Thomas Weld (cardinal)

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Titular Bishop of Amyclae

Thomas Weld (22 January 1773 – 10 April 1837) was an English landowner who renounced his assets to enter the

cardinal
.

Family

Weld was born in London on 22 January 1773, the eldest son of the fifteen children of Thomas Weld of Lulworth Castle, Dorset, by his wife Mary, eldest daughter of Sir John Stanley Massey Stanley of Hooton, who belonged to the elder and Catholic branch of the Stanley family, now extinct. He was educated at home under Jesuit Charles Plowden.

His father,

Visitandines; and he founded and maintained a Trappist monastery at Lulworth.[1]

Portrait miniature of Thomas Weld and his daughter Mary Lucy, painted in Paris in 1819 by Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin

His uncle,

Privy Council.[2] Later when Weld was installed as a cardinal in Rome, he persuaded Pope Pius VII to declare his aunt's marriage to George sacramentally valid.[3]

On 14 June 1796 Weld married, at Ugbrooke, Lucy Bridget, second daughter of Thomas Clifford of Tixall, fourth son of Hugh, third Lord Clifford. Their only child was Mary Lucy, born at Upwey, near Weymouth, on 31 January 1799. His wife died in Clifton on 1 June 1815. His daughter married her second cousin, Hugh Charles Clifford (afterwards seventh Baron Clifford), on 1 September 1818. They had two daughters and six sons, among them, Charles Hugh Clifford, 8th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, 1819 – 1880, William Clifford, later Bishop of Clifton from 1857 to 1893 and Sir Henry Hugh Clifford, 1826 – 1883, who was awarded the Victoria Cross. In 1857, Henry married Josephine Anstice (died 1913). The couple had three sons and five daughters.

Meteoric church career

Palazzo Chigi-Odescalchi Rome, from an etching

Widowed and with no further family responsibilities, Weld found himself at liberty to follow a religious vocation and become a priest.

Archbishop of Paris, Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen ordained him priest in Paris
on 7 April 1821. Weld had meanwhile sponsored an orphanage in London.

On 20 June 1822 he began to assist the priest in charge of the

William Poynter
.

Family circumstances delayed his departure for Canada. As his daughter, Mary, was in failing health, he decided to accompany her and her husband to Italy. Shortly after their arrival in Rome, on 19 January 1830, Cardinal Albani announced to Weld that Pope Pius VIII had decided to elevate him to the College of Cardinals. The ceremony occurred on 15 March 1830, with Weld becoming cardinal priest of San Marcello al Corso in Rome.[4]

His daughter died in

Sacred College prompted assurances from people of high influence in England that his nomination had excited no jealousy, and was met with general satisfaction. He took up residence in an apartment in the immense Odescalchi Palace in Rome. In his opulent premises he periodically received visits from the aristocracy of Rome, native and foreign, and from large numbers of his fellow-countrymen.[5]

Cardinal Weld died on 10 April 1837.[6] His remains were deposited in the church of Santa Maria in Aquiro. The funeral oration, delivered by Nicholas (afterwards Cardinal) Wiseman, was later published.[7]

Meanwhile, his brother,

Holyrood House. Joseph, a keen yachtsman, was also founder of the Isle of Wight-based Royal Yacht Squadron.[9]
He owned several yachts, the "Alarm", "Arrow" and "Lulworth", which he navigated himself until very late in life. He took a personal interest in the construction and sailing of his vessels.

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Pollen, John Hungerford. "Weld." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 18 January 2019
  2. ^ Martin J. Levy, "Maria Fitzherbert," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004 Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Richard Abbot, "Brighton's unofficial queen," THE TABLET, 1 September 2007, 12.
  4. ^ DNB
  5. ^ Wiseman, Recollections of the Four Last Popes, 2nd edn., p. 246
  6. ^ Bernard Ward, The Sequel to Catholic Emancipation, Longmans, Green and Co. (London, 1915) vol.1, p.126
  7. ^ London, 1837, 8vo
  8. ^ James, Jude (17 May 2019). "Reflections: Pylewell Park – uncovering the story of a local landmark". Advertiser and Times. Christchurch.
  9. ^ Duke, Gerald (2003). "Joseph Weld – to the America's Cup 2003". martinstown.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2009.

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Weld, Thomas (1773-1837)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

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