Cuthbert Butler (born Edward Joseph Aloysius Butler; 6 May 1858 – 2 April 1934) was an Irish ecclesiastical historian much of whose career was spent as

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 ...

of Downside Abbey in England. He was sometimes referred to as Dom Cuthbert Butler. Butler is known for ''The Vatican Council: The Story from Inside in Bishop Ullathorne's Letters''. Described by Michael J. G. Pahls as " e standard nglish-languageaccount of the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

", the book is based on the correspondence of Bishop William Bernard Ullathorne of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Gertrude Himmelfarb describes ''The Vatican Council'' as designed to support

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

. He also wrote on

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

Early life

Edward Joseph Aloysius Butler was born on 6 May 1858 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, to Edward Butler (1812-1902) and Mary (Cruise) Butler. His father was the first professor of mathematics at the Catholic University of Ireland, from 1854 to 1859, before and after that having worked for the Commission of National Education in Ireland. His mother came from a Norman Irish Catholic family and was a sister of the eminent consulting physician Sir Francis Cruise. Butler was educated at Downside School, an English

school, from 1869 to 1875. During his time at the school, he was greatly influenced by the Benedictine priest William Petre who, along with the prior, Bernard Murphy, advised him as he discerned his vocation. As his parents did not want him to enter the Benedictine noviciate immediately after finishing at Downside, he spent a brief period at the short-lived Catholic University College in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, as well as travelling throughout Europe.

Monastic life

Butler entered the noviciate at Belmont Abbey in

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

in 1876. Reflecting on his entry into the abbey in a manuscript written between 1891 and 1892, he wrote: He was ordained in 1884, the same year he got an MA from the University of London, under his birth name, and then became headmaster at Downside School. In 1896 he moved to Cambridge, and soon thereafter he founded Benet House there for Benedictines attending that university. He was a student at Christ's College, Cambridge, now using the name Edward Cuthbert Butler, and was awarded BA 1898 and MA 1903. In 1906 he was elected Abbot of Downside Abbey, a post he held until his resignation in 1922. He spent the rest of his life preaching in London and writing the books for which he is now remembered, in particular ''Western Mysticism'' (1922) and ''The Vatican Council'' (1930). He had earlier contributed dozens of articles to the 11th edition of the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' (1911). He died at his home in London on 2 April 1934.

Published works

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References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Cuthbert 1858 births 1934 deaths Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge English historians English Benedictines 19th-century English Roman Catholic priests 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests English Roman Catholic writers Historians of the Catholic Church People educated at Downside School Benedictine scholars Abbots of Downside Burials at Downside Abbey Mysticism scholars 20th-century Christian abbots