David Rothe (1573 – 20 April 1650) was a

Roman Catholic Bishop of Ossory The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory ( ga, Deoise Osraí) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Dublin. ...

Life

David Rothe was born in 1573 in High Street

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

. His maternal grandmother, Ellen Butler, was first cousin to Pierce the Red, Eighth Earl of Ormond.Ronan, Myles. "A Contemporary English Transcript of the "Analecta Sacra" of David Rothe, Bishop of Ossory (1618-1650)", ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'', Vol. 42 (1934/1935), pp. 193-198] He studied at the Irish College,

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...

, and at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is th ...

, where he graduated doctor in civil and canon law. He was ordained in 1600, and proceeded to Rome. From 1601 to 1609 he was professor of theology and secretary to Peter Lombard (Archbishop of Armagh), and on 15 June 1609, was appointed Vice-Primate of Armagh. Having been made

prothonotary Apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

, Rothe arrived in Ireland in 1610. He resided part of the time in Kilkenny City, and part of the time in Balleen, with his cousin

Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret (1578–1651) was the son of Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret and Grany or Grizzel, daughter of Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Upper Ossory. He is best known for his participation in the Irish Confede ...

. One of his first tasks was to resolve disputes between secular (parish) and religious (such as the Cistercians) clergy over faculties and jurisdiction.Carrigan, William. ''The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory'', Vol. 1, Sealy, Bryers & Walker, Kilkenny, 1905
/ref> Rothe held a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

for the Ulster Province at

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, in February, 1614, and a second synod in 1618. Rothe was under close government surveillance, and the fact that he was not either imprisoned or banished was probably due to Lord Mountgarret and other powerful friends. Rothe was appointed Bishop of Ossory on 10 October 1618. At that the time the archbishops of Ireland, (Armagh, Tuam, Cashel, and Dublin) were all in exile on the Continent. Owing to the severity of the penal laws, he had to seek consecration in Paris, where he was ordained bishop 1 April 1619. He returned to Ireland in late 1621, after publishing two ecclesial works. Rothe became the most prominent bishop in Ireland."History of the Diocese", Diocese of Ossory
/ref> In 1624, Rothe presided over a synod at

, and he laboured zealously during a trying period. Rothe’s prominence in the country and the relatively peaceful state of Kilkenny led to the Confederate ‘parliament’ meeting in the city in the 1642, and welcomed the papal

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...

Rinuccini Rinuccini is a surname, and may refer to: *Giovanni Battista Rinuccini (1592–1653), an Italian archbishop. *Ottavio Rinuccini Ottavio Rinuccini (20 January 1562 – 28 March 1621) was an Italian poet, courtier, and opera librettist at the end of ...

, to Kilkenny, on 14 November 1645. Three years later, he refused to acknowledge the validity of the censures issued by Rinuccini. David Rothe, like other bishops appointed during Lombard's tenure, tended to be more moderate toward state authority.O'hAnnracháin, Tadhg. "Episcopal activity and confessional identity", ''The Origins of Sectarianism in Early Modern Ireland'', (Alan Ford and John McCafferty, eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2005
Although seriously ill in 1649, he continued to minister to the plague-stricken citizens of Kilkenny but was compelled by the Cromwellians to leave on 28 March 1650. After being robbed along the way, he was permitted to return to his brother's house, where he died 20 April 1650.Meehan, Charles Patrick. ''The Confederation of Kilkenny'', J. Duffy, 1905
/ref> His remains were interred in St. Mary's Church, but there is a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

to his memory in

St. Canice's Cathedral St Canice's Cathedral ( ga, Ardeaglais Naomh Cainneach, ), also known as Kilkenny Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Kilkenny city, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Dio ...

Works

His most noted work is the ''Analecta'', the first part of which is an account of the persecution of Catholics in Ireland during the deputyship of

Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (May 1563 – 19 February 1625; known between 1596 and 1613 as Sir Arthur Chichester), of Carrickfergus in Ireland, was an English administrator and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 160 ...

. As early as 1616, Rothe had published the first part of his ''Analecta'' and the completed work was issued at Cologne (1617–19);Rothe, David. ''Analecta'' (Patrick Francis Moran, ed.) Dublin, M.H. Gill and Son, 1884
/ref> a new edition was brought out by Cardinal Moran in 1884. In 1620 he published ''Brigida Thaumaturga'' at Paris, followed by ''Hiberniae sive Antiquioris Scotiae'' in 1621 at Antwerp, and ''Hibernia Resurgens'' at Paris, also in 1621. He also left a manuscript, ''Hierographia Hiberniae''.

References

Sources

* Carrigan, William, History of Ossory (Dublin 1905); Report on Franciscan MSS. in Hist. MSS. Com. (Dublin, 1906) *Lynch, De praesulibus Hiberniae (1672) *Ware, De praesulibus Hiberniae (Dublin, 1665) *

C. P. Meehan Charles Patrick Meehan (12 July 1812 – 14 March 1890) was an Irish Catholic priest, historian and editor. Life Meehan was born at 141 Parnell Street, Great Britain Street, Dublin, on 12 July 1812. He received his early education at Ballymah ...

, ''Franciscan Monasteries'' (Dublin, 1872) *Moran, Spicilegium Ossoriense (Dublin, 1874–84)

Life

Works

References

Sources

Further reading