William Henry Anderdon (26 December 1816 – 28 July 1890) was an English

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and writer, born in London. After three years at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, he matriculated at

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, when about nineteen, and entered

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. Soon after, he won a scholarship at

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, and took a degree in 1840. He received

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

, became vicar of Withyam, and in 1846 of

St Margaret's Church, Leicester St Margaret's Church is an ancient Anglican parish church situated on St Margaret's Way in Leicester, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History Parts of the transept date from c. 1200, and parts of the aisles from the late 13th century. ...

. In 1850 he was received into the

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in Paris by Father Gustave Delacroix de Ravignan. Ordained at

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by Bishop Ullathorne in 1853, he was appointed a lecturer at

Ushaw College Ushaw College (formally St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw), is a former Roman Catholic Church, Catholic seminary near the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, England, which is now a heritage and cultural tourist attraction. The college is known for ...

and afterwards a preacher and confessor at

Newman University Church The Church of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, also known as Newman University Church or Catholic University Church, is a Catholic church in Dublin, Ireland. History Groundbreaking took place on the site of the gardens of 87 St Stephen's Green in May ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. During his stay in Ireland the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

Drumshambo Drumshanbo (, ridge of the old huts) is a small town situated in the heart of County Leitrim, Ireland. Drumshanbo is surrounded by a scenic area of soft rolling hills, woodlands, lakes and the Sliabh an Iarainn and Arigna mountains. It is a well ...

was founded, mainly through his efforts. In 1856, he was called to London by his uncle, Cardinal

Henry Edward Manning Henry Edward Manning (15 July 1808 – 14 January 1892) was an English prelate of the Catholic church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He was ordained in the Church of England as a young man, but con ...

, whose secretary he remained until he joined the Jesuits in 1872. From 1875 to 1889 he lived in

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, working as preacher, spiritual guide, and writer. Father Anderdon began his literary apostolate by writing Catholic tales: "Bonneval, the Story of the Fronde" (1857); "Owen Evans, the Catholic Crusoe" (1862); "Afternoons with the Saints" (1863), "In the Snow, Tales of Mt. St. Bernard" (1866). All these stories, save the first, went through nine or ten editions, and were translated into German and French. Other valuable works from his pen are "Fasti Apostolici" (1882), "Evening with the Saints" (1883) and "Britain's Early Faith" (1887). His method in his writings was to understand rather than to exaggerate. Among his works, the best known are "Is Ritualism Honest?", "Controversial Papers" (1878), "Luther's Words and the Word of God" (8th thousand, 1883), "Luther at Table", "What sort of man was Luther?" (13th thousand, 1883). What do Catholics Really Believe?", "Confession to a Priest" (1881). His newspaper work displayed a fine sense of irony in treating the polemics of the day. He was ever busy writing for the ''Weekly Register'', the (English) ''Messenger of the Sacred Heart'', the ''Xaverian'', ''Merry England'', the ''Month'', the ''

Irish Monthly The ''Irish Monthly'' was an Irish Catholic magazine founded in Dublin, Ireland in July 1873. Until 1920 it had the sub-title ''A Magazine of General Literature''. History The magazine was founded by Matthew Russell, who was its editor for al ...

'', and other serial publications. His last works were ''The Old Religion of Taunton'' (1890); and ''Five Minutes' Sermons'', the latter completed only in part at his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderdon, William Henry 1816 births 1890 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Roman Catholic priests Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of King's College London Alumni of University College, Oxford Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism English religious writers 19th-century English Jesuits