Ignatius Spencer
Encyclopedia
George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer
George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer KG PC FRS FSA , styled Viscount Althorp from 1765 to 1783, was a British Whig politician...
. He converted from Anglicanism
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...
to the Roman Catholic Church and entered the Passionist
Passionist
The Passionists are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Saint Paul of the Cross . Professed members use the initials C.P. after their names.-History:St...
Order in 1841 and spent his life working for the conversion of England to the Catholic faith.
Birth and Education
George Spencer was born in Admiralty House, 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...
. He was the son of the second Earl Spencer
Earl Spencer
Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
, George John Spencer, at that time First Lord of the Admiralty. George was the youngest of seven children whose descendents would include Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. As a child George lived at the family’s seat, Althorp
Althorp
Althorp is a country estate of about and a stately home in Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-west of the county town of Northampton. The late Diana, Princess of Wales is buried in the estate.-History:...
, and was tutored by his governess and his mother. In 1808 at the age of 9 he and his brother, Frederick, went up to Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
to continue their education. At Eton George fell under the influence of the Reverend Richard Godley, a stalwart evangelical Anglican who introduced him to various practices of piety and asceticism. Dissatisfied with the education, and evangelical influences, of Eton, the Spencers removed him from the school at Christmas 1814. George’s education was then continued under the direction of one Reverend Blomfield of 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....
who both provided a more classical education for the boy and prepared him for the sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
of confirmation. In October 1817 George went up to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
where he studied Divinity. At Cambridge George enjoyed the company of a circle of friends who often spent their days in conversation, taking tea and playing poker. Lady Spencer reproved her son for what she took to be wasted time. However George took a first class honours degree upon going down from Cambridge in 1819. As was expected at the time George set off for his ‘Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
’ with his parents after leaving University. Whilst George clearly enjoyed the cultural aspects of this tour, he was aghast at his encounter with continental Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
.
Anglican Minister
Returning from Europe George undertook studies to prepare for ordinationOrdination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
in 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...
. As the youngest son of an aristocratic family this was the expected career path that George would take. He studied the classical languages, as well as employing a Jewish scholar to teach him some Hebrew. Thus on 22 December 1822 George was ordained deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
. For two years George worked in a Sunday school, but also as a magistrate in Northampton and on June 13, 1824 George was 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...
. Thereafter his father presented him with the charge of the parish of Brington. George was totally committed to the care of his parish and spent his days visiting his parishioners, the sick and the dying and was often seen dispensing food, clothes and monies.
Conversion to Catholicism
During his time at Brington, George began to ask questions about his Anglican faith and doubts clouded his mind. He explored each and every tradition, from High ChurchHigh church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
to Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
and even in his own parish he met many Methodists and other non-conformists. George’s education was highly Scriptural and he struggled to find a basis in scripture for the doctrines contained in the 39 Articles. During a holiday on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
George began to read the writings of the early church Fathers, particularly Chrysostom and Gregory the Great. Through this reading, George gradually began to understand the difference between Catholic and Protestant thought.
From 1827, George began to make the acquaintance of several Catholic priests who encouraged George to continue with his reading. Soon afterward George received the first of three anonymous letters from a correspondent in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
. The correspondent was aware of George’s troubles and suggested he give further thought to Catholicism. Finally, a meeting with Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle
Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps De Lisle
Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps de Lisle was an English Catholic convert. He founded Mount St. Bernard Abbey, a Trappist abbey in Leicestershire and worked for the reconversion or reconciliation of Britain to Catholicism....
, a recent English convert to Catholicism, set George on the road to conversion. After several encounters with de Lisle and a number of priests, George resigned his living of Brington and on January 30, 1830 the Honourable and Reverend George Spencer was received into the Catholic Church.
In order to remove himself from the public eye and to lessen the blow to his parents, George went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to study at the Venerable English College. Here he came into contact with Nicholas Wiseman, later Cardinal, who tutored him on matters of Catholic tradition. Whilst in Rome Spencer also met Dominic Barberi
Dominic Barberi
Blessed Dominic of the Mother of God, born Dominic Barberi was an Italian theologian and a member of the Passionist Congregation...
, the Passionist priest with such enthusiasm for the conversion of England to the Catholic faith. Father Dominic would later have a great part to play in George’s life. During his studies at Rome, George wrote an account of his conversion from the Protestant to the Catholic faith that was published in the Catholic journals and finally he was ordained deacon in January 1832 and on 26 May of that same year, he was made priest.
Crusade of Prayer for England
In August 1832 George returned to England to act as 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...
to a church in Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
where he was given particular care of a chapel in West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
. Here he opened three schools, gave lectures on religion and made many converts, as well as his usual activities in the parish. George’s reputation as a preacher began to grow and soon he was preaching as far afield as St. Chad’s, Manchester and St. Mary’s, Derby. During a visit to France in 1838 George proposed a ‘Crusade of Prayer for the Conversion of England’ to Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen
Hyacinthe-Louis De Quelen
Hyacinthe-Louis De Quelen was Archbishop of Paris.-Biography:Born in Paris, he was educated at the College of Navarre. Ordained in 1807, he served a year as Vicar-General of Saint-Brieuc and then became secretary to Cardinal Fesch. When the latter was sent back to his diocese, de Quelen exercised...
