Richard Challoner
Encyclopedia
Richard Challoner was an English
Roman Catholic
bishop
, a leading figure of English Catholicism during the greater part of the 18th century. He is perhaps most famous for his revision of the Douay Rheims
translation of the Bible
.
, Sussex
, England on September 29, 1691. His father, also Richard Challoner, was married by licence granted on January 17, 1690/1 to his wife Grace Willard at Ringmer
, Sussex on February 10.
After the death of his father, who was a Presbyterian winecooper (i.e. he made wine-barrels), his mother, now reduced to poverty, became housekeeper to the Catholic Gage family, at Firle
in Sussex. It is not known for sure whether she was originally a Roman Catholic, or whether she subsequently became one under the influence of a Catholic household and surroundings.
In any case, thus it came about that Richard was brought up as a Catholic, though he was not baptized
a Catholic until he was about thirteen years old. This was at Warkworth
, Northamptonshire
, the seat of another well-known Roman Catholic family, that of George Holman, whose wife, Lady Anastasia Holman, was a daughter of Blessed William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford
, a Catholic unjustly condemned and beheaded in the Titus Oates
hysteria of 1678. In this house the chaplain was the Rev. John Gother
, a celebrated controversialist.
at Douai
(France) on a sort of scholarship, entering the English College on July 29.
He was to spend the next twenty-five years there, first as student, then as professor, and as vice-president of the university of Douai
. At the age of twenty-one he was chosen to teach the classes of rhetoric
and poetry
, which were the two senior classes in the humanities
.
He graduated with a bachelor's degree
in divinity
from the University of Douai
in 1719, and was appointed professor of philosophy
, a post which he held for eight years. At this period, though it was no longer necessary to have aliases, he was known by his mother's surname of Willard. His nickname was "Book".
Ordained a priest
at Tournai
on March 28, 1716, in 1720 he was chosen by the president, Robert Witham, to be his vice-president, an office which involved the supervision of both professors and students. At the same time he was appointed professor of theology
and prefect of studies, so that he had the direction of the whole course of studies.
Though in 1727 he defended his public thesis
and obtained a doctorate
in divinity, Challoner's success as a teacher was probably due rather to his untiring industry and devotion to this work than to any extraordinary mental gifts. He was not considered an original thinker, but his gift lay in enforcing the spiritual reality of the doctrine
s he was expounding.
. There he entered into the work of the ministry.
Though the penal laws were no longer enforced with extreme severity, the life of many Catholic priests was still a difficult one, especially in London. Disguised as a layman in London, Challoner ministered to his flock there, celebrating Mass
secretly in obscure ale-houses, cockpits, and wherever small gatherings could assemble without exciting remark. In this regard, he was an untiring worker, and spent much time in the poorest quarters of the town and in the prisons.
Recent scholarship notes, however, that the English Catholic community was not as marginalized as might be thought today, especially for those recusant Catholics whose social position gave them access to the courtly centers of power and patronage. Challoner avoided the houses of the rich, preferred to live and work among the poor of London, and in his spare hours gave himself to study and writing, which ultimately enabled him to produce several works of instruction and controversy.
His first published work, a little book of meditations under the quaint title of Think Well On't dated from 1728. The controversial treatise
s which he published in rapid succession from London attracted much attention, particularly his Catholic Christian Instructed (1737), which was prefaced by a witty reply to Conyers Middleton's
Letter from Rome, showing an Exact Conformity between Popery and Paganism. Challoner was the author over the years of numerous controversial and devotional works, which have been frequently reprinted and translated into various languages.
In 1740 he brought out a new prayer book for the laity, the Garden of the Soul, which until the mid 20th century remained a favourite work of devotion
, though the many editions that have since appeared have been so altered that little of the original work remains.
Of his historical works, the most valuable is one which was intended to be a Catholic response to the Protestant John Foxe's
well-known martyrology, Foxe's Book of Martyrs
. It is entitled Memoirs of Missionary Priests and other Catholicks of both Sexes who suffered Death or Imprisonment in England on account of their Religion, from the year 1577 till the end of the reign of Charles II
(2 vols. 1741, frequently reprinted). This work, compiled from original records, was for a long while the only published source on the list of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation, including the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
, among others. It remains a standard work on the subject.
