Francis Kerril Amherst, T.O.S.D., (21 March 1819,

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

– 21 August 1883) was an

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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

Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton The Diocese of Northampton is one of the 22 Roman Catholic dioceses in England and Wales and a Latin Rite suffragan diocese of Westminster. Its see is in Northampton. The Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate and St Thomas of Canterbury is the mothe ...

in England.

Life

Francis Amherst was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London 21 March 1819. He was the eldest son of William Kerril Amherst, of

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Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, and of Mary Louisa Turville-Fortescue, of Bosworth Hall,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. One or both of his parents hailed from

recusant 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 ...

families. One of his sisters became a

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 ...

nun, another joined the order of Providence. His brother William joined the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

.Roskell O.S.B., Mary Francis. ''Memoirs of Francis Kerril Amherst, D.D., Lord Bishop of Northhampton'', (Henry F.J. Vaughn, ed.) New York. Benziger Bros., 1903, Amherst was sent to study at

Oscott College St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, often called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of the three seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Purpose Oscott Coll ...

in 1830 with the intention of preparing for the

Catholic priesthood The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, but after completing his studies, he left St. Mary's to study engineering in Belgium. He returned to Oscott, however, in 1841, to do theological studies.

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church who became the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850. Born ...

was the president of the college, and the following year Amherst accompanied Bishop Wiseman on a trip to Rome. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a priest by Wiseman on 6 June 1846. In 1853, he joined the Dominicans at

Woodchester Woodchester is a Gloucestershire village in the Nailsworth (or Woodchester) Valley, a valley in the South Cotswolds in England, running southwards from Stroud along the A46 road to Nailsworth. The parish population taken at the 2011 census was ...

, but left the following year due to poor health. He returned to Oscott as a professor. After eleven months, Amherst was appointed to the mission of

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

. After the resignation of Bishop

William Wareing Bishop William Wareing (14 February 1791 – 26 December 1865) was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Northampton. Born at Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, and after studying at Oscott College, William Wareing was ordained as a Cath ...

of Northampton, he was named 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 ...

to head that diocese. Despite his protest, he was

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

4 July 1858. At Northampton, Amherst found himself fairly isolated, except when making visitations. In 1862 he was honored with an appointment as an

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below ...

. In 1869 he attended the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

with Dr. Errington and William Clifford,

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. The intense heat in Rome caused him to leave early. On his way north he stopped to view the

Oberammergau Passion Play The Oberammergau Passion Play (german: Oberammergauer Passionsspiele) is a passion play that has been performed every 10 years from 1634 to 1674 and each decadal year since 1680 (with a few exceptions) by the inhabitants of the village of Obera ...

. He resigned his see in 1879, owing to ill health, and the following year was given the Titular See of Sozusa. In September 1878, Amherst resigned the see due to failing health, and was succeeded by Arthur Riddell. Toward the end of 1882, he lost his sight, which was a great trial as he loved reading and observing nature. Amherst died at his residence, Fieldgate,

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, on 21 August 1883, aged 64, and was buried in The Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Thomas.Larsen, Chris. ''Catholic Bishops of Great Britain'', Sacristy Press, 2016, p. 139
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amherst, Francis Kerril 1819 births 1883 deaths People from Marylebone 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Alumni of St Mary's College, Oscott Lay Dominicans Dominican tertiaries Participants in the First Vatican Council Roman Catholic bishops of Northampton British expatriates in Belgium