William Hugh Joseph Clifford (24 December 1823 – 14 August 1893) was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

 of 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...

. He served as Bishop of Clifton

Bishop of Clifton

The Bishop of Clifton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton in the Province of Birmingham, England.The see is in the suburb of Clifton in the city of Bristol where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul...

 from 1857 to 1893.

Born in Irnham

Irnham

Irnham is a village in Lincolnshire in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It is about ten miles south east of Grantham, To the north is Osgodby, to the south Swinstead, and to the west Corby Glen. The village is on a high limestone ridge that forms the southern part of the Lincolnshire...

, Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

 on 24 December 1823, the son of Hugh Clifford, 7th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh and Mary Lucy Weld, daughter of Cardinal Thomas Weld

Thomas Weld

Thomas Weld , who came to Boston on 5 June 1632 on the "William and Francis", was a Puritan emigrant from England and the first minister of the First Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts from 1632 to 1641.-Biography:...

. He was ordained

Holy Orders

The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....

 to the priesthood

Priesthood (Catholic Church)

The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....

 on 25 August 1850. Six and a half years later, he was appointed the Bishop

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 of the Diocese of Clifton

Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese centred around the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton....

 on 29 January 1857. His consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 to the Episcopate

Episcopal polity

Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...

 took place at the Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...

 on 15 February 1857, the principal consecrator

Consecrator

Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...

 was 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...

, with Archbishop George Errington

George Errington

George Errington , the second son of Thomas Errington and Katherine of Clints Hall, Richmond, Yorkshire, was a Roman Catholic churchman....

 as co-consecrator. Bishop Clifford attended 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...

as one of the 693 council fathers, held between 8 December 1869 to 20 October 1870.

He died in office on 14 August 1893, aged 69.