Robert Brindle (4 November 1837 – 27 June 1916) 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 ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as the Bishop of Nottingham from 1901 to 1915.

Life

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 4 November 1837, 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 ...

to the priesthood on 27 December 1862. Brindle joined the

Royal Army Chaplains' Department The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

. During the

Gordon Relief Expedition The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition (1884–85), was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to the Sudan to help Egyptians evacuate from Sudan af ...

(1884–85), as an

army chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term '' ch ...

he marched with the troops rather than riding with the officers; and handled an oar with the 1st Royal Irish Regiment as they rowed up the Nile.Snape, Michael Francis. ''The Royal Army Chaplains' Department, 1796-1953: Clergy Under Fire'', Boydell Press, 2008, p. 160
/ref> He was mentioned in Kitchener's dispatches for his services to the wounded during the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the M ...

and "only some technical difficulty prevented his receiving a knighthood at the end of the campaign." Sir Evelyn Wood said, "Father Brindle was doubtless the most popular man in the Expedition. His own flock naturally loved him, and he was respected by everyone ... He had a pony which he never rode, it being used to carry foot-sore men in turn." In recognition of services in Egypt and the Sudan, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

on 16 November 1898. Brindle retired from the army as Chaplain to the Forces First Class in 1899. He was appointed an Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and

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 Hermopolis Maior on 29 January 1899. 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 12 March 1899, 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 Cardinal

Francesco Satolli Francesco Satolli (21 July 1839 – 8 January 1910) was an Italian theologian, professor, cardinal, and the first Apostolic Delegate to the United States. Biography He was born on 21 July 1839, at Marsciano near Perugia. He was educated at ...

, and the principal co-consecrators were Archbishop Cesare Sambucetti and Archbishop Edmund Stonor. Nearly three years later, he was appointed the

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

Diocese of Nottingham The Diocese of Nottingham, England, is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite and a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Diocese of Westminster. The diocese covers an area of , taking in the English counties of N ...

on 6 December 1901. When King

Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

of Spain and

Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Republic was proclaimed. A Hessian ...

wished to be married, the Princess agreed to convert to Catholicism. Her uncle King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

suggested that she take instruction from former army chaplain Monsignor Brindle. Despite anti-Catholic rhetoric on the part of her countrymen, Victoria was received into the Catholic Church in March 1906 at

Miramar Palace The Miramar Palace ( es, Palacio de Miramar, also known as or ; eu, Miramar jauregia) is a late 19th-century palace located on the La Concha Bay of the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain. It was built in 1893 commissioned by the S ...

in a ceremony presided over by Bishop Brindle and the Bishop of Vitoria. He resigned as Bishop of Nottingham on 1 June 1915 and was appointed Titular Bishop of Tacapae. He died on 27 June 1916, aged 78. The Bishop was given a military funeral, his coffin covered with the Union Jack with his bishop's mitre on it.

Medals and awards

Egypt Medal The Egypt Medal (1882–1889) was awarded for the military actions involving the British Army and Royal Navy during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War and in the Sudan between 1884 and 1889. Resentment at increasing British and other European involve ...

(three clasps, Suakin 1884, El-Teb-Tamaai, The Nile 1884-85) *

Queen's Sudan Medal The Queen's Sudan Medal was authorised in March 1899 and awarded to British and Egyptian forces which took part in the Sudan campaign between June 1896 and September 1898. The campaign reflected the British desire to reverse the defeats of the Ma ...

* Ottoman Order of Osmania, Fourth Class *Ottoman

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

, Third Class *

Khedive's Star The Khedive's Star was a campaign medal established by Khedive Tewfik Pasha to reward those who had participated in the military campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan between 1882 and 1891. This included British forces who served during the 1882 Anglo- ...

1882 * Khedive's Sudan Medal (three clasps, Hafir, The Atbara, Khartoum) *

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brindle, Robert 1837 births 1916 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Clergy from Liverpool Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 3rd class Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers Roman Catholic bishops of Nottingham