English Reformation (London, 1964) which, despite being written in the swinging sixties, was little more than the academic equiavlent to three centuries of Whig domination of British history, than any scholar in the past forty-five years.

I was frankly suprised by the range of reviews. No-one expected Duffy to be able to publish anything without considerable attention and critical analysis. That is the measure of the man. However, the hostility evoked by the book came from the most unlikely of sources (more to follow).

I was most suprised by David Starkey's review in The Sunday Times (14 June 2009):

Eamon Duffy is a 62-year-old Irish "cradle Catholic" who, as professor of the history of Christianity at Cambridge, has made it his business to force the English to think again about the central event in their history, the Protestant Reformation. Did the Reformation take place, as Protestants claimed, because the Catholic Church was rotten within, and overwhelmed from without by the new doctrine? Or was it simply, as Catholics argued, that Henry VIII fell in lust with Anne Boleyn and, because he couldn't have his way, broke with Rome?

Copyright - The Times

The beauty about Starkey's analysis of Fires of Faith is that it is one of the few that takes the work and places it soundly with the context of its rightful historiography - as a piece of analytical historical research and without the confessionalism that has plagued English ecclesiastical history since the Reformation. That is Starkey's most attractive point - he's not anti-Catholic, he's anti-God.

I shall not give away too much from the book as it's worth buying for yourselves: Pole looms large, Mary doesn't and at times the work is chillingly uncompassionate... as all good history should be. For example, citing Starkey again:

[T]this is the nub of the book, the burning - all 284 of them - worked. There is no evidence, Duffy claims, that public sympathy was on the side of the heretics. If the burnings tailed off towards the end of Mary's reign, it was not because of any failure of nerve but because the supply of victimes was getting exhausted.

To read the full review of Starkey click here.

Catholic Record Society Conference (2009)

2009-06-13T06:55:00.001-07:00

The Catholic Record Society's 52nd Annual Conference (2009)

Monday 27th July - Thursday 30th July

Liverpool Hope University (Hope Park Campus)

The Catholic Record Society is the leading Catholic historical society in the British Isles (founded in 1904).

This year's conference includes the following papers (selected):

'They judge the place to terror framed by art': Elizabethan Catholic Images of Martyrdom.

Dr. Anne K. Dillon

Robert Owen's The History of Purgatory: A Recusant Morality Play

Professor Alison Shell

Robert Persons' Conference about the next succession (1597): Politics and Political Theory

Professor Stefania Tutino

Prelates at War: Cardinal Bourne, Bishop Ward and the St. Edmund's College Cadet Corps Dispute

Rev. Dr. Stewart Foster

FOR FULL PROGRAMME DETAILS CLICK HERE

FOR A BOOKING FORM CLICK HERE

For further information e-mail: sjohnson@downside.co.uk

Professor Eamon Duffy Lecture

2009-06-12T05:56:00.001-07:00

SATURDAY 27th JUNE

Christs College Chapel, University of Cambridge

LECTURE

Professor of the History of Christianity, University of Cambridge and President of Magdalene College

For further information see: www.christs.cam.ac.uk/chapel or www.christs.cam.ac.uk/choir

Or e-mail the College chaplain: Christopher Wood at cmw66@cam.ac.uk

My thanks to a reader for pointing out this information - for further information, including the Annual Requim Mass of Lady Margaret Beaufort see the College chapel's term card (click item above).

Corpus Christi Procession - Downside Abbey

2009-06-11T02:52:00.000-07:00

Corpus Christi Procession

at Downside Abbey

Sunday 14th June at 3 p.m.

There will be tea afterwards.

British Perceptions of Roman Catholicism and National Security, 1850 - 1973

2009-06-09T03:04:00.001-07:00

'British Perceptions of Roman Catholicism and National Security, 1850 - 1973'

AHRC/ESRC funded PhD Studentship

(full details see SCRIBD file under me ---> toggle full view for full PDF)

This studentship will commence on 1 October 2009 and will be based at the Open University's campus at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes. It is funded under the AHRC/ESRC Global Uncertainties programme, and will be supervised by Professor John Wolffe and Dr. Carol Richardson.

The successful candidate will be expected to undertake a survey of changing British attitudes to Roman Catholicism and the Vatican between the 'Papal Aggression' of 1850 and British entry into the European Community in 1973, and to carry out detailed work on particular case studies. These might include the First and/or Second Vatican Councils, or views of Anglo-Vatican diplomatic relations in crucial periods such as the First World War.

The studentship will form part of a wider funded research programme on 'Protestant-Catholic Conflict: Historical Legacies and Contemporary Realities', which will offer rich collaborative opportunities.

