William Bishop
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- For other uses, see: William Bishop (disambiguation).
William Bishop (1553?-1624) was the first Roman Catholic bishop after the English Reformation. Officially, he was the bishop of Chalcedon, his territory included all of England, Wales and Scotland.
[edit] Bishopric
Roman Catholicism had been banned England in 1559. William Bishop was appointed bishop over the whole of England, Wales and Scotland in 1623. As Roman Catholicism was officially illegal in England at the time, his title was bishop of Chalcedon. He arrived in England secretly on 31 July 1623 at age 70 and had to walk 12 miles to find refuge. He identified and selected 20 archdeacons to take charge over geographical districts.
He died early in 1624. His post was filled by Father Richard Smith.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Leys, M. D. R., Catholics in England 1559-1829: A social history (London : Camelot Press Ltd., 1961)
- Holmes, Peter, ‘Bishop, William (c.1554–1624)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
