Alfred Weld S. J. (1823 Leagram,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

– 1890

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

) was an English

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest, professor of Science and Director of Stonyhurst Observatory. While working at the observatory, he welcomed in 1848 the Italian refugee Jesuit,

Angelo Secchi Angelo Secchi (; 28 June 1818 – 26 February 1878) was an Italians, Italian Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest and astronomer from the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, Emilia. He was director of the observato ...

, who went on to be a pioneer in

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. Weld was ordained in 1854. After briefly managing St Marys Hall in

, he became Novice Master at Manresa House,

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, sharing its SW15 postcode with neighbouring Putney and Kingston Vale, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large counc ...

. During this period, in 1862, he was the founding editor of the Jesuits' in-house magazine, ''Letters and Notices'' (still circulating in the new Millennium) and ensured '' The Month'' (a Catholic review) was edited by the Society. It was his desire to foster a community of writers. The anonymous author of his obituary in ''Letters and Notices'', wrote: "It is no exaggeration then to say that the literary work of the Province, so promising, so prolific, and so fruitful of good which has marked the last thirty years, is in great measure due to the initiatif and large-minded encouragement of Father Weld." It was during Weld's time at the helm that the poet

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...

was welcomed into the Society. Weld was rapidly elected Provincial of the English Province in 1864. In 1871 he became Rector of St Beuno's Theological College in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Two years later in 1873 he became English Assistant to the Jesuit General,

Peter Jan Beckx Peter Jan Beckx, SJ (also ''Pieter Jan Beckx'', in French ''Pierre Jean Beckx''; 8 February 1795 – 4 March 1887) was a Belgian Jesuit priest, elected the twenty-second Superior-General of the Society of Jesus in 1853. Early life and ed ...

. He spent the last three years of his life with the Zambesi Mission, having first directed operations from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and then going out himself to replace Henri Depelchin SJ to rescue the failed settlement, carry on missionary work and manage St Aidan's College in

Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...

, (now

Makhanda, Eastern Cape Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...

). Alfred Weld was born into an old English

recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

family, son of Mary Searle and George, eighth son of

Thomas Weld (of Lulworth) Thomas Bartholomew Weld (1750–1810), known as Thomas Weld of Lulworth Castle, was a member of the English Catholic gentry, landowner, philanthropist and bibliophile. He was connected to many of the leading Catholic families of the land, such ...

and Mary Stanley-Massey-Stanley. His paternal grandfather was the benefactor and founder of the Jesuit

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College or Stonyhurst is a co-educational Catholic Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing education for boarding school, boarding and day school, day pupils, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition. It is ...

. Cardinal Weld was his uncle.The Welds in the Catholic Encyclopedia
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Distinctions

* Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

Publications

His publications include: * ''The Suppression of the Society of Jesus in the Portuguese Dominions'', London, 1877

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weld, Alfred 1823 births 1890 deaths People from Ribble Valley (district) 19th-century English Jesuits English Roman Catholic missionaries Jesuit missionaries Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society

Alfred Weld Alfred Weld S. J. (1823 Leagram, Lancashire – 1890 South Africa) was an English Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, professor of Science and Director of Stonyhurst College, Stonyhurst Observatory. While working at the observatory, he welcomed in ...