In 1745 he produced anonymously his longest and most learned book, Britannia Sancta, containing the lives of the British, English, Scottish, and Irish saint
s, an interesting work of hagiography
which was later superseded by that of Alban Butler
and then by more recent publications.
In 1738 the president of Douai College, Robert Witham, died, and efforts were made by the superiors of the college to have Challoner appointed as his successor. But Bishop Benjamin Petre, the Vicar Apostolic of the London District
, who already had Challoner as his vicar general, opposed this on the ground that he desired to have him as his own coadjutor with right of succession. The Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide had apparently already arranged Challoner's appointment as President of Douai, but Petre's representations prevailed, and papal briefs were issued on September 12, 1739, appointing Challoner to the see of Debra in partibus.
These briefs, however, were not carried into effect, for the bishop-elect, endeavouring to escape the responsibility of the episcopate, raised the point that he had been born and brought up a Protestant. The delay so caused lasted a whole year, and it was not until November 24, 1740, that new briefs were issued. The consecration took place on January 29, 1741, in the private chapel at Hammersmith
, London.
The new bishop's first work was a visitation
of the district, the first methodical visitation of which there is any record since the creation of the vicariate in 1688. The district included ten counties, besides the Channel Islands
and the British possessions in America—chiefly Maryland
and Pennsylvania
and some West Indian islands. The missions beyond the seas could not be visited at all, and even the home counties took nearly three years.
As an administrator he was diligent in attempts to overcome serious difficulties. He had already provided for his people a suitable prayer book
and meditation
book, as well as convenient editions of the scriptures
, the Imitation of Christ
, and the catechism
of Christian doctrine.
Beyond this literary work, he caused two schools for boys to be opened, one at Standon Lordship, later represented by St. Edmund's College
, Old Hall, and the other at Sedgley Park
, in Staffordshire
. He also founded a school for poor girls at Brook Green
, Hammersmith
, besides assisting the already existing convent school there. He instituted conferences among the London clergy, and he was instrumental in founding the "Benevolent Society for the Relief of the Aged and Infirm Poor".
His private life was marked by scrupulous mortification, while large charity
passed through his hands. He was to considered to have the gift of prayer in a marked degree.
that had appeared over the years 1582-1610. While still at University of Douai
, he was one of the approving prelates for a revision of the Rheims New Testament
published in 1730 by the college president, Robert Witham.
After returning to England, he and Francis Blyth published in 1738 another revision of Rheims in an attractive large folio
edition.
His more important work would appear over the years 1749 through 1752. An edition of the New Testament appeared in 1749, and another, together with the first edition of the Old Testament
, in 1750. Between the two editions of the New Testament there are few differences, but the next edition, published in 1752, had important changes both in text and notes, the variations numbering over two thousand.
All revisions attributed to Challoner were published anonymously. It is unclear to what extent he was personally involved in, or even approved of, the various changes. Curiously, a book he published in 1762, Morality of the Bible, quotes Scriptural citations from the 1749 and 1752 revisions in different places.
Challoner is believed to have had the assistance of Robert Pinkard (alias Typper), the London agent for Douay College, in preparing the 1749 and 1750 revisions. The chief points to note in these revisions are the elimination of the obscure and literal translation
s from the Latin in which the original version abounds, the alteration of obsolete terms and spelling, a closer approximation in some respects to the Anglican Authorised Version (for instance, the substitution of "the Lord" for "our Lord"), and finally the printing of the verses separately.
For the next 200 years Challoner's revisions were the groundwork for nearly all English Catholic Bibles, including those published in America
, beginning with a Philadelphia edition in 1790. Rather than use any particular revision, later editors tended to pick and choose from the several versions available. This means that many of the Douai-Rheims Bibles available differed from each other in the texts they contained.
Significantly, the American editions tended towards the later, more natural, revisions, while the English ones tended towards the earlier, more conservative versions, which were closer to the Latin.
and Italian
. Besides the works mentioned above, and a good number of tract
s, other writings, whose titles convey the atmosphere of an era, include:
and the regular clergy
, in the last stages of which Challoner took a leading part.
There were several points at issue, but the matter was brought to a head over the contention put forward by the regulars, that they did not need the approbation of the vicars apostolic to hear confession
s. The bishops opposed this and, after a struggle lasting for several years, obtained a final settlement of this and other questions, a settlement, in the main, satisfactory to the bishops.
