LOKBOH it
nobles offered the kingdom to Louia the Dauphin in 1216. In 1232 the Council of St. Paul's was held, when Otho, the papal legate, published the Constitu- tions which funned so important a part of English ec- clesiastical law until the Reformation. During this time the new choir was being built and this was conse- crated in 1240 in the presence of King Henry III, St. Edmund, ArchbiEhop of Canterbury, and Cardinal Otho the I^egate. The cathedral was completed early in the fourteenth century by the erection of a very high steeple surmounted by a cross containing relics of the saints. In 1262 a long-standing dispute between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chapter of St. Paul's concerning jurisdiction aede tiacante was settled, tbe agreement being that the archbishop shoula appoint one out of
sent«d by the chap- ter to rule the dio- cese till the election of the new bishop. In the fourteenth century Bishop Bray- brooke vainly en- deavoured to sup- press the abuBc by which the na^'e of St. Paul's was used us a market and coiinnon resort for business
n tor a
mcnts. Abundant
references in Eng-
Ush literature show that this evil prac- tice continued till the destruction of the cathedral in lt>66.
Up to the early years of the fif- teenth century St. Paul's had presented its own liturgicd use, known as Usiu Sancli Pauli, but on 15 Oct., 1414, the Sarum Rite, then commonly used through the greater part of England, was
substituted for it, in"
and remained in use irt!'™'?«a'"i^
tiU the Reformation. '"^ » "«■ "
The bishop presided at the greater festivals, the dean on ordinary days. The deanwith the precentor, the treas- urer, the chancellor, and the prebendaries formed the chapter. Nert came the twelve petty canons and six vicars choral, while there were fifty chantry priests at- tarfied tothecathedral. The diocese, divided into the four archdeaconries of London, Essex, Middlesex, and Colchester, included the counties oC Middlesex, Essex, and part of Hertfordshire. Thefoundationof St. Paul's School by Dean Colet,in 1512, was the onlyotherimpoi^ tant event concerniitg the cathedral church of London until the reign of Henry VIII. When the religious troubles began none of the cathedral clergy made any stand against the king. In August, 1538, the Great Rood and the statue of Our Lady of Grace were re- moved; in 1547 all the altars were demolished and the church plate and vestments were sold by the Protes- tant Dean May. Under Mary, Bishop Bonner was re- stored to his see and the Mass was again celebrated til! the first year of Elisabeth. With the imprisonment of the Bishop and the deprivation of the London clergy' who remained faithful to the Holy See the his- tory of London as a Catholic diocese closes.
111. l.u.NOrtS CAniOl.H-S AFTER THK Refohmatios.
g LONDON
— For the firat few years of Elizabeth's reign the exist- ing clergy, who became known as "Marian" priests, administered to the needs of the Catholics, saying Mass and giving the sacraments in secret. Wlien they began to die out their numbers were reinforced by tl» "seminary priesta" sent from the college founded hy Cardinal Men at Douai (1568), from the Enghsh Col- lege at Rome and from later foundations at Valladolid, Seville. Lisbon, and elsewliere. Under Elizabeth more than eighty priests and laymen went to martyr- dom in London alone, and a far larger number perished in the various prisons. Mie.r the death of Bishop Bonner as a prisoner in 1569 there was no episcopal government, and the priests did as best they could . not only in London but throughout England. In 1598 the Holy See appointed an aj-chpriest, Geor^ BlackwelljWithj urio- diction over all Eng- land. He was suc- ceeded in turn by Ueorge Birkhead (1608-1614) and William Harrison (1615-1621). Dur- ing this period a fierce controvenre divided English Catholics, some de- siring and othen op- posing the appoint- ment of 'a bishop as vicar ApoatoUc. The pope decided this in
3 by appt
William 1
that same year there
the " Fatal Vespers '"
when a large body of
Catholics and otbera,
who were assembled
at the French Em-
bassy to hear a ser-
mon by Father
Drury, 8.J., were
precipitated from the
upper floor to the
ground, and very
many of them killed.
Abo'
priests then secretly resident in London. As there were
probably others he knew nothing of, the number of
Catholics must sttll have been very considerable,
though we have no means of estimating tjieir num-
bers at this period.
In 1624 Dr. Bishop died and was succeeded by Dr. Richard Smith, Bishop of Chalcedon, Gut his position became so difficult that in 1631 he with- drew to Pari?, where he lived till his death in 1655. From that time till the accession of James II -no vicar Apostolic was appointed and jurisdiction con- tinued to be exercised bv the chapter, a body ap- pointed by Dr. Bishop and which was chosen from the most experienced priests from all parts of England. The chapter held delil)erativc assemolies from time to time in London. In the reign of Charles 1 martyr- doms had ceased altogether m London, though after the king's departure they again commenced and four- teen pncsts were executed then and under the Com- monwealth. The Restoration brought another respite, but the Titus Oalcs Plot of 1678 caused a fresh out- break of jierfwiition and fointctii more prieata and
