author
Nicholas Patrick Wiseman
1802–1865
Born in Seville to Irish parents, this church leader became a major figure in the revival of Roman Catholic life in 19th-century England. He is best remembered as the first Archbishop of Westminster after the Catholic hierarchy was restored in 1850, and as a writer and public speaker with a wide influence beyond the Church.
2 Audiobooks
Fabiola; Or, The Church of the Catacombs
by Nicholas Patrick Wiseman
Fabiola eli katakombien kirkko
by Nicholas Patrick Wiseman
About the author
Raised partly in Ireland and educated at Ushaw and in Rome, he built an early reputation as a gifted scholar of languages, theology, and the ancient East. Before returning to England, he taught and worked in Rome, where his learning and eloquence brought him notice.
His most prominent public role came in 1850, when he was appointed the first Archbishop of Westminster after the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales, and he was also made a cardinal that year. The move caused fierce controversy, but he remained one of the best-known Catholic voices in Britain.
Wiseman also wrote widely for general readers. His historical romance Fabiola became especially popular, and his sermons, essays, and lectures helped shape how Catholicism was presented to Victorian England. He died in London in 1865.