Dominic Terence Joseph Bellenger, (born 21 July 1950), also known by his monastic name of Dom Aidan Bellenger, is an English historian and former

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk and

schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...

. He was headmaster of

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

from 1991 to 1995 and later

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged 11 to 18. Both the abbey ...

from 2006 to 2014.

Early life and education

Bellenger was born on 21 July 1950 to Gerald Bellenger and his wife, Kathleen Patricia ( O'Donnell)."Bellenger, Dr Dominic Terence Joseph, (born 21 July 1950), Senior Research Associate, Von Hügel Institute, Cambridge, since 2016; Abbot of Downside, 2006–14; Parish Priest, St Benedict’s, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, 1999–2015"
''

Who's Who 2020 ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'', online edition by Oxford University Press, accessed 28 December 2023 He was educated at Finchley Catholic Grammar School and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, where he graduated BA in 1972, promoted to MA in 1975.''People of Today'' (Debrett, 2006, p. 120) His first degree was in History.Dr Dominic Aidan Bellenger
profile at st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk, accessed 20 October 2021 He later studied theology at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

in Rome. In 1975, he took up an appointment as an assistant schoolmaster at

St Mary's School, Cambridge St Mary's School, Cambridge, England, is a private school run in the Catholic tradition, offering day and boarding provision for girls aged three to eighteen. The school occupies three sites within walking distance of each other, and Cambridge ci ...

, a high school for girls, where he taught until 1978. In that year he was the University Lightfoot Scholar and graduated Ph.D. from Cambridge with a dissertation on refugees in the French Revolution.

Career

Bellenger taught history at

as a lay master between 1978 and 1982, and made solemn vows in 1986. He was ordained in 1988, and in 1991 the Abbot appointed him as headmaster of the school. He continued in that post until 1995, when he became parish priest of

Little Malvern Little Malvern is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is situated on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills, south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as ''The Malvern ...

, Worcestershire. In 1999, he was appointed as parish priest of

Stratton-on-the-Fosse Stratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, south-west of Westfield, north-east of Shepton Mallet, and from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population of 1,108, and has a rural agricult ...

(where Downside is) and also joined the board of governors of the school. From 2001 to 2006 he served as prior to Abbot Richard Yeo,"Benedictine Hearings", 11 December 2017
pp. 1–4

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their Duty of care in English law, duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced ...

then was himself Abbot from 2006 to 2014, while also continuing as parish priest of Stratton-on-the-Fosse until 2014. In 2010, as Abbot of Downside, Bellenger said of the abbey: Bellenger was monastic editor of ''The Downside Review'' for the year 2017–2018, and in 2018 ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic Church, Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by ...

'' published an article by him on

Buckfast Abbey Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Congregation of Savigny, Savignac, later ...

. A Senior Research Associate of

St Edmund's College, Cambridge St Edmund's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the three Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept ...

, Bellenger is a member of the Faculty of History, a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, the Society of Antiquaries, the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

, and the

Higher Education Academy Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

Selected publications

* 'The English Catholics and the French Exiled Clergy', '' Recusant History'', 15 (6) (1981), pp. 433–51 * ''English and Welsh Priests, 1558–1800'' (Bath, 1984) * 'The French Priests at the King's House, Winchester, 1792–1796', in ''Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society'' XL (1984), pp. 99–105 * ''The French Exiled Clergy in the British Isles After 1789'' (Bath: Downside Abbey Books, 1986) * 'Two Antiquarian Monks: the Papers of Dom Bede Camm and Dom Ethelbert Horn at Downside', Catholic Archives 6 (1986) * 'Dom Bede Camm (1864–1942), Monastic Martyrologist', in Diana Wood (ed.), ''Martyrs and martyrologies: papers read at the 1992 Summer Meeting and the 1993 Winter Meeting of the Ecclesiastical History Society'' (1993) * 'The Brussels Nuns at Winchester, 1794–1857 ' ''English Benedictine Congregation History Commission Symposium'' (1999), 1–9 * 'Religious Life for Men' in V. A. McClelland (ed.), ''From without the Flamian Gate: 150 Years of Catholicism in England and Wales, 1850–2000'' (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1999 ), 142–166 * ''Princes of the Church: A History of the English Cardinals'', with Stella Fletcher (Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2001, ) * 'Butler, Basil Edward hristopher Butler(1902–1986)', in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' (Oxford University Press, 2004) * 'Gasquet, Francis Neil (1846–1929)' in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2007) * 'Seeking God as a Benedictine Monk' in

Edward Leigh Sir Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (born 20 July 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gainsborough, previously Gainsborough and Horncastle, since 1983. Parliament's longes ...

, Alex Haydon, ''The Nation that Forgot God'' (Social Affairs Unit, 2009, ) * ''Downside Abbey: An Architectural History'' (Merrell, 2011, )Colin Amer
“Amazing Grace: Review of ''Downside Abbey: An Architectural History'', edited by Dom Aidan Bellenger”

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

, 3 December 2011 * ''O.S.B. Monks with a Mission: English Benedictine History'' (Bath: Downside Abbey Press, 2014 )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellenger, Aidan 1950 births Living people Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Alumni of St Edmund's College, Cambridge English Benedictines 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 21st-century English Roman Catholic priests English male non-fiction writers Heads of schools in England Mysticism scholars People educated at Finchley Grammar School