For further particulars and information on how to apply contact Yvonne Bartley on Y.S.Bartley@open.ac.uk or (01908) 332 790. Address: Faculty of Arts, The Open Unviersity, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA

CLOSING DATE: 25th June 2009

A Day Out with Thomas More

2009-06-08T11:16:00.001-07:00

For further information please either contact the above web-page or e-mail me at:

sjohnson@downside.co.uk

'Priest and Patriot.'

2009-06-04T11:34:00.001-07:00

Dr. James Hagerty's epic biographical account of Cardinal Hinsley, 'Priest and Patriot', has actually been out for quite a while. I always think that providing I'm only six months behind with reading then ... that's progress.

A publication of Family Publications , Hagerty provides us with the definitive vade mecum for any scholar of the life and reign of Hinsely and indeed for those interested in English Catholicism in the first half of the twentieth century.

Hagerty is a fine man. I have known him for some years and James is also a member of the Catholic Record Society Council. Hagerty is a noted modern historian and, unlike many colleagues, thoroughly pleasant and down to earth.

In many ways he was destined to write this fine work- as Headmaster of St. Bede's Grammar School in Bradford (1987 - 2001), Hagerty continued the legacy of Hinsely who had founded the institution at the dawn of the twentieth century in an effort to provide an infrastructure to give social cohesion to the Catholic communities of South Yorkshire.

The comprehensive account of Hinsley's life, given in this work is positively Herculean. Hagerty begins with Hinsley's youth, his vocation, his time at Ushaw College (I never knew he was responsible for cataloguing almost the entire of the library there) and the English College, Rome. His time as Headmaster of St. Bede's is skilfully charted as is his time on the English Mission (1904 - 17). As Rector of the English College at Rome, Hagerty uses a wealth of documentary material to detail Hinsely's administration, his reforms and the legacy he left behind.

The second third of the work is devoted to what I see as Hinsley's greatest contribution to the Universal Church - his missionary work in Africa and his delegation as Apostolic Visitor (1928 - 30) to Africa. Here, Hinsley skilfully balanced the duty of the English Catholic to be loyal to the British Empire whilst remaining loyal to the Holy See. English Catholic history is littered with men and women who failed to achieve that - for good or ill. Hagerty's detailed expose of the vast administrative capacity of Hinsley's small team across an immense continent suggests something akin to archival exhaustion. This is the result of years of careful archival collation and will remain the definitive account of the Cardinal for the next hundred years - if not longer.

The last five chapters examine Hinsley's role as Archbishop (later Cardinal) of Westminster and the aftermath of the death of Cardinal Bourne. Hinsley reigned from (1935 - 43). Clearly the war overshadowed much of his office yet Hagerty does not let this dominate the text. As Archbishop, Hinsley's ability to govern a large archdiocese was unquestioned - what was Westminster to Africa? However, unlike some of his successors, Hinsley was no establishment man; yet, he was a heroic man. He fought to keep Catholic education under the control of the Church which, as the current incumbent of Westminster is aware, was pivotal to the sustainability of the English Catholic communities.

Anyway. That's a brief snippet as to this great work.

Duke Humphrey Society

2009-06-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

My thanks to an iRecusant who brought to my attention an historical society of which I had no idea existed. The Duke of Gloucester society is an interesting group. Ultimately it is a society which cares for the Duke's soteriological needs - namely ensuring that Holy Mass is said for the repose of his soul - an annual Mass is said for this purpose. The society also hosts various events (largely historical and via the medium of talks, etc.)

O.K. Old Humphrey can't be considered Early Modern in any respect - but it is interesting that this tradition has survived the Reformation (or at least has been reinstated).

I was interested in the fact that this year's Annual Requiem Mass was held at St. Alban's Anglican cathedral in the Tridentine Rite on Saturday 21st February. The society's literature gave the impression that this was a great success. Of course, Humphrey (pre-Renaissance man that he was) wouldn't have ever heard the Tridentine Rite. In fact he was dead for some ninety-eight years before Trent began. I suppose that really it ought to have been said in the Sarum Rite (still valid ... even today) - the fact that it was held at St. Alban's should not be seen as an ecumenical venture but because it was a former abbey named after one of the first known Roman patricians put to death for harboring a priest... put in statute some thirteen centuries later. It's also where old Humphrey is buried.

The society is closely linked with the OPs at Blackfriars, Oxford.

The following is from their own literature:

Duke Humphrey of Gloucester was a fifteenth century English Polymath: statesman and scholar, Regent of England, constable of Calais. Warden of the Cinque Ports and also a senior judge, he also built up the outstanding collection of books which formed the basis of the Bodleian Library.

