William Bernard Ullathorne

The Most Reverend William Bernard Ullathorne OSB
Bishop of Birmingham
Church	Latin Church
Diocese	Birmingham
Appointed	29 September 1850
Term ended	January 1888
Successor	Edward Ilsley
Other post	Titular Archbishop of Cabasa
Orders
Ordination	24 September 1831
Consecration	21 June 1846by John Briggs
Personal details
Born	William Ullathorne7 May 1806 Pocklington, Yorkshire, England
Died	21 March 1889 (aged 82) Oscott College, New Oscott, England
Buried	Dominican Sisters Convent, Stone, Staffordshire, England
Nationality	English
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	William Ullathorne and Hannah Ullathorne (née Longstaff)
Coat of arms

William Bernard UllathorneOSB (7 May 1806 – 21 March 1889) was an English prelate who held high offices in the Roman Catholic Church during the nineteenth century.

Early life

Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest of ten children of William Ullathorne and Hannah (née Longstaff), who converted to Roman Catholicism when she married. When he was nine years of age, Ullathorne's family relocated to Scarborough, where he began his schooling. He was a descendant of Saint Thomas More through his great-grandmother, Mary More.^[1]

Priesthood

In 1823 Ullathorne entered the monastery of Downside Abbey, taking the vows in 1825, taking the additional name "Bernard", after Bernard of Clairvaux. He was ordained priest in 1831, and in 1832 went to New South Wales as vicar-general to Bishop William Placid Morris (1794–1872), whose jurisdiction extended over the Australian missions.^[2] It was mainly Ullathorne who caused Pope Gregory XVI to establish the hierarchy in Australia. In 1836, Bede Polding sent Ullathorne back to Britain,^[3] to recruit more Benedictines. While in England, he visited Ireland, where he met Mary Aikenhead. He returned to Australia in 1838 with five Sisters of Charity. Ullathorne returned to England in 1841, suffering what Judith F Champ says would in modern terminology be described as "burnout". He then took charge of the Roman Catholic mission at Coventry, where he recovered his health and spirits.

Ullathorne had turned down bishoprics in Hobart, Adelaide, and Perth as he did not wish to return to Australia. In 1847 he was consecrated bishop as Vicar Apostolic of the Western District, in succession to Bishop C.M. Baggs (1806–1845), but was transferred to the Central District in the following year.^[3] Ullathorne helped found St Osburg's Church in Coventry.^[4]

Bishop of Birmingham

On the re-establishment of the hierarchy in England and Wales, he became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham. During his nearly four decades of tenure at the see 67 new churches, 32 convents and nearly 200 mission schools were built. In 1888 he retired and received from Pope Leo XIII the honorary title of Archbishop of Cabasa. He died at Oscott College^[3] and his monument is in the crypt of St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham, although he was buried in the sanctuary of the Church of St Dominic and the Immaculate Conception at Stone, Staffordshire. There is Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School in Coventry which is named after him.^[5]

Works

Of Ullathorne's theological and philosophical works, the best known are: The Endowments of Man (1880), The Groundwork of the Christian Virtues (1882), Christian Patience (1886). For an account of his life see his Autobiography, edited by A. T. Drane (London).^[3]

• Substance of a Sermon Against Drunkenness Preached to the Catholics of Divers Parts of New South Wales, Dublin: Richard Coyne, 1840.
• Sermons, With Prefaces, London: T. Jones, 1842.
• The Blessing of the Calvary on the Grace Dieu Rocks, London: Charles Dolman, 1843.
• The Office of a Bishop: A Discourse Delivered at the Solemn Thanksgiving for the Re-establishment of the Hierarchy, London: Thomas Richardson and Son, 1850.
• The Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God: An Exposition, London: Richardson and Son, 1855.
• On Certain Methods of the Rambler and the Home and Foreign Review: A Second Letter to the Clergy of the Eiocese of Birmingham, London: Thomas Richardson and Son, 1863.
• History of the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England, London: Burns, Oates, and Company, 1871.
• The Döllingerites, Mr. Gladstone, and Apostates From the Faith: A Letter to the Catholics of his Diocese, London: Thomas Richardson and Son, 1874.
• The Endowments of Man Considered in Their Relations With his Final End: A Course of Lectures, London: Burns & Oates, 1880.
• The Groundwork of the Christian Virtues, Burns & Oates, 1882.
• Christian Patience, the Strenghth & Discipline of the Soul, London: Burns & Gates, Limited, 1886.

Notes

1. "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
2. Champ, Judith F., William Bernard Ullathorne, 1806-1889: A Different Kind of Monk, Gracewing Publishing, 2006, ISBN 9780852446546, p. 14
3. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ullathorne, William Bernard". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 566.
4. Schofield & Skinner 2009, The English Vicars Apostolic, p. 242.
5. "Bishop Ullathorne School". Retrieved 20 May 2014.

References

• "Bishop William Bernard Ullathorne, O.S.B."Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
• Schofield, Nicholas; Skinner, Gerard (2009). The English Vicars Apostolic. Oxford: Family Publications. ISBN 978-1-907380-01-3.
• T. L. Suttor, 'Ullathorne, William Bernard (1806–1889)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 2, MUP, 1967, pp 544–546; retrieved 15 October 2009
• Serle, Percival (1949). "Ullathorne, William Bernard". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
• Mennell, Philip (1892). "Ullathorne, The Most Rev. William Bernard" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
• "The autobiography of Archbishop Ullathorne : with selections from his letters" at Archive.org
• Lee, Sidney, ed. (1899). "Ullathorne, William Bernard" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 57. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Champ, Judith F. "Ullathorne, William (1806–1889)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27985.(Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)

External links

• Works by or about William Bernard Ullathorne at the Internet Archive
• Works by William Bernard Ullathorne at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)