Graham Leonard
Encyclopedia
Graham Douglas Leonard KCVO
(8 May 1921 – 6 January 2010) was a British
priest
. His principal ministry was as a bishop
of the Church of England
but, after his retirement as the Bishop of London
, he became a Roman Catholic, becoming the most senior Anglican
cleric to do so since the English Reformation
. He was conditionally ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church
and was later appointed a monsignor
by Pope John Paul II
.
near Bath and at Balliol College, Oxford
. During the Second World War
he was commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
, rising to the rank of captain. He spent the latter part of the war attached to the Army Operational Research Group for the Ministry of Supply. He then attended Westcott House
theological college in Cambridge. He was ordained as a deacon in 1947 and as a priest the following year.
in St Ives
, Huntingdonshire
and at Stansted
, Essex
. He then spent three years as vicar
of Ardleigh
, Essex. In 1957 he became a residentiary canon
of St Albans Cathedral
and the diocesan director of religious education. His long association with the Diocese of London began in 1962 when, before becoming Bishop of Willesden
, he was appointed as Archdeacon of Hampstead
and as Rector
of St Andrew Undershaft
with St Mary Axe
in the City of London
. In 1964 he was appointed as suffragan Bishop of Willesden.
positions in the Church of England, firstly as the suffragan
Bishop of Willesden
in the Diocese of London
and later as the diocesan
Bishop of Truro
(1973 to 1981) and the Bishop of London
(1981 to 1991). During this last period he was Dean of the Chapel Royal
, a Royal Household
office, for which he was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
(KCVO). He was also Prelate of the Order of the British Empire
.
, Leonard's ordination was conditional due to there being "prudent doubt" about his previous ordination in the Church of England, because at Leonard's own consecration in 1964 a bishop of the Old Catholic Church
had been among the bishops who consecrated him. Bishops of the Old Catholic churches, the original members of which had separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1870 after the First Vatican Council
and are in full communion with the Church of England, are considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be "in the line of apostolic succession". This eased his reception into the Roman Catholic Church, although his claim that he was legitimately a bishop and his request for a personal prelature were rejected.
Leonard stated that he was not first ordained a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church and that Pope John Paul II's personal instruction was that he should be ordained immediately to the priesthood sub conditione. He was later appointed a papal chaplain
with the title Monsignor
and then a prelate of honour by the Pope on 3 August 2000.
(Lord Swann of Coln St Denys) and Hugh Swann
, cabinet maker to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
, having married their sister, Priscilla Swann, in 1943. He and his wife had two sons.
and 1979 by Bassano and Vandyk) are owned by the National Portrait Gallery.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(8 May 1921 – 6 January 2010) was a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
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...
. His principal ministry was as a 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...
of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
but, after his retirement as the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
, he became a Roman Catholic, becoming the most senior Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
cleric to do so since the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. He was conditionally ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church
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...
and was later appointed a monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
Early life
The son of the Reverend Douglas Leonard, an Anglican cleric, Leonard was educated at Monkton Combe SchoolMonkton Combe School
Monkton Combe School is an independent boarding and day school of the British public school tradition, near Bath, England. The Senior School is located in the village of Monkton Combe, while the Prep School, Pre-Prep and Nursery are in Combe Down on the southern outskirts of Bath...
near Bath and at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
, rising to the rank of captain. He spent the latter part of the war attached to the Army Operational Research Group for the Ministry of Supply. He then attended Westcott House
Westcott House, Cambridge
Westcott House is a Church of England theological college based in Jesus Lane located in the centre of the university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Its main activity is training people for ordained ministry in Anglican churches...
theological college in Cambridge. He was ordained as a deacon in 1947 and as a priest the following year.
Early ministry
Leonard was a curateCurate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
in St Ives
St Ives
-Places:*Bingley St Ives or St. Ive's Estate, West Yorkshire in West Yorkshire*St Ives, Cambridgeshire, formerly in Huntingdonshire**St Ives railway station , a former railway station in the town*St Ives, Cornwall...
, Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
and at Stansted
Stansted
Stansted usually refers to London Stansted Airport.Stansted may also refer to other places in England:*Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex*Stansted, Hampshire*Stansted, Kent*Stansted Park, West Sussex...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. He then spent three years as vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Ardleigh
Ardleigh
Ardleigh is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located northeast of Colchester and is northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Tendring and the parliamentary constituency of North Essex. The village has its own Parish Council...
, Essex. In 1957 he became a residentiary canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of St Albans Cathedral
St Albans Cathedral
St Albans Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral church at St Albans, England. At , its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England...
and the diocesan director of religious education. His long association with the Diocese of London began in 1962 when, before becoming Bishop of Willesden
Bishop of Willesden
The Bishop of Willesden is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Willesden, an area of the London Borough of Brent....
