David James Mathew (15 January 1902 – 12 December 1975) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

Roman Catholic bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Chu ...

and historian.

Biography

Mathew was born at

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Heri ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

, and educated at the naval colleges at Osborne and

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

. He served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He entered

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided th ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, in 1920 and received a degree in modern history in 1923. He then went to Beda College in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, with the intention of seeking ordination and with a plan to enter the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has ...

order. He was ordained in 1929, and spent 10 months as a novice at

St Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster St Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster, is the only post-Reformation Carthusian monastery in the United Kingdom. It is located in the parish of Cowfold, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The monastery was founded in ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

, before concluding that he did not have a monastic vocation. After service at St David's Cathedral, Cardiff, he went to London to become chaplain to the Roman Catholic community at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. In 1938 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

. He served in London through

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. In 1945 he was named

apostolic visitor In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor (or ''Apostolic Visitator''; Italian: Visitatore apostolico) is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration. The visitor is deputed ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

, and in 1946

apostolic delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

to the British colonies in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. This brought his consecration to the

titular Archbishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

of Apamea. His service in Africa was successful, and he helped carry out the Vatican's policy of preparing for the appointment of native African bishops, acting as principal consecrator of

Laurean Rugambwa Laurean Rugambwa (July 12, 1912 – December 8, 1997) was the first modern native African Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dar es Salaam from 1968 to 1992, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960. Biography Laur ...

after his appointment as Apostolic Vicar of Lower Kagera: Rugambwa later became the first African cardinal since the days of the early church. Upon Mathew's return to England in 1953, he was appointed bishop-in-ordinary to the British Armed Forces. (He had refused an appointment to the nunciature in Bern, hoping to receive an English diocese). Mathew retired in 1963 and spent the rest of his life writing history. He died in London on 12 December 1975, aged 73.

Publications

*''The Celtic Peoples and Renaissance Europe'' (1933) *''The Reformation and the Contemplative Life'' (1934) *''Catholicism in England, 1535-1935. Portrait of a Minority: Its Culture and Tradition'' (1936) *''Steam Packet'' (1936) *''The Jacobean Age'' (1938) *''British Seamen'' (1943) *''The Naval Heritage'' (1944) *''Acton: The Formative Years'' (1946) *''Ethiopia: The Study of a Polity, 1540-1935'' (1947) *''The Social Structure in Caroline England'' (1948) *''Sir Tobie Mathew'' (1950) *''The Mango on the Mango Tree'' (1950) *''The Age of Charles I'' (1951) *''In Vallombrosa'' (1952) *''The Prince of Wales's Feathers'' (1953) *''Scotland under Charles I'' (1955) *''James I'' (1967) *''Lord Acton and His Times'' (1968) *''The Courtiers of Henry VIII'' (1970) *''Lady Jane Grey'' (1972)

References

*Kerr, Fergus: 'Mathew, David James (1902–1975)', rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200

accessed 14 March 2008 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathew, David 1902 births 1975 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Carthusians English naval historians 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Participants in the Second Vatican Council People from Lyme Regis Roman Catholic bishops of the Forces Roman Catholic writers British military chaplains 20th-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops Royal Navy officers of World War I 20th-century English historians