CHALLONER
565
CHALLONER
and retire again to Douai. This was in 1738, the
year in which the able president of Douai, Dr.
William, died, and strenuous efforts wore made by
the superiors of the college to have Dr. Challoner ap-
pointed president. But Dr. Pet re, the Vicar Apos-
tolic of tlic London District, opposed this on the
ground that he desired to have him as his own coad-
jutor bishop. Propaganda had apparently already
arranged Challoner's appointment as president of
Douai, but the representations of Dr. Petre were so
strong that he prevailed, and Briefs were issued on
12 Sept., 1739, appointing Challoner to the See of
Debra in partibus.
These Briefs, however, were not carried into effect . for the bishop-elect, endeavouring to escape the responsibility of the episcopate, raised the point that he had been born and brought up a Protestant. The delay so caused lasted a whole year, and it was not till 24 Nov., 1740. that the new Briefs were issued. The consecration took place on 29 Jan., 1741, in the private chapel at Hammersmith. The new bishop's first work was a visitation of tin- district, the first methodical visitation of which there is any record since the creation of the vicariate in 1688. The dis- trict included ten counties, besides the Channel Islands and the British possessions in America — chiefly Maryland and Pennsylvania and some West Indian islands. The missions beyond seas could not be visited at all, and even the home counties took nearly three years. In the intervals of his travels the bishop was engaged in writing. In 1740 he brought out a. new prayer book for the laity, the "Garden of the Soul", which has ever since remained the favourite work of devotion, though the many editions that have since appeared have been so altered that little of the original work remains. Next, finding that the suffer- ings of the English martyrs were in danger of being forgotten, he published in two volumes, "Memoirs of Missionary Priests", in which he gives an account of the martyrs from 1577 to 1681. This work, laboriously compiled from original records, has been the chief means of perpetuating the tradi- tion of the English martyrs and remains the standard work on the subject. In 1745 he produced his longest and most learned book, "Britannia Sancta", con- taining the lives of the British, Engli>h, Scottish, and Irish saints. Another work to which he devoted much energy and time was the preparation of a re- vised edition of the Douay Bible and Reims New Testament. The chief points to note in his edition are the elimination of the obscure and literal trans- lation-; from the Latin in which the original version abounds, the alteration of obsolete words, a closer approximation in some respects to the Anglican version, as. for instance, in the substitution of "The Lord" for " Our Lord", and finally the printing of the verses separately. The first edition of the New Testament appeared in 1749, the second, together with t lie first edition of the Old Testament, in 1750. Between these two editions there are but few differ- ences, but the third edition, published in 1752, had important changes both in text and notes, the varia- tions numbering over two thousand. Dr. Challoner's Bible has been the groundwork of nearly all subse- quent English versions. An American edition was published in Philadelphia in 180.5.
In 1753 Dr. Challoner brought out another of his best-known works, the popular "Meditations for every Day in the Year", a book which has passed through numerous editions and been translated into French and Italian. In the same year Pope Bi nedicf
\IY put an end to the long disputes that had been carried on between the secular clergy and the regulars, in the la- 1 stages of which Dr. Challoner took a lead- ing part. There were several points at issue, but
the matter was brought to a head over the content n ,n put forward by the regulars, that they did not need
the approbation of the vicars Apostolic to hear con-
fessions. The bishops opposed this and, after a
struggle lasting for several year's, obtained a final
settlement of this and other questions, a settlement,
in the main, satisfactory to the bishops. In 175S
Dr. Petre, Vicar Apostolic of the London District,
died, and Dr. Challoner, as his coadjutor, succeeded
him at once. He was, however, nearly seventy years:
old, and was so ill that he was forced immediately to
apply for a coadjutor. The Holy See appointed the
Hon. and Rev. James Talbot to this office, and with
the help of the younger prelate, whose assistance
considerably lessened his labour, his health somewhat
recovered. But from this time he lived almost en-
tirely in London, the visitations being carried out by
Dr. Talbot. He continued to write, and almost
every year published a new book, but they were
more usually translations or abstracts, such as "The
Historical Part of the Old and New Testament ".
One more work of original value remained, and that
was his little " British Martyrology " published in 1761.
As an administrator he was always unfailing i:i supplying deficiencies in the face of extraordinary difficulties. He had already provided for his people a suitable prayer book and meditation book, as well as convenient editions of the Holy Scriptures, the " Imitation of Christ ", and the catechism of Christian Doctrine. But, besides this literary work, he caused two schools for boys to be opened, one at Standon Lordship, now represented by St. Edmund's College, Old Hall, and the other at Sedgley Park, in Stafford- shire. He also founded a school for poor girls at Brook Green, Hammersmith, besides assisting the already existing convent school there. He also insti- tuted conferences among the London clergy, and he \\a> instrumental in founding the still-existing "Benevolent Society for the Relief of the Aged and Infirm Poor". His manifold activity is the more remarkable because his life was spent in hiding, owing to the state of the law, and often he had hurriedly to change his lodgings to escape tin- Protestant in- formers, who were anxious to earn the government reward of £100 for the conviction of a priest. One of these, John Payne, known as "The Protestant Carpenter", indicted Dr. Challoner. but was com- pelled to drop the proceedings, owiirg to some docu- ments, which he had forged, falling into the hands of the bishop's lawyers, lor some years Ire and the London priests were continually harassed in this way. Finally the evil was remedied by the Catholic Relief Act of 177S, by which priests were no longer liable to imprisonment for life. This concession, slight as it was, speedily kindled a fierce blaze of bigotry, and two years later the Gordon Riots broke out. The chapels and houses of Catholics were wrecked and plundered by frenzied mobs. From his hiding-place the bishop, now neatly ninety years of age, could hear the howls of the mob. H ho were searching for him with the intention of dragging hiirr through the streets. They failed to find his refuge, and on the following day he escaped to I i rich- ley, where he remained till the riot- came to an end. But he never fully recovered from the shock. Six months later he was seized with paralysis, and died after two days' illness. He was buried in the vault of his friend Bryan Barrett, at Milton in Berkshire.
His private life was mailed by extraordinary
mortification, while large charity passed through his hands. He had the | r in a marked degree,
atrd orr two occasions at least he spoke prophetic
, which later events verified. Forth i rea on
as much as for the office : tg In Dame
has ever been held in singular veneration by English Catholics. The portrait which formerly hung in his owrr house is now preserved, with his cassock and other relies, at St. Edmund's College, Old Hall. Eng- land. Besides the works mentioned above. I >r.