Do feel free to contact the society for further information:

The Duke Humphrey Society,

29 National Works,

Bath Road,

Hounslow,

MIDDLESEX,

TW4 7EA

Or e-mail: duke_humphrey_soc@btinternet.com

Address from the Abbot President of the EBC

2009-05-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Address from the Right Reverend Dom Richard Yeo (MA) JCD

Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation

Relaunch of the South East Recusant History Journal (Essex Recusant)

2009-05-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

South East Recusant History

Monsignor Daniel Shanahan, founder of Essex Recusant

The South-Eastern Catholic History journal incorporates Essex Recusant and London Recusant, but the geographical remit is interpreted generously. Currently, the Essex branch, the only active one, meets at The Grange in Brentwood, though visits are made to London. A yearly programme of talks and visits to places of Catholic interest is arranged. The present annual subscription is £10, which includes the journal South-Eastern Catholic History, published annually in the Spring, and any other offers or publications included in that year. The journal can be purchased without becoming a full member for £6. All enquiries should be directed to the secretary, Miss Isobel Parks (tel: 01268 289 678).

......................................................................................................................
Please cut out and return, with payment, to Miss Isobel Parks, Magdalene Lodge, Wash Road, Laindon, Essex, SS15 4AZ. Please make all cheques payable to 'Essex Recusant'.

Title: Name:
Address:

Telephone number:
Please circle which membership is desired:

Full membership (£10) Journal only (£6)

Any further queries (including PDF membership forms) contact Simon at:

histresearch@downside.co.uk

Stourton and the Jews

2009-05-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

Many bloggers have attacked the BBC over the years for their often rampant anti-Catholicism. However with the excellent series of radio programs on Henry VIII (Professor Peter Marshall on Henry's faith being one such gem) named, perhaps inappropriately, 'King of kings'.

Jeremy Northam's narration on Leland was very good: objective and refreshingly revisionist.

I recommend Stourton (an Old Amplefordian) on the Jews.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00k9ppm/Catholics_and_Jews_From_Pogroms_to_Pius_XII

Catholic History Day (2009) York

2009-04-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

Poster2009-1

Publish at Scribd or explore others: design culture

Catholic Archive Society: Ushaw College, Durham 2009

2009-04-19T07:55:00.001-07:00

The Catholic Archive Society The Catholic Archive Society aduniversalisecclesiae

Publish at Scribd or explore others: School Work published research

2009-02-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

Recusant of the Week (1)

2008-10-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Recusant of the Week (1) - Upload a Document to Scribd

The English College at Lisbon: 1622 - 1972

2008-10-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Title Page ECL 2009 - Upload a Document to Scribd

I am pleased to announce that after a long five years, the script has finally been finished for the one of the lesser known components of the English Catholic missionary infrastructure, the English College of SS. Peter and Paul in Lisbon. The College was founded in 1622 under the pontificate of Pope Gregory XV and under the Protection of the Dominican Inquisitor Generals of Portugal. It's distinctly secular foundation and constitution made it unique amongst all the other colleges in the Diaspora. I shall not reveal too much more... I have the Daily Mail weekly column to consider in the run up to its publication!

Available in all good book shops very soon.

American Catholic Vote (2008)

2008-10-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Exciting New AHRC Research Project: Who were the nuns?

2008-09-19T06:18:00.005-07:00

'Who were the Nuns?'

NEW RESEARCH PROJECT

(2008 - 2011)

Department of History: Queen Mary, University of London.

Professor Michael Questier and Dr. Caroline Bowden have secured funding for a major AHRC research project entitled, "Who were the Nuns? A Study of the English Convents in Exile in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries."

The doctoral student is yet to be announced. This project will provide an important contribution to the growing research into the great English Catholic Diaspora. Possible themes for the PhD include: patronage networks supporting the convents; the nature of the patronage offered by some of the convents to the Jacobites after 1688; changing of attitudes towards Catholicism in eighteenth-century England.

Female members of religious orders, particularly archivists, in the U.K. (and abroad) are particularly encouraged to contact Dr. Simon Johnson on spj104@york.ac.uk who will relay with the Project Co-ordinator).

If there are any general enquiries from iRecusants then please get in touch or follow the following web pages.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION SEE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES:

General Project Synopsis:

http://fmrsi.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/ahrc-phd-studentship/#comments

Dr. Caroline Bowden, Project Co-ordinator:

http://www.rhul.ac.uk/bedford-centre/history-women-religious/bowden-cv.html

PLEASE REFER TO THE FLYER (SCRIBD FILE] AT THE TOP RIGHT

Colwich Abbey: Benedictine Female Religious Vocations Week [5th to the 12th September]

2008-08-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to promote a vocations week at the Benedictine Abbey of Colwich for those women seeking the religious life according to the Rule of St. Benedict. Sr. Marie Therese of the Abbey welcomes women of all ages and walks of life to share with her and the community in contemplation, prayer and work. The week will provide women with a taste of the Benedictine life and spirituality: there will be time for rest, recreation and reflection.

