WESTERN DISTRICT. created 1688. P. M. ELLIS. 1688-1705. "He was buried, according to his own desire, in the church of the Seminary, in which he had erected a chapel in honour of San Francesco di Paola." No inscription exists on his sepulchre. But in the refectory of the Seminary, the following epigraph may be read: CLEM: XI. P. M. PRÆCIPIENTI CONGR. SPECIAL. DECERNENTI PH. M. MYLORD ELLIS ERIGENTI H. CRINIVELLI J. U. D. DIRIGENTI SEM. ADMINISTRATORES ET ALUMNI G. A. M. P.P. M.D.CCXIII. The memory of bishop Ellis is still preserved in the diocese of Segni, and revered for the many benefits he conferred upon it, not only by founding the Seminary and enriching the cathedral, but also for his generous liberality towards the poor. Besides the acts of the Synod above mentioned, the following sermons of bishop Ellis were printed:-- 1. A sermon preached at Windsor, on the first Sunday of October, 1685, on the text Matt. xxII. 37. 2. A Sermon preached at St James's, on the 1st of November, 1685. 3. A Sermon at St James's, on the third Sunday in Advent, 1685. 4. A Sermon at St James's, New Year's Day, 1686. 5. A Sermon at St James's, on Ash-Wednesday, 1686. 6. A Sermon at St James's, preached on the feast of All-Saints, 1686, in which the preacher announced that the English Benedictine Congregation had authorised him to declare absolute renunciation on their part to all titles or rights, which might possibly be inherent in them, to possessions WESTERN DISTRICT. created 1688. P. M. ELLIS. 1688-1705. formerly in the hands of the Church; that the Church, and in her name the supreme pastor, had quitted all pretensions to them, and prayed that what she had loosed on earth may be loosed in heaven; and that every person concerned may enjoy a quiet conscience, and continue for ever in the undisturbed possession of their present holdings. The monks solemnly protest that they desire nothing to be restored but their reputation, and to be thought by their countrymen neither pernicious, nor useless, members of their common country. 7. A Sermon preached on the second Sunday in Advent, 1686. A beautiful portrait of bishop Ellis, engraved by Meyer, is prefixed to the "Ellis Correspondence," published in 1829, in two volumes octavo, by the Hon. George Agar Ellis. In 1705, the Pope was desirons to appoint a successor to bishop Ellis, and on the 5th of February in that year, bishop Witham wrote to Propaganda concerning the selection of a new Vicar Apostolic for the Western district, in room of bishop Ellis. Bishop Richard Smith, so relates bishop George Witham, had recommended two persons, namely Thomas Witham, nephew to bishop George, and Superior of the English College in Paris; and John Gother, a most learned and pious Missioner. Bishop Giffard proposed, in addition, four persons, namely, Edward Preston, D.D., President of Douay; Edward Hanwarden, Vice President of Douay; Robert Jones D.D.; and his own 'brother, Andrew Giffard, D.D., formerly Professor at Douay. All these clergymen were approved by bishop Smith, and by bishop Witham, who added to the list Thomas Yaxley and John Morgan. Gother had died. WESTERN DISTRICT. created 1688. VACANT. 1705-1713. (ANDREW GIFFARD) (1705. Andrew Giffard, brother to Bonaventure, was appointed to this Vicariate, vacant per demissione fatta in mano di Santità Sua, and to the see of Centuriæ in partibus, con spedizione del Breve, September 7, 1705. Dr Andrew Giffard refused this appointment, and died in 1714. See page 160. The Vicars Apostolic of England, by letters dated July 22, 1706, informed the Propaganda that Andrew Giffard, who had been elected Vicar Apostolic with Episcopal rank, had refused peremptorily to accept the dignity, by reason of his frequent indispositions and advanced age. The Vicars Apostolic now propose, in addition to the persons previously mentioned, Gerard Saltmarsh, for the Vicariate declined by Andrew Giffard. Saltmarsh had been twenty years on the Mission, was wealthy and in great favour with the great men of the kingdom of England. In another letter they recommended Lorenzo Mayes, their proctor and agent in Rome, for this Vicariate. The Propaganda, on