author
Bernard Ward
1857–1920
Best remembered as a lively historian of English Catholic life, this priest-scholar also became Bishop of Brentwood near the end of his career. His books helped preserve a detailed picture of Catholic England in the years around emancipation.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1857, Bernard Nicholas Ward was an English Roman Catholic priest, educator, and historian. He studied at St. Edmund's College in Ware and at Oscott, was ordained in 1882, and later returned to St. Edmund's in a series of leadership roles before becoming its president.
Alongside his church work, he built a strong reputation as a writer on English Catholic history. He wrote books including The Eve of Catholic Emancipation and Catholic London a Century Ago, and he is remembered as an important historian of English Catholicism as well as a careful recorder of Catholic life in Britain.
In 1917 he was appointed Bishop of Brentwood, a post he held until his death in 1920. His career joined scholarship, teaching, and pastoral service, which helps explain why his work still appeals to readers interested in both religious history and the people who shaped it.