Father George Blackwell (c. 1545 – 12 January 1613) was

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 ...

Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

of England from 1597 to 1608.

Biography

Blackwell was born in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, England about 1545, perhaps the son of the pewterer Thomas Blackwell. He was admitted as a scholar to

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

on 27 May 1562. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1563, and became a probationer of the college in 1565, a fellow in 1566, and graduated MA in 1567. He then removed to

Gloucester Hall Gloucester College, Oxford, was a Benedictine institution of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, from the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It was never a typical college of the Universit ...

, a house much suspected of Catholic tendencies.Brady, William Maziere. ''The episcopal succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, A.D. 1400 to 1875'', Vol. 3, Tipografia Della Pace, 1877, pp. 55 et seq.
/ref> He resigned or was ejected from Trinity College in 1571, probably for his religious beliefs, and in 1574 left England for the

English College, Douai The English College (''College des Grands Anglais'') was a Catholic seminary in Douai, France (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), associated with the University of Douai. It was established in 1568, and was suppressed in 1793. ...

. 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1575, and graduated BST from the

University of Douai The University of Douai (french: Université de Douai) ( nl, Universiteit van Dowaai) is a former university in Douai, France. With a medieval heritage of scholarly activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started ...

the same year. Father George Blackwell returned to England as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in November 1576. He was imprisoned in 1578 for his work as a priest. After being released from prison, he lived and worked from the house of Mrs. Meany in

Westminster, England Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckin ...

in secret. In 1601 a government spy described Blackwell as "about 50 years of age, his head brownish, his beard more black, cut after the fashion of a spade, of stature indifferent, and somewhat thick, decently attired"

Appointment as Archpriest

After the death of Cardinal Allen in 1594, the leadership of the clandestine Catholic Mission in England was thrown into disarray. On 7 March 1598,

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

appointed Blackwell

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

over the

secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...

in England.Burton, Edwin. "Archpriest Controversy." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 16 (Index). New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1914. 4 February 2020 Six assistants were named for him and another six were left to his discretion. As Archpriest, he lodged at the

town house A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

Anthony-Maria Browne, 2nd Viscount Montagu Anthony-Maria Browne (1574 – 23 October 1629) was an English peer during the Tudor and Stuart period. He was born in 1574, the son of Anthony Browne (22 July 1552 – 29 June 1592), eldest son of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu, and ...

, when in London. His instructions enjoined him to work in close consultation with the head of the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

mission in England. A number of secular priests in England, thinking Blackwell was too close to the Jesuits, appealed to the Pope to overturn Blackwell's appointment and name a

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

with full episcopal powers. Bitter controversy followed on this appeal, and two more appeals followed. According to John Hungerford Pollen, Blackwell's "main defect appears to have been an entire want of experience in government, Joined wit xaggerated ideas of his position as Superior." The English government was keen to turn the controversy to its advantage, and encouraged Blackwell's "Appellant" enemies behind the scenes. The upshot of the third and final appeal was that Blackwell's powers were confirmed, but he was censured for his lack of tact and ordered in future not to communicate to the Jesuits any matters pertaining solely to the mission of the secular clergy.

Removal as Archpriest

Following the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...

, Blackwell wrote to Rome and obtained a letter from

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

condemning the plot and calling on English Catholics not to disturb the peace. Part of the English government's response was to enforce a new

oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

, drafted in such a way that it was bound to create divisions within the English Catholic community as to whether it could be taken in good conscience. In particular, one passage of the oath could be read as giving the English authorities the right to define

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. He wrote an open letter to the English clergy, urging them to do the same. He insisted that the oath could legitimately be read as not contradicting the pope's "Supremacie in spirituall causes". The Pope, however, condemned the new oath soon afterwards. Blackwell, and some others, continued to defend the oath despite this. An international theological controversy developed concerning the licitness of the oath. Blackwell was captured near

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

on 24 June 1607. He was initially at the Gate-House in Westminster, and then at

The Clink The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Lib ...

in Southwark. Over the following ten days he was questioned several times as to whether or not he had been aware of the Gunpowder Plot, and about his opinion of the oath. At the end of that period he was tendered the oath, which he took.Brady, William Maziere. ''Annals of the Catholic Hierarchy in England and Scotland: A.D. 1585–1876'', J. M. Stark, 1883, p. 61
/ref> Blackwell's interpretation of the oath did not satisfy the Pope himself, who relieved Blackwell of his position as archpriest, nor the English authorities, who kept him imprisoned for the remainder of his life.

Death and legacy

George Blackwell died in

on 12 January 1613.

References

Sources

*
"Blackwell, George"
(by subscription). ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography website ''. * D. A. Bellenger, ed., ''English and Welsh priests, 1558–1800'' (1984), p. 40 * John Hungerford Pollen, ''The Institution of the Archpriest Blackwell'' (1916) * T. G. Law, ed., ''The Archpriest Controversy: Documents Relating to the Dissensions of the Roman Catholic Clergy, 1597–1602'', 2 vols, Camden new series 56 & 58 (1896–1898) *

Peter Milward Father Peter Milward, SJ (12 October 1925 – 16 August 2017) was a Jesuit priest and literary scholar. He was emeritus professor of English Literature at Sophia University in Tokyo and a leading figure in scholarship on English Renaissance lite ...

, ''Religious Controversies of the Elizabethan Age: A Survey of Printed Sources'' (1977) * Peter Milward, ''Religious Controversies of the Jacobean Age: A Survey of Printed Sources'' (1978) * A. O. Meyer, ''England and the Catholic Church under Queen Elizabeth'', translated by J. R. McKee (1916), reprinted with an introduction by John Bossy (1967), pp. 411–50 {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, George 1545 births 1613 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Alumni of Gloucester Hall, Oxford English College, Douai alumni Roman Catholic clergy from London 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests