Thomas Goldwell (15013 April 1585) was an English Catholic clergyman, Bishop of Saint Asaph, the last of those Catholic bishops who had refused to accept the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

Life

Thomas Goldwell was the son of William Goldwell of Great Chart,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He is thought to have studied at

Canterbury College, Oxford Canterbury College, Oxford (1311–1540), was a University of Oxford college, owned and run by Christ Church Priory, Canterbury. Shortly after the dissolution of the monasteries, the college's hall, chapel and other buildings were surrendered ...

; in January 1532 a student surnamed Goldwell was questioned concerning books in his possession which supported

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

, and Goldwell later referred to

Richard Thornden Richard Thornden was an eminent 16th-century priest. In 1524 he was appointed Warden of Canterbury College, Oxford and after that was a Prebendary at Canterbury Cathedral. Appointed the second Bishop of Dover The Bishop of Dover is an episc ...

, who was warden of that College from 1524 to 1534, as his "old friend and master". He graduated BA in 1528, MA on 17 July 1531, and BTh on 20 March 1534. While at Oxford he attained more eminence in mathematics, astronomy, and kindred sciences, than in divinity or the humanities. He became chaplain to

Cardinal Pole Reginald Pole (12 March 1500 – 17 November 1558) was an English cardinal of the Catholic Church and the last Catholic archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1556 to 1558, during the Counter-Reformation. Early life Pole was born a ...

and lived with him at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he was appointed of the English Hospital of the Holy Trinity. Goldwell was attainted in 1539. In 1547 he became a novice in the

Theatine The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...

House of St. Paul, at Naples. On the death of Paul III, Cardinal Pole brought him to Rome as his personal attendant at the conclave of 1549-50 that elected of

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...

. Goldwell then returned to Naples, and made his profession as a Theatine. In 1553, while Edward VI was still reigning an Act of General Pardon was passed, from which Goldwell had the signal honour of being specially excepted by name, along with Pole and some others. On

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

's accession, Pole was named papal legate, and Goldwell returned with him to England. In 1555 Goldwell became

bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is loca ...

, a diocese largely within Wales. While still only bishop-designate, he was sent to Rome on 2 July 1555 to report on the state of religion in England to Paul IV, and probably received his episcopal consecration at that time. He returned to England and assisted at the consecration of Pole as Archbishop of Canterbury. Mary planned to make him

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his elect ...

and ambassador to Rome in November 1558, and the documents were drawn up, but were not enacted due to her death. When Elizabeth came to the throne, Goldwell attended Cardinal Pole's funeral by the new Queen's permission and then returned to St Asaph's. He complained of not being invited to her first parliament as a bishop. It was alleged that, by his nomination to Oxford, he was no longer Bishop of St. Asaph; but that, as he had not done homage to the queen for Oxford, he was not yet bishop of that see. Not allowed to perform a bishop's office, say Mass, or administer the sacraments, as long as he remained in the country, by June 1559 he decided to leave England. Although the ports were being watched for him, he succeeded in making his escape. In 1561 Goldwell became superior of the Theatines at San Silvestro, their house in Rome. He was the only English bishop at the last stages of the

council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

, (Richard Pate, Bishop of Worcester, and Reginald Pole being at the earlier stages in the 1540s) and in 1562 was again attainted. In the following year he was appointed vicar-general to

Carlo Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has l ...

. ''(in Latin)'' Later, he returned to Rome, where he is known to have ordained the famous Spanish composer

Tomás Luis de Victoria Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as ''da Vittoria''; ) was the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus as among the principal composers of the late Ren ...

as a priest. In 1580, in spite of his advanced age, he set out for England at the head of the mission which included Campion and Persons, but he was taken ill at Reims and obliged to return to Rome. At Pentecost in 1584 he ordained Camillus de Lellis to the sacred priesthood, the founder of the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm (M.I.). De Lellis is the Catholic patron Saint of the Sick, hospitals, nurses and physicians. Lord Thomas Goldwell died in Rome in 1585, the last surviving pre-Reformation bishop of Catholic England.Brady, William Maziere. ''The episcopal succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, A.D. 1400 to 1875'', Vol. 3, Tipografia Della Pace, 1877, p. 37
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Episcopal succession

While bishop, he served as 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 Churches, ...

of: and the

principal co-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 Churches, ...

of:

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldwell, Thomas 1501 births 1585 deaths Bishops of St Asaph. 16th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Participants in the Council of Trent Bishops of Oxford Alumni of Canterbury College, Oxford Alumni of All Souls College, Oxford Theatine bishops