In 1758 Bishop Petre died, and Challoner, as his coadjutor, succeeded him at once as Vicar Apostolic of the London District. He was, however, nearly seventy years old, and was so ill that he was forced immediately to apply for a coadjutor in his turn.
The Holy See
appointed James Talbot to this office, and with the help of the younger prelate, whose assistance considerably reduced his labour, Challoner's health somewhat recovered. From this time, however, he lived almost entirely in London, the visitations being carried out by Talbot.
Challoner continued to write, and almost every year published a new book, but they were more usually translations or abstracts, such as The Historical Part of the Old and New Testament. One more work of original value remained, and that was his little British Martyrology published in 1761.
As a bishop, Challoner usually resided in London, though on occasion, as during the "No Popery" riots
of 1780, he was obliged to retire into the country.
In fact Challoner's extensive activity is the more remarkable because his life was spent in hiding, owing to the state of the law, and often he had hurriedly to change his lodgings to escape the Protestant and/or Anglican informers, who were anxious to earn the government reward of £100 for the conviction of a priest.
One of these, John Payne, known as the "Protestant Carpenter", indicted Challoner, but was compelled to drop the proceedings, owing to some documents, which he had forged, falling into the hands of the bishop's lawyers.
For some years Challoner and the London Catholic priests were continually harassed in this way. Finally the harassment was remedied by the Catholic Relief Act of 1778
, by which priests were no longer liable to imprisonment for life.
This concession speedily aroused religious dispute, and two years later the Gordon Riots
broke out with rioters attacking any London building that was associated with Catholicism or owned by Catholics. From his hiding-place the bishop, now nearly ninety years of age, could hear the mob, who were searching for him with the intention of dragging him through the streets. They failed to find his refuge, and on the following day he escaped to Finchley
, where he remained till the London riots came to an end.
The aged Challoner never fully recovered from the shock of the riots. Six months later he was seized with paralysis
, and died after two days' illness, on the January 12, 1781, aged 89, and was buried at Milton, Berkshire (present-day Oxfordshire) in the family vault of his friend Bryan Barrett in the Church of England parish church. In 1946 the body was reinterred in Westminster Cathedral
.
, at Basingstoke
and in Surrey
, among others. In addition, the oldest post-Reformation Catholic school in England, St Edmund's College, Ware, a former seminary, in Hertfordshire
(which Challoner himself helped to re-establish from Douay, France to its present site), name one of their five houses after him. The colour associated with the house is Royal Blue. The house is one of the original houses in the school when the house system was established in 1922.
The Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School in Stepney
was founded by the Sisters of Mercy
for him.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, a leading figure of English Catholicism during the greater part of the 18th century. He is perhaps most famous for his revision of the Douay Rheims
Douai Bible
The Douay–Rheims Bible is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by members of the English College, Douai, in the service of the Catholic Church...
translation of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
Early life
Challoner was born in the Protestant town of LewesLewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England on September 29, 1691. His father, also Richard Challoner, was married by licence granted on January 17, 1690/1 to his wife Grace Willard at Ringmer
Ringmer
Ringmer is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles east of Lewes. Other small settlements in the parish include Upper Wellingham, Ashton Green, Broyle Side and Little Norlington....
, Sussex on February 10.
After the death of his father, who was a Presbyterian winecooper (i.e. he made wine-barrels), his mother, now reduced to poverty, became housekeeper to the Catholic Gage family, at Firle
Firle
For the suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, see Firle, South Australia.Firle is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word fierol meaning overgrown with oak...
in Sussex. It is not known for sure whether she was originally a Roman Catholic, or whether she subsequently became one under the influence of a Catholic household and surroundings.
In any case, thus it came about that Richard was brought up as a Catholic, though he was not baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
a Catholic until he was about thirteen years old. This was at Warkworth
Warkworth, Northamptonshire
Warkworth is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire.It is in the far west of the county, between Banbury and Middleton Cheney. The Jurassic Way long distance footpath runs through the village. It is administered as part of South Northamptonshire district.-...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, the seat of another well-known Roman Catholic family, that of George Holman, whose wife, Lady Anastasia Holman, was a daughter of Blessed William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford
William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford
Blessed William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, and his wife, the former Alethea Talbot. He was a supporter of the Royalist cause before being implicated in the Popish Plot and executed for treason...