, the Archbishop of Paris
Archbishop of Paris
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...
. Many of George’s influential friends joined this campaign and news of it spread throughout Britain and the Empire. In May 1839, he was appointed spiritual director to the seminarians at Oscott College and in the same month preached at St. Chad’s, Manchester on ‘The Great Importance of a Reunion Between the Catholics and the Protestants of England and the Method of Effecting It.’ In January 1840, George visited John Henry Newman at Oriel College, Oxford to ask Newman to join him in prayer for “unity in truth”. Newman sent Spencer away and refused even to see him, but later apologised for this in his Apologia;
"This feeling led me into the excess of being very rude to that zealous and most charitable man, Mr. Spencer, when he came to Oxford in January, 1840, to get Anglicans to set about praying for Unity. I myself then, or soon after, drew up such prayers; it was one of the first thoughts which came upon me after my shock, but I was too much annoyed with the political action of the members of the Roman Church in England to wish to have anything to do with them personally. So glad in my heart was I to see him when he came to my rooms, whither Mr. Palmer of Magdalen brought him, that I could have laughed for joy; I think I did; but I was very rude to him, I would not meet him at dinner, and that, (though I did not say so,) because I considered him " in loco apostatx " from the Anglican Church, and I hereby beg his pardon for it."
George’s ‘Crusade’ did not only meet with Newman’s opposition, but within the Catholic Church in England where Dr Baines used a Pastoral Letter to reprimand the activities of ‘certain converts’. Whilst George limited his activities for a time he was soon back at work. In July 1842 he set off on a preaching tour of Ireland to beg the prayers of the Irish for their English brethren. Spencer was also greatly pleased to receive the blessing of Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
who granted a number of indulgences for those who would pray for England. Spencer’s Crusade was the first association with the unity of Christians as its aim and it is with this in mind that he is often hailed as the ‘Apostle of Ecumenical Prayer’
Father Ignatius, Passionist
George had often considered the possibility that he might have a vocation to enter the religious life and in 1846 he made a long retreat, finally deciding that it was God’s will that he should enter the PassionistPassionist
The Passionists are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Saint Paul of the Cross . Professed members use the initials C.P. after their names.-History:St...
Congregation. On January 5, 1847 George Spencer received the Passionist habit from the hands of his old friend Father Dominic Barberi who had brought the Congregation to England in 1841. George received the religious name Father Ignatius of Saint Paul, the name he would be known by ever after. Ignatius threw himself into Passionist life and after making his religious profession in 1848 began preaching sermons throughout Britain and Ireland, always calling for prayers for the conversion of England. In August 1849, Ignatius was preaching in Belgium when he heard of Father Dominic’s death, consequently he was now Provincial of the Passionist Congregation in England and Belgium. In 1851, Ignatius set out to Rome to gain the approval of the Pope for his work, on his return he also met with several prominent bishops, as well as with Emperor Franz Josef of Austria.
Death and Cause For Beatification
Dominic Barberi
Blessed Dominic of the Mother of God, born Dominic Barberi was an Italian theologian and a member of the Passionist Congregation...
and Elizabeth Prout
Elizabeth Prout
Servant of God Sister Elizabeth Prout, known as Mother Mary Joseph of Jesus, . Founder of the Roman Catholic religious order the ‘Institute of the Holy Family’, later known as the Passionists - the Sisters of the Cross and Passion.-Early life:Elizabeth Prout was born in Coleham, Shrewsbury on...
in St. Anne’s, Sutton, St. Helens on October 4 and now rests in the shrine church there. When his body was exhumed in 1973 it was noted that Father Ignatius suffered from horrific arthritis, but that his tongue had not suffered any decay since the day of his death.
In March 2007, the Church announced that the first stage of Father Ignatius’ cause for beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
had been completed and that all the necessary documents had been forwarded to Rome. The next step in this process would be a declaration from the Holy See that Father Ignatius could be styled ‘Venerable’; on December 6, 2010, the BBC reported that the Vatican has made such a declaration.
Writings
- Short Account of the Conversion of the Hon. And Rev. G. Spencer to the Catholic Faith, written by himself, in the English College, at Rome, in the year 1831
- Letters in Defence of Various Points of the Catholic Faith, 1836
- A Return to the Primitive Order of the Church, 1839
- An Account of the Life of C. R. Pakenham, 1857
- Life of Blessed Paul of the Cross, trans., 1860
- The Christian Armed, 1865
External links
- Writings of Dominic Barberi and Ignatius Spencer
- Catholic Encyclopedia Article on The Hon. George Spencer
- A Letter to the Hon. and Rev. George Spencer on the Oxford Movement in the United States by Americo-Catholicus, Formerly a Member of the Protestant Episcopal Church (1842)
- Description of Portrait of Fr. Ignatius in St. Joseph's Church, Highgate, London
- Shrine Church of St. Anne and Blessed Dominic where Fr. Ignatius lies buried