William Hugh Joseph Clifford (H Hering NPG Ax46802)

William Hugh Joseph Clifford (24 December 1823 – 14 August 1893) was an English

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. He served as

Bishop of Clifton The Bishop of Clifton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton in the Province of Birmingham, England. The see is in the suburb of Clifton in the city of Bristol where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of S ...

from 1857 to 1893. Born in

Irnham __NOTOC__ Irnham is a village and civil parish in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately south-east from Grantham. To the north is Ingoldsby and to the south-west, Corby Glen. The village is on a high limes ...

, Lincolnshire on 24 December 1823, the son of

Hugh Clifford, 7th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh Hugh Charles Clifford, 7th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (29 May 1790 – 28 February 1858) was a British peer. He inherited the title from his father on 29 April 1831. Clifford, eldest son of Charles Clifford, 6th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, and ...

and Mary Lucy Weld, daughter of Cardinal

Thomas Weld Thomas Weld may refer to: * Thomas Welde (1594/5–1661), first minister of the First Church of Roxbury, Massachusetts * Thomas Weld (of Lulworth) (1750–1810), of Lulworth castle, Catholic philanthropist * Thomas Weld (cardinal) Thomas W ...

., ''The Episcopal Succession, volume 3'', pp. 407–409. 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 25 August 1850. Six and a half 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 Clifton The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton is a Roman Catholic diocese centred at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton, England. The diocese covers the City and County of Bristol and the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire, ...

on 29 January 1857. 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 at the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...

on 15 February 1857, 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

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

, with Archbishop George Errington as co-consecrator. Bishop Clifford attended the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

as one of the 693 council fathers, held between 8 December 1869 to 20 October 1870. He died in office on 14 August 1893, aged 69.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, William Hugh Joseph 1823 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England People from South Kesteven District Roman Catholic bishops of Clifton Younger sons of barons