the 24th of January, 1707, issued a rescript that the Pope's consent should be asked for the appointment of Saltmarsh, in the room of Andrew Giffard. In a Congregation held August 2, 1707, it was mentioned that the Roman agent of the English Vicars Apostolic, had informed Propaganda that the Vicars Apostolic were exceedingly distressed by the suspension of the Briefs for Saltmarsh. This suspension was due to the Internuncio at Cologne, who had written to say that he suspected Gerard Saltmarsh, Director of the Duke of Norfolk, to be a friend and favourer of Jansenists. The English bishops defended Saltmarsh from this imputation, and request WESTERN DISTRICT. created 1688. MATTHEW PRICHARD. 1713-1750. expedition of the Briefs. It was resolved to write to the Nuncio at Cologne for proofs of his charge against Saltmarsh. The Briefs for Saltmarsh were never put into effect. MATTHEW PRICHARD. 1713. Matthew Prichard, O. S. F., was the second Vicar Apostolic of the Western District. He was described to Propaganda as learned and prudent, and as having been Lector of Philosophy for many years, and of sacred Theology for twelve. According to a letter from archbishop d'Adda, of Amasia, to Propaganda, dated June 15, 1711, Prichard was then in Louvain. Father Prichard was mentioned in a Congregation, held April 11, 1712, as a fit person to be made Vicar Apostolic. He was then in England, and was described as of the Order of Recollects of St Francis, and a man of sound doctrine. He was elected in a Particular Congregation super rebus Angliæ, held August 13, 1713, to succeed bishop Ellis, as Andrew Giffard had refused this Vicariate. The king of England recommended him. The Pope gave his consent, on the 1st of September, 1713, and his Brief for Myra in partibus was dated Sept. 20, 1713, that for the Vicariate being dated Sept. 23, 1713. In a Propaganda Congregation, held Nov. 13, 1713, the Agent for the English Clergy made application for a grant of the usual faculties for Dr Prichard, bishop of Myra, and one of the two newly made Vicars Apostolic in England. In a Particular Congregation, held February 4, 1714, it was mentioned that Father Prichard's Briefs had been expedited through the Secretary of State's office, and sent to the Paris Nuncio in that way, because Prichard had been warmly recommended by the Nuncio, WESTERN DISTRICT. created 1688. MATTHEW PRICHARD. 1713-1750. who wrote, in the name of the king of England (James II), to recommend him. No tidings of the arrival of the Briefs had then reached the Propaganda. Father Prichard's thanks to Propaganda for the dignity conferred upon him, were given on the 9th of July, 1715. Santini, the Internuncio at Brussels, wrote on the 6th of June, 1715, to Propaganda, saying: "Father Matthew Prichard left Brussels 'the day before yesterday for Cologne, to be there consecrated with all requisite circumspection." Propaganda. He was consecrated in Whitsuntide, 4715, at Cologne, according to Dr Oliver. Matthew Prichard, born in 1669, belonged, as Dr Oliver states, to the family of the Prichards, of Graig, a place situate half way between Monmouth and Abergavenny. The family must have had a decent property, for the estate of Mary Prichard, of co. Monmouth, a Papist, is rated at L. 116, 8s. 4d., per annum, in the government list, made in the early part of the eighteenth century. In 1687, Matthew Prichard, being then eighteen years old, was received as a novice into St Bonaventure's Convent, Douay. Having served as Lector of Philosophy for four, and of Theology for several years, at his convent, he was ordained Priest in 1693, and sent to the Mission of Perthyre, in his native county of Monmouth. After his promotion to the episcopate, bishop Prichard suffered many privations, and at times was with difficulty able to discharge his duties. He and his clergy were frequently in pecuniary distress, as well as in much bodily peril from the operation of the penal laws. In February, 1721, the Pope sent him a subsidy to relieve his immediate wants, and again, in 1723, the Holy Father sent him a contribution. In 1740, bishop Prichard sought to obtain a coadjutor, |