Alexander Paterson (March 1766 – 30 October 1831) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

who served as the

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the

Lowland District Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

from 1825 to 1827, then, following district name change, Vicar Apostolic of the Eastern District from 1827 to 1831.

Biography

Born in Pathhead, near Enzie in Banffshire, Scotland in March 1766, he entered

Scalan The Scalan was a Scottish Catholic seminary and one of the few places where underground education by the Catholic Church in Scotland was kept alive during the anti-Catholic persecutions of the 16th-19th century. History The island in Loch Mo ...

and then the Scots College Douai and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in about 1791. He remained at Douai as the sub-principal until the closure of the college in 1793. He was stationed in

Glenlivet Glenlivet () is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland through which the River Livet flows. The river rises high in the Ladder Hills and flows past several distileries and hamlets and then onto the Bridgend before joining the River Avon, one of ...

until 1812 when he was sent to Paisley. He was appointed the Coadjutor

of the Lowland District and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''

Cybistra Cybistra or Kybistra, earlier known as Ḫubišna, was a town of ancient Cappadocia or Cilicia. The main city of Kybistra/Ḫubišna was located at the site corresponding to present-day , about 10 km northeast of the modern town of Ereğ ...

'' by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

on 14 May 1816. He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on 18 August 1816. The principal

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

was Bishop Alexander Cameron, and the principal co-consecrator was Bishop Aeneas Chisholm. He traveled to

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in late 1821 attempting to recover property of the Scots Colleges at Paris and Douai. On the retirement of Bishop Alexander Cameron on 20 August 1825, he automatically succeeded as the

of the Lowland District. On 13 February 1827, the Lowland District was renamed the Eastern District, with Bishop Paterson as the vicar apostolic. He died suddenly on 30 October 1831, aged 65. He had collapsed in the vestry after celebrating Mass and delivering a sermon. Cardinal de Latil of

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

attended the funeral in choir.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Alexander (Bishop) 1766 births 1831 deaths Apostolic vicars of Scotland 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Scotland People from Kirkcaldy Scottish Roman Catholic bishops

Biography

See also

References