Vincent Billington, MHM (14 May 1904 - 6 October 1976), 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 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 ...

priest who served as Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Jinja The Roman Catholic Diocese of Jinja ( la, Gingian(us)) is a diocese located in the city of Jinja in the Ecclesiastical province of Tororo in Uganda. History * June 10, 1948: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Kampala from the Apostolic Vica ...

, in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, from 13 May 1948 until 3 May 1965.

Background and priesthood

Billington was born on 14 May 1904, in the town of

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, in 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 ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He was ordained priest on 20 July 1930, taking the vows of the

Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill The Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM), officially known as the Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill ( la, Societas Missionariorum S. Ioseph de Mill Hill), is a Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1866 by Herbert Alfred Vaughan, MH ...

(Mill Hill Fathers). He served in that capacity until 13 May 1948.

As bishop

He was appointed bishop on 13 May 1948 by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

and was consecrated as

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 ...

of Kampala, Uganda and Titular Bishop of Avissa on 26 July 1948 by Archbishop

William Godfrey William Godfrey (1889–1963) was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster and ''de facto'' primate of England and Wales from 1956 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. B ...

†, Titular Archbishop of Cius, assisted by Bishop Thomas Edward Flynn†, Bishop of Lancaster, England, and Bishop Frederick Hall†, Titular Bishop of Alba Maritima. In 1953, when the Vicariate Apostolic of Kampala was elevated to the Diocese of Kampala, Bishop Billington was appointed the new Bishop of the Diocese of Kampala on 25 March 1953. On 3 May 1965, he resigned as Bishop of Kampala and was appointed that same day as Titular Bishop of Fallaba. He resigned from there on 7 December 1970. In 1953, the Diocese of Kampala was renamed the

. Bishop Billington died on 6 October 1976, as Bishop Emeritus of Kampala Diocese (now Diocese of Jinja), at the age of 72 years and 3 months.

Succession table at Jinja

References

External links

Profile of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jinja

Kampala Archdiocese Marks 50 Years
As of 28 September 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Billington, Vincent 1904 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda English Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic bishops of Jinja