, a Catholic unjustly condemned and beheaded in the Titus Oates
Titus Oates
Titus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
hysteria of 1678. In this house the chaplain was the Rev. John Gother
John Gother
John Gother , also known as John Goter, was an English Roman Catholic convert, priest and controversialist.-Life:Born at Southampton, England, Gother was educated a strict Presbyterian, but part at least of his mother's family were Catholics...
, a celebrated controversialist.
Education and academic career in France
In 1705 young Richard was sent to the English CollegeEnglish College, Douai
The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary associated with the University of Douai . It was established in about 1561, and was suppressed in 1793...
at Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
(France) on a sort of scholarship, entering the English College on July 29.
He was to spend the next twenty-five years there, first as student, then as professor, and as vice-president of the university of Douai
University of Douai
The University of Douai is a former university in Douai, France. With a Middle Ages heritage of scholar activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started in 1562. It closed from 1795 to 1808...
. At the age of twenty-one he was chosen to teach the classes of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, which were the two senior classes in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
.
He graduated with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in divinity
Divinity (academic discipline)
Divinity is the study of Christian and other theology and ministry at a school, divinity school, university, or seminary. The term is sometimes a synonym for theology as an academic, speculative pursuit, and sometimes is used for the study of applied theology and ministry to make a distinction...
from the University of Douai
University of Douai
The University of Douai is a former university in Douai, France. With a Middle Ages heritage of scholar activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started in 1562. It closed from 1795 to 1808...
in 1719, and was appointed professor of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, a post which he held for eight years. At this period, though it was no longer necessary to have aliases, he was known by his mother's surname of Willard. His nickname was "Book".
Ordained a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
at Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
on March 28, 1716, in 1720 he was chosen by the president, Robert Witham, to be his vice-president, an office which involved the supervision of both professors and students. At the same time he was appointed professor of theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and prefect of studies, so that he had the direction of the whole course of studies.
Though in 1727 he defended his public thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
and obtained a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in divinity, Challoner's success as a teacher was probably due rather to his untiring industry and devotion to this work than to any extraordinary mental gifts. He was not considered an original thinker, but his gift lay in enforcing the spiritual reality of the doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
s he was expounding.
Return to England
Having in 1708 taken the college oath, binding himself to return to England, when required, to labour on the mission, in 1730 Challoner was given permission to embark for England on August 18, and was stationed in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There he entered into the work of the ministry.
Though the penal laws were no longer enforced with extreme severity, the life of many Catholic priests was still a difficult one, especially in London. Disguised as a layman in London, Challoner ministered to his flock there, celebrating Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
secretly in obscure ale-houses, cockpits, and wherever small gatherings could assemble without exciting remark. In this regard, he was an untiring worker, and spent much time in the poorest quarters of the town and in the prisons.
Recent scholarship notes, however, that the English Catholic community was not as marginalized as might be thought today, especially for those recusant Catholics whose social position gave them access to the courtly centers of power and patronage. Challoner avoided the houses of the rich, preferred to live and work among the poor of London, and in his spare hours gave himself to study and writing, which ultimately enabled him to produce several works of instruction and controversy.
His first published work, a little book of meditations under the quaint title of Think Well On't dated from 1728. The controversial treatise
Treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.-Noteworthy treatises:...
s which he published in rapid succession from London attracted much attention, particularly his Catholic Christian Instructed (1737), which was prefaced by a witty reply to Conyers Middleton's
Conyers Middleton
Conyers Middleton was an English clergyman.Middleton was born at Richmond in Yorkshire, and was educated at school in York and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated from the University of Cambridge, took holy orders, and in 1706 obtained a fellowship, which he resigned upon entering into an...
Letter from Rome, showing an Exact Conformity between Popery and Paganism. Challoner was the author over the years of numerous controversial and devotional works, which have been frequently reprinted and translated into various languages.
In 1740 he brought out a new prayer book for the laity, the Garden of the Soul, which until the mid 20th century remained a favourite work of devotion
Catholic devotions
A Roman Catholic devotion is a gift of oneself, or one's activities to God. It is a willingness and desire to dedicate oneself to serve God; either in terms of prayers or in terms of a set of pious acts such as the adoration of God or the veneration of the saints or the Virgin Mary.Roman Catholic...
