John Bilsborrow was

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 Salford The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford is centred on the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. The diocese was founded in 1852 as one of the first post-Reformation Catholic dioceses in Great Britain. Since 1911 it has formed part of th ...

from 1892 to 1903. Bilsborrow was born in

Singleton, Lancashire Singleton is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. It is located south-east of Poulton-le-Fylde, and at the 2001 census had a population of 877, increasing to 889 at the 2011 C ...

on 20 March 1836. 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 on 26 February 1865 at the age of 28. Following his ordination, he was posted to

Barrow in Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

where he was tasked with establishing a new mission, he oversaw the building of the church of St Mary of Furness, which opened 28 August 1867. In 1872 he was transferred to St Mary's Church, Newsham, near Preston and from there established in 1883 the new mission of St Charles Borromeo, Grange over Sands. In 1883, Bilsborrow was attached to the newly completed St Joseph's College in

Upholland Up Holland (or Upholland) is a village close to Skelmersdale and civil parish in the West Lancashire district, in the county of Lancashire, England, 4 miles west of Wigan. The population at the 2011 census was 7,376. Geography The village is ...

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,685 ...

as Vice-Rector, becoming Rector in 1885. While on the staff, he taught scripture, dogmatic, moral and ascetic theology.''Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser'', 7 March 1903. On 15 July 1892, Bilsborrow was appointed third

Bishop of Salford The Bishop of Salford is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford in the Province of Liverpool, England. With the gradual abolition of the legal restrictions on the activities of Catholics in England and Wales in the early 19th cent ...

. He was ordained bishop on 24 August of the same year. He remained bishop of the Diocese until his death on 5 March 1903 at the age of 67.

References

1836 births 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England People from Singleton, Lancashire 1903 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Salford {{UK-RC-bishop-stub