William Godfrey

infobox cardinalbiog
name = William Cardinal Godfrey †


See = Westminster
Title = Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
Period = December 3, 1956—January 22, 1963
cardinal = December 15, 1958
Predecessor = Bernard Cardinal Griffin †
Successor = John Cardinal Heenan †
post = Archbishop of Liverpool | date of birth = September 25, 1889
place of birth = Liverpool, England
date of death = January 22, 1963
place of death = London, England

infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=William Cardinal Godfrey
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
See=Westminster|

William Cardinal Godfrey (September 25, 1889—January 22, 1963) was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1956 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.

Biography

William Godfrey was born in Liverpool to George and Mary Godfrey. He leaned towards the priesthood from an early age, never taking another career into serious consideration [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809140,00.html New Archbishop] February 18, 1957] . After studying at Ushaw College and the Venerable English College, he was ordained on October 28, 1916 in Rome. He then finished his studies in 1918, obtaining his doctorates in divinity and philosophy in 1917, and did pastoral work in Liverpool until 1919. Godfrey taught Classics, Philosophy and Theology at Ushaw from 1918 to 1930, which was the same year he was raised to the rank of Domestic Prelate of His Holiness (October 28) and rector of the English College. At the College, the strict priest was known to his students as "Uncle Bill". In 1935, Godfrey was made a member of the Pontifical Commission to Malta, and he was in official attendance at the 1937 coronation of King George VI.

On November 21, 1938, he was appointed Titular Bishop of "Cius" and the first Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, Gibraltar and Malta. Godfrey, who was the first papal representative to England since the Reformation [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760410,00.html Pope & Democracy] December 5, 1938] , received his episcopal consecration on the following December 21 from Raffaele Cardinal Rossi, OCD, with Archbishop Luigi Traglia and Bishop Ralph Hayes serving as co-consecrators, in the chapel of the English College. He was "chargé d'affaires" of the Holy See to Poland in 1943, and was made Archbishop of Liverpool on November 10, 1953.

Pope Pius XII later, and not surprisingly [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809140,00.html New Archbishop] February 18, 1957] , named Godfrey as Archbishop of Westminster, and thus the ranking prelate of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, on December 3, 1956. During his installation, Godfrey condemned Communism and professed his mission as returning England "back to the love of Christ" [Ibid.] . He also called for English Catholics to feed their pets less during Lent [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,828798,00.html Lent for Man & Beast] February 24, 1961] , and was vehemently opposed to birth control [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829794,00.html Milestones] February 1, 1963] . Godfrey was created Cardinal Priest of "Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo" by Pope John XXIII in the consistory of December 15, 1958. He lived long enough to only attend the first session of the Second Vatican Council in 1962.

The Cardinal died from a heart attack in London, at age 73 [Ibid.] . He is buried in Westminster Cathedral.

Trivia

*His father George was a haulage contractor [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937728-3,00.html The New Cardinals] December 22, 1958] .
*Godfrey also enjoyed the piano and sports [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809140,00.html New Archbishop] February 18, 1957] .

References

External links

* [http://www.rcdow.org.uk/cardinal/default.asp?library_ref=1&content_ref=13 Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster]
* [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-g.htm#Godfrey Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgodfrey.html Catholic-Hierarchy]