, though the many editions that have since appeared have been so altered that little of the original work remains.
Of his historical works, the most valuable is one which was intended to be a Catholic response to the Protestant John Foxe's
John Foxe
John Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
well-known martyrology, Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, more accurately Acts and Monuments, is an account from a Protestant point of view of Christian church history and martyrology...
. It is entitled Memoirs of Missionary Priests and other Catholicks of both Sexes who suffered Death or Imprisonment in England on account of their Religion, from the year 1577 till the end of the reign of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
(2 vols. 1741, frequently reprinted). This work, compiled from original records, was for a long while the only published source on the list of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation, including the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679...
, among others. It remains a standard work on the subject.
In 1745 he produced anonymously his longest and most learned book, Britannia Sancta, containing the lives of the British, English, Scottish, and Irish saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s, an interesting work of hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
which was later superseded by that of Alban Butler
Alban Butler
Alban Butler , English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer, was born at Appletree, Northamptonshire.He was educated at the English College, Douai, where on his ordination to the priesthood in 1735 he held successively the chairs of philosophy and divinity...
and then by more recent publications.
In 1738 the president of Douai College, Robert Witham, died, and efforts were made by the superiors of the college to have Challoner appointed as his successor. But Bishop Benjamin Petre, the Vicar Apostolic of the London District
Vicar Apostolic of the London District
The Vicar Apostolic of the London District was the title given to the bishop who headed an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England, the Vicariate Apostolic of the London District, from 1688 to 1850.-Background:...
, who already had Challoner as his vicar general, opposed this on the ground that he desired to have him as his own coadjutor with right of succession. The Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide had apparently already arranged Challoner's appointment as President of Douai, but Petre's representations prevailed, and papal briefs were issued on September 12, 1739, appointing Challoner to the see of Debra in partibus.
These briefs, however, were not carried into effect, for the bishop-elect, endeavouring to escape the responsibility of the episcopate, raised the point that he had been born and brought up a Protestant. The delay so caused lasted a whole year, and it was not until November 24, 1740, that new briefs were issued. The consecration took place on January 29, 1741, in the private chapel at Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London.
The new bishop's first work was a visitation
Canonical Visitation
A canonical visitation is the act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view of maintaining faith and discipline, and of correcting abuses by the application of proper remedies.-Catholic usage:...
of the district, the first methodical visitation of which there is any record since the creation of the vicariate in 1688. The district included ten counties, besides the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
and the British possessions in America—chiefly Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and some West Indian islands. The missions beyond the seas could not be visited at all, and even the home counties took nearly three years.
As an administrator he was diligent in attempts to overcome serious difficulties. He had already provided for his people a suitable prayer book
Breviary
A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...
and meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
book, as well as convenient editions of the scriptures
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, the Imitation of Christ
Imitation of Christ (book)
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is a Christian devotional book. It was first composed in Latin ca.1418-1427. It is a handbook for spiritual life arising from the Devotio Moderna movement, where Kempis was a member...
, and the catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
of Christian doctrine.
Beyond this literary work, he caused two schools for boys to be opened, one at Standon Lordship, later represented by St. Edmund's College
St. Edmund's College, Ware
St Edmund's College is the oldest post-Reformation Roman Catholic school in England. It is an independent school in the British public school tradition set on in Ware, Hertfordshire. During two periods of its history, it has also incorporated a seminary....
, Old Hall, and the other at Sedgley Park
Sedgley Park
Sedgley Park is a suburban area of Prestwich, a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. Sedgley Park is roughly bounded to the north by Scholes Lane, to the east by Bury Old Road and to the west by Bland Road/George Street.The district has a large Jewish...
, in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. He also founded a school for poor girls at Brook Green
Brook Green
Brook Green is an affluent London neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is located approx west of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Kensington, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Holland Park and Brackenbury Village....
, Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, besides assisting the already existing convent school there. He instituted conferences among the London clergy, and he was instrumental in founding the "Benevolent Society for the Relief of the Aged and Infirm Poor".
His private life was marked by scrupulous mortification, while large charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
passed through his hands. He was to considered to have the gift of prayer in a marked degree.
