Dominic Terence Joseph "Aidan" Bellenger, (born 21 July 1950) is an English historian and former

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk and

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...

. He was headmaster of

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Originall ...

from 1991 to 1995 and later

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both t ...

from 2006 to 2014.

Early life and education

Bellenger was born on 21 July 1950 to Gerald Bellenger and his wife, Kathleen Patricia ( O'Donnell). He was educated at Finchley Catholic Grammar School and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he graduated BA in 1972, promoted to MA in 1975.''People of Today'' (Debrett, 2006, p. 120) His first degree was in History.Dr Dominic Aidan Bellenger
profile at st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk, accessed 20 October 2021 He later studied theology at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the Christian liturgy, liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal (liturgy), ordinal for the ordination and consecration of dea ...

in Rome. In 1975, he took up an appointment as an assistant schoolmaster at

St Mary's School, Cambridge St Mary's School, Cambridge, England, is an independent Christian school run in the Catholic tradition, offering day and boarding provision for girls aged three to eighteen. The school occupies two sites within walking distance of Cambridge city ...

, a high school for girls, where he taught until 1978. In that year he was the University Lightfoot Scholar and graduated

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from Cambridge with a dissertation on refugees in the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

Career

Bellenger taught history at

as a lay master between 1978 and 1982, and made solemn vows in 1986. He was ordained in 1988, and in 1991 the Abbot appointed him as headmaster of the school. He continued in that post until 1995, when he became parish priest of

Little Malvern Little Malvern is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is situated on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills, south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as ''The Malverns' ...

, Worcestershire. In 1999, he was appointed as parish priest of

Stratton-on-the-Fosse Stratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, south-west of Westfield, north-east of Shepton Mallet, and from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population of 1,108, and has a rural agricultu ...

(where Downside is) and also joined the board of governors of the school. From 2001 to 2006 he served as prior to Abbot Richard Yeo,"Benedictine Hearings", 11 December 2017
pp. 1–4

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary ...

then was himself Abbot from 2006 to 2014, while also continuing as parish priest of Stratton-on-the-Fosse until 2014. In 2010, as Abbot of Downside, Bellenger said of the abbey: Bellenger was monastic editor of ''The Downside Review'' for the year 2017–2018, and in 2018 ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...

'' published an article by him on

Buckfast Abbey Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Savignac (later Cistercian) abbey cons ...

. A Senior Research Associate of

St Edmund's College, Cambridge St Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the four Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept only students reading for postgraduate degr ...

, Bellenger is a member of the Faculty of History, a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

, the Society of Antiquaries, the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

, and the

Higher Education Academy Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

Selected publications

* 'The English Catholics and the French Exiled Clergy', ''

Recusant History Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

'', 15 (6) (1981), pp. 433–51 * ''English and Welsh Priests, 1558–1800'' (Bath, 1984) * 'The French Priests at the King's House, Winchester, 1792–1796', in ''Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society'' XL (1984), pp. 99–105 * ''The French Exiled Clergy in the British Isles After 1789'' (Bath: Downside Abbey Books, 1986) * 'Two Antiquarian Monks: the Papers of Dom Bede Camm and Dom Ethelbert Horn at Downside', Catholic Archives 6 (1986) * 'Dom Bede Camm (1864–1942), Monastic Martyrologist', in Diana Wood (ed.), ''Martyrs and martyrologies: papers read at the 1992 Summer Meeting and the 1993 Winter Meeting of the Ecclesiastical History Society'' (1993) * 'The Brussels Nuns at Winchester, 1794–1857 ' ''English Benedictine Congregation History Commission Symposium'' (1999), 1–9 * 'Religious Life for Men' in V. A. McClelland (ed.), ''From without the Flamian Gate: 150 Years of Catholicism in England and Wales, 1850–2000'' (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1999 ), 142–166 * ''Princes of the Church: A History of the English Cardinals'', with Stella Fletcher (Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2001, ) * 'Butler, Basil Edward hristopher Butler(1902–1986)', in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (Oxford University Press, 2004) * 'Gasquet, Francis Neil (1846–1929)' in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2007) * 'Seeking God as a Benedictine Monk' in

Edward Leigh Sir Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (born 20 July 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1983. Leigh has represented Gainsborough, Lincolnshire in the House of Commons since 1983 (repr ...

, Alex Haydon, ''The Nation that Forgot God'' (Social Affairs Unit, 2009, ) * ''Downside Abbey: An Architectural History'' (Merrell, 2011, )Colin Amer
“Amazing Grace: Review of ''Downside Abbey: An Architectural History'', edited by Dom Aidan Bellenger”

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

, 3 December 2011 * ''O.S.B. Monks with a Mission: English Benedictine History'' (Bath: Downside Abbey Press, 2014 )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellenger, Aidan 1950 births Living people Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Alumni of St Edmund's College, Cambridge English Benedictines 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 21st-century English Roman Catholic priests English male non-fiction writers Heads of schools in England Mysticism scholars People educated at Finchley Grammar School