| Styles of Francis Cardinal Bourne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Westminster |
Francis Alphonsus Cardinal Bourne (March 23, 1861—January 1, 1935) was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1903 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalatein1911.
Born in Clapham to an English Civil Servant father and Irish mother, Francis Bourne entered St. Cuthbert College in Ushawin1867 and then St. Edmund's CollegeinWarein1877. He joined the Order of Friars Preachers, more commonly known as the Dominicans, in Woodchester but left in 1880. From 1880 to 1881 he attended St. Thomas' SeminaryinHammersmith, and then went to study in FranceatSaint-Sulpice Seminary in Paris and the University of Louvain.
He was ordained to the priesthoodonJune 11, 1884, and then did pastoral work in Blackheath, Mortlake, and West Grinstead until 1889. Bourne was rector of the House of Studies at Henfield Place from 1889 to 1891, at which time he began teaching at St. John's SeminaryinWonersh, of which he became rector on March 14, 1896. He was raised to the rank of MonsignorbyPope Leo XIIIin1895.
OnMarch 27, 1896 Bourne was appointed Coadjutor BishopofSouthwark and Titular BishopofEpiphania in Cilicia. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 1 from Herbert Cardinal Vaughan, with Bishops John Baptist Butt and Thomas Whiteside, in St. George's Cathedral. Bourne later succeeded Butt as Bishop of SouthwarkonApril 9, 1897, and was named Archbishop of WestminsteronSeptember 11, 1903. As Archbishop of Westminster, he became the spiritual head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
In defiance of the governmental law banning Eucharistic processions, Bourne gave the benediction from the loggia of Westminster Cathedralin1908. He was created Cardinal PriestofS. PudenzianabyPope Pius X in the consistoryofNovember 27, 1911, and was a cardinal elector in the conclaves of both 1914 and 1922, which selected Popes Benedict XV and Pius XI respectively.
Bourne responded to Ramsay MacDonald's call for an English Catholic prelate's interpretation of Pius XI's encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, which forbade Catholics from being Socialists, by stating, "There is nothing in the encyclical which should deter Catholics from becoming members of the British Labor Party..."[1] However, the Cardinal continued to warn Catholics to be cautious of the "erroneous principles which sometimes affect parties."
Rather conservative, Bourne was opposed to Modernism, not overly supportive of interfaith dialogue[2], and condemned granting greater freedom to divorce and birth control[3]. He also desired to see the United Kingdom adopt Catholicism as its official religion[4].
He died from a year's illness in his archiepiscopal residence in London, at age 73[5]. Bourne was buried at his alma mater of St. Edmund's College, in the chapel he established in memory of the College's members who died during World War I, and his heart was placed in St. John's Seminary's chapel in June 1935[6].
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Westminster 1903–1935 |
Succeeded by |