Revision of English Bible
Another work to which Challoner devoted much energy and time was revision of the English Catholic Bible. He had long perceived a need to update the language of the Douay Rheims BibleDouai Bible
The Douay–Rheims Bible is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by members of the English College, Douai, in the service of the Catholic Church...
that had appeared over the years 1582-1610. While still at University of Douai
University of Douai
The University of Douai is a former university in Douai, France. With a Middle Ages heritage of scholar activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started in 1562. It closed from 1795 to 1808...
, he was one of the approving prelates for a revision of the Rheims New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
published in 1730 by the college president, Robert Witham.
After returning to England, he and Francis Blyth published in 1738 another revision of Rheims in an attractive large folio
Book size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
edition.
His more important work would appear over the years 1749 through 1752. An edition of the New Testament appeared in 1749, and another, together with the first edition of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, in 1750. Between the two editions of the New Testament there are few differences, but the next edition, published in 1752, had important changes both in text and notes, the variations numbering over two thousand.
All revisions attributed to Challoner were published anonymously. It is unclear to what extent he was personally involved in, or even approved of, the various changes. Curiously, a book he published in 1762, Morality of the Bible, quotes Scriptural citations from the 1749 and 1752 revisions in different places.
Challoner is believed to have had the assistance of Robert Pinkard (alias Typper), the London agent for Douay College, in preparing the 1749 and 1750 revisions. The chief points to note in these revisions are the elimination of the obscure and literal translation
Literal translation
Literal translation, or direct translation, is the rendering of text from one language to another "word-for-word" rather than conveying the sense of the original...
s from the Latin in which the original version abounds, the alteration of obsolete terms and spelling, a closer approximation in some respects to the Anglican Authorised Version (for instance, the substitution of "the Lord" for "our Lord"), and finally the printing of the verses separately.
For the next 200 years Challoner's revisions were the groundwork for nearly all English Catholic Bibles, including those published in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, beginning with a Philadelphia edition in 1790. Rather than use any particular revision, later editors tended to pick and choose from the several versions available. This means that many of the Douai-Rheims Bibles available differed from each other in the texts they contained.
Significantly, the American editions tended towards the later, more natural, revisions, while the English ones tended towards the earlier, more conservative versions, which were closer to the Latin.
Other works
In 1753 Challoner brought out another of his best-known works, the Meditations for every Day of the Year, a book which has passed through numerous editions and been translated into FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. Besides the works mentioned above, and a good number of tract
Tract (literature)
A tract is a literary work, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former. They are...
s, other writings, whose titles convey the atmosphere of an era, include:
- Think Well On't, or, Reflections on the great truths of the Christian Religion : for every day in the month : and The thirty days' prayer (1841)
- Grounds of Catholic Doctrine (1732);
- Unerring Authority of the Catholic Church (1732); Short History of the Protestant Religion (1733);
- A Roman Catholick's Reasons why He cannot Conform (1734); The Touchstone of the New Religion (1734);
- The Young Gentleman Instructed in the Grounds of the Christian Religion (1735);
- A Specimen of the Spirit of the Dissenting Teachers (1736); The Catholic Christian Instructed (1737);
- A translation of St. AugustineSt. Augustine-People:* Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church* Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury* Augustine Webster, an English Catholic martyr.-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida, United States...
's ConfessionsConfessions (St. Augustine)Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St...
(1739); - The Ground of the Old Religion (1742);
- A Letter to a Friend concerning the Infallibility of the Church (1743);
- A Papist Misrepresented and Represented, abridged from Gother; Remarks on Two Letters against Popery (1751);
- Instructions for the Jubilee (1751);
- The Wonders of God in the Wilderness: Lives of the Fathers of the Desert (1755);
- The Life of St Teresa, abridged from Woodhead (1757);
- Manual of Prayers (1758);
- A Caveat against the Methodists (1760);
- The City of GodNew JerusalemIn the book of Ezekiel, the Prophecy of New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city to be established to the south of the Temple Mount that will be inhabited by the twelve tribes of Israel in the...
of the New Testament (1760); - The Morality of the Bible (1762);
- Devotion of Catholics to the Blessed Virgin (1764);
- Rules of Life for a Christian (1766),
- The Lord's prayer and the Angelic salutation.