, he was appointed as Archdeacon of Hampstead
Archdeacon of Hampstead
The Archdeacon of Hampstead is an archdiaconal post in the Church of England Diocese of London, named after, and based in and around, the Hampstead area of London. He or she is the priest responsible for the Archdeaconry of Hampstead, which is geographically equivalent to the episcopal area...
and as Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of St Andrew Undershaft
St Andrew Undershaft
St Andrew Undershaft is a Church of England church located at St Mary Axe, in Aldgate ward of the City of London, near the Lloyd's Building. It is a rare example of a City church that has managed to escape both the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Second World War bombing during the London...
with St Mary Axe
St Mary Axe
St Mary Axe was a medieval parish in London whose name survives on the street it formerly occupied, St Mary Axe. The church itself was demolished in 1561 and its parish united with that of St Andrew Undershaft, which is on the corner of St Mary Axe and Leadenhall Street...
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. In 1964 he was appointed as suffragan Bishop of Willesden.
Episcopal ministry
Leonard had three episcopalBishop
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...
positions in the Church of England, firstly as the suffragan
Suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
Bishop of Willesden
Bishop of Willesden
The Bishop of Willesden is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Willesden, an area of the London Borough of Brent....
in the Diocese of London
Diocese of London
The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...
and later as the diocesan
Diocesan bishop
A diocesan bishop — in general — is a bishop in charge of a diocese. These are to be distinguished from suffragan bishops, assistant bishops, coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops, metropolitans, and primates....
Bishop of Truro
Bishop of Truro
The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Cornwall and it is one of the most recently created dioceses of the Church of England...
(1973 to 1981) and the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
(1981 to 1991). During this last period he was Dean of the Chapel Royal
Dean of the Chapel Royal
Dean of the Chapel Royal, in any kingdom, can be the title of an official charged with oversight of that kingdom's Chapel Royal, the ecclesiastical establishment which is part of the Royal Household and ministers to it.-England:...
, a Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
office, for which he was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(KCVO). He was also Prelate of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
Ordination in the Roman Catholic Church
As the Bishop of London, Leonard had been admired for his pastoral concern for female staff at Church House and had a considerable number of female workers in parishes in his diocese. He was notable for ordaining 71 women as deacons at St Paul's Cathedral on 22 March 1987, but he remained an outspoken critic of moves to ordain women to the priesthood within the Anglican Communion. After his retirement Leonard eventually left the Church of England to become a Roman Catholic. On 23 April 1994 he was conditionally ordained as a priest (but not as a bishop) in the Roman Catholic Church. Although the Roman Catholic Church does not recognise the validity of Anglican ordinationsApostolicae Curae
Apostolicae Curae is the title of a papal bull, issued in 1896 by Pope Leo XIII, declaring all Anglican ordinations to be "absolutely null and utterly void"...
, Leonard's ordination was conditional due to there being "prudent doubt" about his previous ordination in the Church of England, because at Leonard's own consecration in 1964 a bishop of the Old Catholic Church
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
had been among the bishops who consecrated him. Bishops of the Old Catholic churches, the original members of which had separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1870 after the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
and are in full communion with the Church of England, are considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be "in the line of apostolic succession". This eased his reception into the Roman Catholic Church, although his claim that he was legitimately a bishop and his request for a personal prelature were rejected.
Leonard stated that he was not first ordained a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church and that Pope John Paul II's personal instruction was that he should be ordained immediately to the priesthood sub conditione. He was later appointed a papal chaplain
Chaplain of His Holiness
A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges, such as regards ecclesiastical dress....
with the title Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
and then a prelate of honour by the Pope on 3 August 2000.
Family
Leonard was the brother-in-law to the late academic Michael SwannMichael Swann
Michael Meredith Swann, Baron Swann, FRS was a distinguished molecular and cell biologist working on the mechanisms of cell division and fertilisation. He used cell polarisation methods to understand the changes in molecular organisation of the mitotic spindle...
(Lord Swann of Coln St Denys) and Hugh Swann
Hugh Swann
Hugh Sinclair Swann , otherwise known as Tim Swann, became the cabinet maker to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. His work was inspired by his admiration for Barnsley, Gimson and Russell...
, cabinet maker to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, having married their sister, Priscilla Swann, in 1943. He and his wife had two sons.
National Portrait Gallery
Nine portraits of Leonard (1962 by Elliott & FryElliott & Fry
Elliott & Fry was a Victorian photography studio and photographic film manufacturer, founded in 1863 by Joseph John Elliott and Clarence Edmund Fry. For a century the firm's core business was taking and publishing photographs of the Victorian public and social, artistic, scientific and political...
and 1979 by Bassano and Vandyk) are owned by the National Portrait Gallery.
External links
- Former Anglican Bishop of London explains why he became a Catholic
- Bishops of Truro photo gallery
- The Rt Rev Mgr Graham Leonard – Daily Telegraph obituary
- Monsignor Graham Leonard - Guardian obituary