Francis Edward Joseph Grimshaw (6 October 1901 – 22 March 1965) was a British

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 ...

bishop, who served as

Archbishop of Birmingham The Archbishop of Birmingham heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham in England. As such he is the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Birmingham. The archdiocese covers an area of and spans of the counties of Oxfordshire, S ...

from 1954 until his death.

Early life

Born in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

on 6 October 1901, the eldest of three sons of Joseph Grimshaw, an engineering pattern maker from

Hulme, Manchester Hulme () is an inner city area and Ward (politics), electoral ward of Manchester, England, immediately south of Manchester city centre. It has a significant industrial heritage. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, the nam ...

and his wife Sarah Theresa Handley from

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

, Gloucestershire. Francis was educated in Bristol by the

Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...

, at St Brendan's College, then studied for the Priesthood at the

Venerable English College, Rome The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English College, ...

Priestly ministry

He was ordained in Bristol as a priest for the

Diocese of Clifton The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton is a Roman Catholic diocese centred at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton, England. The diocese covers the City and County of Bristol and the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire, ...

on 27 February 1926. Following Ordination Father Grimshaw served first as Curate at

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

from 1926 to 1932, then as Parish Priest at St Joseph's, Fishpool, Bristol from 1932 to 1945 and finally at St Mary's, Bath, also serving as Diocesan Inspector of Schools. Fr Grimshaw was appointed Bishop of Plymouth on 2 June 1947. His

consecration 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 ...

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 ...

took place on 25 July 1947. The principal

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

was

Joseph Masterson Joseph Masterson (29 January 1899 – 30 November 1953) was an English Roman Catholic Clergyman and sometime Archbishop of Birmingham. Masterson was born in Ardwick, Manchester, England, the son of William Masterson, an Irish immigrant shopkee ...

; and the principal co-consecrators were

William Lee (Bishop of Clifton) William Lee (27 September 1875 – 21 September 1948) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1931 to 1948. Born in Mitchelstown, County Cork on 27 September 1875, he was educated at St. Colm ...

, and Edward Ellis, Bishop of Nottingham. He was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshir ...

on 11 May 1954. In 1958 he led the Christian Brothers schools of England on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in the centenary year of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St Bernadette. He participated in the first three sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, held between in 1962 and 1965. He died in office on 22 March 1965, aged 63 at St Paul's Convent, Selly Park and is buried at

St Mary's College, Oscott 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 Co ...

Legacy

Several schools have been named after him, including

Archbishop Grimshaw School John Henry Newman Catholic College (JHNCC), formerly ''Archbishop Grimshaw School'', is an English secondary school in the Fordbridge area of Solihull, although it lies in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull The Metropolitan Borough of Sol ...

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...

St Boniface's Catholic College St Boniface's Catholic College is a secondary school for boys, under the direction and trustees of the Roman Catholic Community in the Plymouth area in the South West of England. Founded in 1856 as an independent boarding and day school for "yo ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

has a

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimshaw, Francis Joseph 1901 births 1965 deaths Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United Kingdom People from Bridgwater Roman Catholic bishops of Plymouth Roman Catholic archbishops of Birmingham English College, Rome alumni