Cuthbert Butler (born Edward Joseph Aloysius Butler; 6 May 1858 – 2 April 1934) was an Irish ecclesiastical historian much of whose career was spent as
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 ...
of
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 ...
in England. He was sometimes referred to as Dom Cuthbert Butler.
Butler is known for ''The Vatican Council: The Story from Inside in Bishop Ullathorne's Letters''. Described by Michael J. G. Pahls as "
e standard
nglish-languageaccount of the
First Vatican Council", the book is based on the correspondence of Bishop
William Bernard Ullathorne
William Bernard Ullathorne (7 May 180621 March 1889) was an English prelate who held high offices in the Roman Catholic Church during the nineteenth century.
Early life
Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest of ...
of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
.
Gertrude Himmelfarb
Gertrude Himmelfarb (August 8, 1922 – December 30, 2019), also known as Bea Kristol, was an American historian. She was a leader of conservative interpretations of history and historiography. She wrote extensively on intellectual history, ...
describes ''The Vatican Council'' as designed to support
papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks '' ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apos ...
.
He also wrote on
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...
.
Early life
Edward Joseph Aloysius Butler was born on 6 May 1858 in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland, to Edward Butler (1812-1902) and Mary (Cruise) Butler. His father was the first professor of mathematics at the
Catholic University of Ireland
The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ga, Ollscoil Chaitliceach na hÉireann) was a private Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University o ...
, from 1854 to 1859, before and after that having worked for the Commission of National Education in Ireland. His mother came from a Norman Irish Catholic family and was a sister of the eminent consulting physician Sir Francis Cruise.
Butler was educated at
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.
Original ...
, an English
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 ...
school, from 1869 to 1875. During his time at the school, he was greatly influenced by the Benedictine priest
William Petre
Sir William Petre (c. 1505 – 1572) (pronounced ''Peter'') was Secretary of State to three successive Tudor monarchs, namely Kings Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary I. He also deputised for the Secretary of State to Elizabeth I.
Educated ...
who, along with the prior, Bernard Murphy, advised him as he
discerned his vocation. As his parents did not want him to enter the Benedictine noviciate immediately after finishing at Downside, he spent a brief period at the short-lived
Catholic University College in
Kensington,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, as well as travelling throughout Europe.
Monastic life
Butler entered the noviciate at
Belmont Abbey in
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
in 1876. Reflecting on his entry into the abbey in a manuscript written between 1891 and 1892, he wrote:
He was ordained in 1884, the same year he got an MA from the University of London, under his birth name, and then became headmaster at Downside School. In 1896 he moved to Cambridge, and soon thereafter he founded Benet House there for Benedictines attending that university. He was a student at Christ's College there, now using the name Edward Cuthbert Butler, and was awarded BA 1898 and MA 1903. In 1906 he was elected Abbot of Downside Abbey, a post he held until his resignation in 1922.
He spent the rest of his life preaching in London and writing the books for which he is now remembered, in particular ''Western Mysticism'' (1922) and ''The Vatican Council'' (1930). He had earlier contributed dozens of articles to the 11th edition of the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' (1911).
He died at his home in London on 2 April 1934.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Cuthbert
1858 births
1934 deaths
British historians
English Benedictines
19th-century English Roman Catholic priests
20th-century English Roman Catholic priests
English Roman Catholic writers
Historians of the Catholic Church
People educated at Downside School
Benedictine scholars
Abbots of Downside
Burials at Downside Abbey
Mysticism scholars