| Styles of Charles Berington | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | The Right Reverend |
| Spoken style | My Lord or Bishop |
Charles Berington (b. at Stock, Essex, England, 1748; d. 8 June 1798) was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District from 1795 to 1798.
At thirteen Berington was sent to the English College at Douai. Four years later he was removed and sent to St. Gregory's Seminary, Paris. According to his cousin, Joseph Berington, he did little better at Paris than at Douai, though he succeeded in taking his doctorate at the Sorbonne in 1776. On his return to England, he became chaplain at Ingatestone Hall, a few miles from his birthplace. After travelling for two years with young Giffard of Chillington, on his return, Berington was appointed coadjutor to Bishop Thomas Talbot, Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, becoming at the same time Titular Bishop of Hiero-Caesarea. [1]
The Midland District, one of the four into which for ecclesiastical purposes England was then divided, was at that time the stronghold of Cisalpinist opinions. With these Charles Berington was in full sympathy, in consequence of which, in 1788, he was elected a member of the Catholic Committee, who were then agitating for the repeal of the Penal Laws, for which end they were unfortunately willing to minimize some of their Catholic principles. Two other ecclesiastics were elected at the same time, Joseph Wilkes and Bishop James Talbot, Vicar Apostolic of the London District, though the latter's appointment was merely nominal, for he never attended the meetings. Berington took a leading part in the disputes which followed between the Committee and the bishops, and though his sympathies were chiefly with the former, he exerted a restraining influence on them, and was ever trying to bring about an understanding between the two contending parties. [1]
He signed his name to the documents which appeared in the official publications of the Committee known as the "Blue Books", and he defended the oath intended to be imposed by Parliament on the Catholics, which was afterwards condemned by the Holy See. In the midst of these disputes Bishop James Talbot died, and endeavours were made by the Committee to secure the appointment of Berington in his place, so that he might reside in London and exert the influence attached to the position. These endeavours failed, and John Douglass was appointed Vicar Apostolic. Some of the more extreme laymen, however, maintained that they had a right to choose their own bishop, and called upon the Catholic body to disavow the prelate appointed by Rome, and to rally round Berington; but he published a letter in which he refused to have anything to do with these machinations. [1]
Talbot died in 1795, and Charles Berington succeeded as Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District. Again he appeared to have a career before him. Before giving him his special faculties, however, Rome called upon him to withdraw his signature from the Blue Books. For several years he demurred, being still under Cisalpine influence. At length, through the intervention of Charles Erskine, who was living in England as an informal papal envoy, Berington was induced to sign the necessary retraction, on 11 October 1797. After some delay due to the disturbed state of Rome, his faculties were sent, but they never reached him, for he died suddenly of apoplexy while riding home from Sedgley Park School. [2]
Cisalpinism was a movement among English Roman Catholics in the late eighteenth century intended to further the cause of Catholic emancipation, i.e. relief from many of the restrictions still in effect that were placed on Roman Catholic British subjects. This view held that allegiance to the Crown was not incompatible with allegiance to the Pope.
The Diocese of Westminster is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. The diocese consists of most of London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, the borough of Spelthorne, and the county of Hertfordshire, which lies immediately to London's north.
The Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The archdiocese covers an area of 3,373 square miles (8,740 km2), encompassing Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and much of Oxfordshire as well as Caversham in Berkshire. The metropolitan see is in the City of Birmingham at the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Chad. The metropolitan province includes the suffragan dioceses of Clifton and Shrewsbury.
The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1688 and was dissolved in 1850 and its former area was replaced by the episcopal sees of Westminster and Southwark.
The Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District was created in 1688 and dissolved in 1850 and was replaced by the Diocese of Hexham, which changed to the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle in 1861.
Joseph Berington was a priest and one of the prominent British Catholic writers of his day.
Thomas Joseph Talbot was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District from 1778 until his death in 1795.
William Poynter was an English Catholic priest, bishop as vicar apostolic in London.
Bishop Thomas Walsh was a Roman Catholic clergyman and Vicar Apostolic who served the Midlands area of the United Kingdom.
James Robert Talbot was the last English Roman Catholic priest to be indicted in the public courts for saying Mass.
The Cisalpine Club was an association of Roman Catholic laymen formed in England in the 1790s to promote Cisalpinism, and played a role in the public debate surrounding the progress of Catholic Emancipation.
John Milner was an English Roman Catholic bishop and controversialist who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District from 1803 to 1826.
Robert Gradwell was an English Catholic bishop, who served as rector of the English College in Rome. In 1828, he was appointed coadjutor to James Bramston, Vicar Apostolic of the London district.
John Joseph Hornyold was an English Catholic bishop, titular Bishop of Phiomelia, and Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, England for twenty-two years.
Edward Dicconson was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District of England from 1740 to 1752.
John Douglass was an English Roman Catholic bishop who was the Vicar Apostolic of the London District from 1790 until his death in 1812.
Gregory Stapleton D.D. was an English Roman Catholic bishop. While president of St. Omer's English College, he and his students were imprisoned during the French Revolution.
George Witham was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, and, later, as the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District.
William Gibson was an English Roman Catholic prelate. He was president of the English College, Douai from 1781 to 1790, and later became a bishop, serving as the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District from 1790 to 1821.
The Apostolic Vicariate of England (and Wales) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic (or apostolic vicar) who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1623 and was divided into four districts in 1688.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Charles Berington". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