The event is free.

Those wishing further information are welcome to contact Sr. Marie Therese directly at novblog@googlemail.com or check out the community's website at:

http://www.colwichabbey.org.uk

Colwich has a fascinating history: it's origins stem from Helen More (great, great grand daughter of St. Sir Thomas More) who set up a small community of nuns in Cambrai (1623). A daughter house was set up in Paris (1652) which flourished and became independent from the mother house in Cambrai. During the French Revolution the Cambrai community returned to England, establishing an abbey at Stanbrook; the Paris community moved to St. Mary's Abbey in Colwich.

The community's history is given on the website.

English Benedictine Congregation: Annual History Symposium (11th September 2008)

2008-08-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

johnsonEBC2008-mod-aug10 - Upload a Document to Scribd

The World of Dante

2008-08-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

This is not 'strictly' related to English Catholic history, however, we all should be aware of what layer of Hell we might end up in if we're not careful. This is a wonderful initiative from the University of Virginia and is a crucial tool for any scholar interested in Dante. I wholeheartedly recommend it:

http://www.worldofdante.org

The blurb from the website is thus:

'The World of Dante is a multi-media research tool intended to facilitate the study of the Divine Comedy through a wide range of offerings. These include an encoded Italian text which allows for structured searches and analyses, an English translation, interactive maps, diagrams, music, a database, timeline and gallery of illustrations. Many of these features allow users to engage the poem dynamically through the integrated components of this site.'

Held in Trust (2008)

2008-07-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

Held in Trust: 2008 Years of Sacred Culture

St. Francis Xavier Church, Liverpool: Capital of Culture Exhibition

An exciting new exhibition opens in Liverpool next week. Hosted at the Jesuit church of St. Francis Xavier (Liverpool, L3 8DR) this important exhibition highlights the cultural heritage of hundreds of years of post-Reformation Catholic history.

The exhibition opens on Wednesday 30th July with a concert (detailed in a previous blog) entitled 'Glories and Majesty Revealed'. The concert is a rare occasion to hear music from the Stuart chapels-royal during the reign of Charles II and James II. The Apostolic Nuncio to the Court of St. James will be the guest of honour.

Liverpool's role as European Capital of Culture (2008) will be celebrated by an exhibition of artifacts from Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, complimented by embroideries and church plate from St. Francis Xavier's own collection. Further details can be found at the following website:

http://www.sfxchurchliverpool.com/capital_of_culture_exhibition.php

Where else does one have the opportunity to see the hat of St. Sir Thomas More, a fragment of tartan worn by Prince Charles Edward Stuart and a relic of the Holy Thorn of our Lord Jesus Christ? Other items of interest include:

Homilies from Pope Gregory (1170 onwards)
St. Sir Thomas More's gold crucifix (and hat)
A Book of Hours from Paris (1420)
Katherine of Aragon's chasuble.
Cardinal Wolsey's Book of Hours.

Notice from Administrator

2008-07-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

Dr. Simon Johnson is currently on holiday.

Catholic Record Society Conference 2008

2008-07-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

Conference Programme 2008 - Upload a Document to Scribd

2008-07-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

Concert flyer - Upload a Document to Scribd

Welcome

2007-11-24T04:41:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new website Universalis Ecclesiae.

As the name suggests this is a blog-site for those interested in English Catholic History and the state of the English Church today. My name is Simon, I'm a Research Fellow at the University of York writing a history of the English seminaries in Europe from William Cardinal Allen's foudation at Doui (1568) to the present day. I received my doctorate from the University in January (2007). My thesis was on the little known College of Lisbon: The English College at Lisbon from 1622 - 1761: an English seminary from the Reformation to the Age of Enlightenment.

I am currently employed by the Conference of English and Welsh Bishops, headed by His Eminence Cormac Cardinal Murphy O' Connor, to turn the thesis into a book and then work on the English Catholic Diaspora as a whole (1568 - 1916).

This site is dedicated to bringing those with an interest in English Catholic History, the English Catholic Diaspora and the current state of the English Catholic church together. Interests in History, Theology, Philosophy; the cultural and social constructs of the Church; political and economic issues are all welcome. Current affairs are also welcome from both The Catholic Herald and The Tablet persuasions - if you know what I mean!

I am currently attached to Ushaw College, Durham - the great seminary for the North of England working closely with the Lord Bishops Thomas Williams, auxiliary bishop of Mageo (Archdiocese of Liverpool) and the newly created Bishop of Middlesbrough, Mgr. Terence Drainey, as well as other members of the staff at Ushaw.

Liberal and Conservative views are welcome - or, if you're like me - just plain Catholic views. Of course non-Catholics and non-believers are most welcome.

I look forward to your comments.

Simon P. Johnson