Later career
In 1753 Pope Benedict XIV put an end to the long disputes that had been carried on between the secular clergySecular clergy
The term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or members of a religious order.-Catholic Church:In the Catholic Church, the secular clergy are ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious order...
and the regular clergy
Regular clergy
Regular clergy, or just regulars, is applied in the Roman Catholic Church to clerics who follow a "rule" in their life. Strictly, it means those members of religious orders who have made solemn profession. It contrasts with secular clergy.-Terminology and history:The observance of the Rule of St...
, in the last stages of which Challoner took a leading part.
There were several points at issue, but the matter was brought to a head over the contention put forward by the regulars, that they did not need the approbation of the vicars apostolic to hear confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
s. The bishops opposed this and, after a struggle lasting for several years, obtained a final settlement of this and other questions, a settlement, in the main, satisfactory to the bishops.
In 1758 Bishop Petre died, and Challoner, as his coadjutor, succeeded him at once as Vicar Apostolic of the London District. He was, however, nearly seventy years old, and was so ill that he was forced immediately to apply for a coadjutor in his turn.
The Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
appointed James Talbot to this office, and with the help of the younger prelate, whose assistance considerably reduced his labour, Challoner's health somewhat recovered. From this time, however, he lived almost entirely in London, the visitations being carried out by Talbot.
Challoner continued to write, and almost every year published a new book, but they were more usually translations or abstracts, such as The Historical Part of the Old and New Testament. One more work of original value remained, and that was his little British Martyrology published in 1761.
Final years
Gordon Riots
The Gordon Riots of 1780 were an anti-Catholic protest against the Papists Act 1778.The Popery Act 1698 had imposed a number of penalties and disabilities on Roman Catholics in England; the 1778 act eliminated some of these. An initial peaceful protest led on to widespread rioting and looting and...
of 1780, he was obliged to retire into the country.
In fact Challoner's extensive activity is the more remarkable because his life was spent in hiding, owing to the state of the law, and often he had hurriedly to change his lodgings to escape the Protestant and/or Anglican informers, who were anxious to earn the government reward of £100 for the conviction of a priest.
One of these, John Payne, known as the "Protestant Carpenter", indicted Challoner, but was compelled to drop the proceedings, owing to some documents, which he had forged, falling into the hands of the bishop's lawyers.
For some years Challoner and the London Catholic priests were continually harassed in this way. Finally the harassment was remedied by the Catholic Relief Act of 1778
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
, by which priests were no longer liable to imprisonment for life.
This concession speedily aroused religious dispute, and two years later the Gordon Riots
Gordon Riots
The Gordon Riots of 1780 were an anti-Catholic protest against the Papists Act 1778.The Popery Act 1698 had imposed a number of penalties and disabilities on Roman Catholics in England; the 1778 act eliminated some of these. An initial peaceful protest led on to widespread rioting and looting and...
broke out with rioters attacking any London building that was associated with Catholicism or owned by Catholics. From his hiding-place the bishop, now nearly ninety years of age, could hear the mob, who were searching for him with the intention of dragging him through the streets. They failed to find his refuge, and on the following day he escaped to Finchley
Finchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
, where he remained till the London riots came to an end.
The aged Challoner never fully recovered from the shock of the riots. Six months later he was seized with paralysis
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
, and died after two days' illness, on the January 12, 1781, aged 89, and was buried at Milton, Berkshire (present-day Oxfordshire) in the family vault of his friend Bryan Barrett in the Church of England parish church. In 1946 the body was reinterred in Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
.
Legacy
There are a number of schools named after Challoner; in Shortlands near BromleyBromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, at Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
and in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, among others. In addition, the oldest post-Reformation Catholic school in England, St Edmund's College, Ware, a former seminary, in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
(which Challoner himself helped to re-establish from Douay, France to its present site), name one of their five houses after him. The colour associated with the house is Royal Blue. The house is one of the original houses in the school when the house system was established in 1922.
The Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School in Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
was founded by the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
for him.
External links
- Complete Online Douay-Rheims Challoner Bible with Haydock Commentary and Latin Vulgate Bible
- Works of Challoner on archive.org
- Article on Richard Challoner from the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
- Article on Richard Challoner from the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
- Sedgley Park School biography of Richard Challoner
- Westminster Cathedral blog entry on Richard Challoner, with illustrations
- Online edition of the Douay-Rheims-Challoner version of the Bible at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
- Online edition of the Garden of the Soul
- Challoner's Douay Bible Revisions