Francis Petre (1691 –1775) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Roman Catholic bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy Orders, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of Holy orders in the Catholic Church, holy orders and is responsible ...

who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District from 1752 to 1775. Francis Petre was born at Fidlers,

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 ...

on 2 October 1692, the second son of Joseph and Catherine Petre. His maternal grandfather was Sir Williams Andrews of Denton, Baronet. On his father's side, he was descended from

John Petre, 1st Baron Petre John Petre, 1st Baron Petre (20 December 1549 – 11 October 1613) was an English peer who lived during the Tudor period and early Stuart period. He and his family were recusants — people who adhered to the Roman Catholic faith after the E ...

. After the death of his paternal grandmother, his grandfather, John Petre, became Jesuit lay brother. Brady, William Maziere. ''Annals of the Catholic Hierarchy in England and Scotland'', J. M. Stark, 1883, p. 260
/ref> Francis 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 ...

to the priesthood on 31 March 1720. He was appointed

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

Edward Dicconson Edward Dicconson (30 November 1670 – 5 May 1752) was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District of England from 1740 to 1752. Life He was the third son of Hugh Dicconson of Wrightington Hall, L ...

, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District on 27 July 1750. Exactly a year later, Petre 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 ...

the

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 ''

Amorium Amorium was a city in Phrygia, Asia Minor which was founded in the Hellenistic period, flourished under the Byzantine Empire, and declined after the Arab sack of 838. It was situated on the Byzantine military road from Constantinople to Cilic ...

'' by Bishop Dicconson on 27 July 1751. The following year, he succeeded as the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District. He died in office on 24 December 1775, aged 83. There is a grave stone memorial to Bishop Petre in the 11th Century Church of St Saviour at Stydd which is outside the village of Ribchester in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petre, Francis 1692 births 1775 deaths 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Apostolic vicars of England and Wales