Philip Michael Ellis was an English Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

, the first Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England and Wales, and subsequently Bishop of Segni, Italy.

He was the son of the Rev. John Ellis, Rector of Waddesdon

Waddesdon

Waddesdon is a village within the Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, 6 miles from Aylesbury on the A41 road. The centre of a civil parish, including the hamlets of Eythrope, Wormstone and Woodham, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace making...

, Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, a descendant of the Ellis family of Kiddall Hall, Yorkshire, and Susannah Welbore. Of six brothers, John

John Ellis (official)

-Life:Born in or about 1643, he was the eldest son of John Ellis, author of Vindiciæ Catholicæ, by his wife Susannah, daughter of William Welbore of Cambridge. He received his education at Westminster School, and was elected student of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1664. At college he met Humphrey...

, the eldest, became Under-Secretary of State to William III of England

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

; William, a Jacobite

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...

 Protestant, was Secretary of State of James II of England

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

 in exile; Philip became a Benedictine monk and Catholic bishop; Welbore

Welbore Ellis (bishop)

Welbore Ellis was an English bishop of Kildare, bishop of Meath and Irish privy councillor.-Life:He was the fourth son of the Rev. John Ellis , rector of Waddesdon, and author of Vindiciæ Catholicæ; and brother to John Ellis and William Ellis. He was educated at Westminster School and at Christ...

 became Protestant bishop of Kildare and afterwards of Bishop of Meath

Bishop of Meath

The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.-History:...

, Ireland; Samuel was Marshal of King's Bench

Court of King's Bench (England)

The Court of King's Bench , formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was an English court of common law in the English legal system...

; and Charles an Anglican clergyman.

Philip, while still a Westminster schoolboy, was converted to the Catholic faith, and when eighteen years old went to St Gregory's, Douai, where he was professed, taking the name of Michael in religion (30 November 1670). After ordination he returned in 1685 to the English mission where he became one of the royal chaplains. In 1688 he was appointed vicar Apostolic of the newly created Western District and was consecrated by Mgr. d'Adda, the papal nuncio (6 May).

At the revolution in 1688 he was imprisoned, but being soon liberated he retired to Saint-Germain

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the département of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale ....

 and afterwards to Rome. In 1696 he was named assistant prelate at the pontifical throne

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne is an ecclesiastical title in the Roman Catholic Church. It signifies a prelate belonging to the papal chapel, who stands near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions....

; and in Rome his knowledge of English affairs made him so useful that his repeated petitions for leave to return to his vicariate were refused.

In 1704 he resigned the vicariate, and in 1708 was made Bishop of Segni, being enthroned on 28 October. His first care was to rebuild the ruined monastery of S. Chiara and open it as a diocesan seminary. This he enriched with many gifts and a large legacy. A curious survival of his English title is an inscription at Segni to "Ph. M. Mylord Ellis".

Eleven sermons preached in 1685 and 1686 before James II, Queen Mary of Modena

Mary of Modena

Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...

, and Queen Henrietta Maria, were published in pamphlet form, some of which have been reprinted (London, 1741; 1772). The Acts of his synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

 at Segni in 1710 were also published by order of Pope Clement XI

Pope Clement XI

Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...

.