Edward Wilson Douglas (26 August 1901 – 12 June 1967) was a Scottish

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

clergyman who served as the first

Bishop of Motherwell The Bishop of Motherwell is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell in the Province of Glasgow, Scotland. The diocese covers an area of . The Episcopal see, see is in the town of Motherwell, Scotland, ...

from 1948 to 1954.

Life

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland on 26 August 1901 in the parish of Holy Cross, Edward W. Douglas was educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow. In 1916, he began his studies for the priesthood at St. Mary’s College, Blairs. In 1919, he entered the diocesan seminary, St. Peter's in Bearsden. He was ordained to the priesthood at St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow by Archbishop Donald Mackintosh on 1 May 1924."Bishops of Motherwell", Parish of Saint Augustine, Coatbridge
/ref> Douglas served as a parish priest at St. Margaret’s, Airdrie, St. Bridget’s,

Baillieston Baillieston ( sco, Bailiestoun) is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about east of the city centre. It also gives its name to Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council and forms part of the Glasgow East constituency of the UK Parliament. Geograph ...

, and St. Alphonsus’, Glasgow. and then spent eighteen years on the staff of St. Mary’s College, where he was choirmaster and organist, and is remembered as a devoted and gifted teacher. Douglas then served as parish priest at St. Joseph's in

Glenboig Glenboig (Scottish Gaelic: An Gleann Bhog) is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland lying north of Coatbridge and to the south east of Kirkintilloch and is approximately from Glasgow City Centre. According to a estimate, the population of ...

and iinspector of schools for the Archdiocese. A few years later he went to St. Anthony’s, in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

, Glasgow."Right Rev. Edward Douglas", Diocese of Motherwell
/ref> His brother Robert was also a parish priest. He was appointed the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Diocese of Motherwell The Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell ( la, Dioecesis Matrisfontis, links=no) is an ecclesiastical diocese of the Catholic Church in Scotland. The diocese, which was erected on 25 May 1947 by Pope Pius XII from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, a ...

by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

on 7 February 1948. The Church of Our Lady of Good Aid in

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

was chosen as the cathedral of the new diocese. Douglas was consecrated to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 21 April 1948. The principal consecrator was Archbishop Donald Alphonsus Campbell of Glasgow, and the principal co-consecrators were Bishop

Kenneth Grant Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

of Argyll and the Isles and Bishop

John Alexander Matheson John Alexander Matheson (1901–1950) was a Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the Bishop of Aberdeen from 1947 to 1950. Born in Tomintoul, Moray on 28 April 1901, he was educated at St Mary's College, Blairs 1916-1919 and the Scots Colleg ...

of Aberdeen. During his six year tenure, fourteen new parishes were established and two new churches built in older parishes, and the Cathedral Chapter erected in 1953. The Capuchins were established in

Uddingston Uddingston ( sco, Uddinstoun, gd, Baile Udain) is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city. Geography and boundaries ...

, the Missionaries of Africa in Rutherglen, and the Xaverians in Biggar. The Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls founded a retreat house for women and girls at Newmains. The Poor Clares and the Notre Dame Sisters also established houses in the diocese. Douglas resigned as Bishop of Motherwell due to continuing ill health and was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Botrys'' on 9 February 1954. He retired to Fairlie, Ayrshire and later underwent a serious throat operation. He died on 12 June 1967, aged 65, at Bon Secours Hospital, in Glasgow and was buried in St. Patrick’s cemetery, New Stevenson, Lanarkshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Edward Wilson 1901 births 1967 deaths Clergy from Glasgow 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland Roman Catholic bishops of Motherwell Roman Catholic titular bishops Scottish Roman Catholic bishops