Frederick Oakeley (5 September 1802 – 30 January 1880) was an English

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 ...

convert,

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 ...

, and author. He was ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

in 1828 and in 1845 converted to the

Church of Rome Holy Roman Church, Roman Church, Church of Rome or Church in Rome may refer to: * The Diocese of Rome or the Holy See * The Latin Church * Churches of Rome (buildings) In historical contexts ''Roman Church'' may also refer to: * The Catholic Churc ...

, becoming

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the Westminster Diocese in 1852. He is best known for his translation of the Christmas carol ''Adeste Fideles'' ("

O Come, All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful", also known as "", is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and anonymous Ciste ...

") from Latin into English.

Early life

The youngest child of

Sir Charles Oakeley, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Oakeley, 1st Baronet (27 February 1751 – 7 September 1826) was an English administrator. He married Helena Beatson, a talented amateur artist, and niece of notable Scottish portrait painter Catherine Read. He was the father of Fred ...

, he was born on 5 September 1802 at the Abbey House,

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. In 1810 his family moved to the bishop's palace at

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

. Poor health prevented his leaving home for school, but in his fifteenth year he was sent to

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...

for tuition. In June 1820 he matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

; he gained a second class in '' Literae humaniores'' in 1824. After graduating B.A. he won the Chancellor's Latin and English prize essays in 1825 and 1827 respectively, and the Ellerton theological prize, also in 1827. In 1827 he was ordained, and was elected to a chaplain fellowship at

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

. In 1830 he became tutor and catechetical lecturer at Balliol, and a prebendary of Lichfield on Bishop

Henry Ryder Henry Dudley Ryder (21 July 1777 – 31 March 1836) was a prominent English evangelical Anglican bishop in the early years of the nineteenth century, most notably as Bishop of Lichfield. He was the first evangelical to be raised to the Ang ...

's appointment. In 1831 he was select preacher, and in 1835 one of the public examiners to the university. The Bishop of London, Charles Blomfield; appointed him Whitehall preacher in 1837, when he resigned his tutorship at Balliol, but he retained his fellowship.

Tractarian

During his residence at Balliol as chaplain-fellow (from 1827) Oakeley became connected with the

tractarian movement The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Uni ...

. Partly under the influence of

William George Ward William George Ward (21 March 1812 – 6 July 1882) was an English theologian and mathematician. A Roman Catholic convert, his career illustrates the development of religious opinion at a time of crisis in the history of English religious thoug ...

, he had grown dissatisfied with

evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

, and in the preface to his first volume of ''Whitehall Sermons'' (1837) he avowed himself a member of the new Oxford school. In 1839 he became incumbent of Margaret Chapel, the predecessor of

All Saints, Margaret Street All Saints is an Anglo-Catholicism, Anglo-Catholic church on Margaret Street, London, Margaret Street in Westminster, Greater London, England. Founded in the late 18th century as Margaret Street Chapel, the church became one aligned with the Ox ...

, and Oxford ceased to be his home. During the six years that Oakeley passed as minister of Margaret Chapel (1839–45), he became, according to a friend's description, the "introducer of that form of worship which is now called ritualism". He was supported by prominent men, among the friends of Margaret Chapel being Mr. Serjeant Bellasis, Mr Beresford Hope, and

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...

. According to an account by Mr. Wakeling the innovations of Oakeley's time were limited to the proper furnishing of the altar, a good standard of preaching but little more in the way of ritual.Kelway, Clifton (1915) ''The Story of the Catholic Revival''. London: Cope & Fenwick; pp. 70-71 The year 1845 was a turning-point in Oakeley's life. As a fellow of Balliol he had joined in the election to a fellowship there of his lifelong friend and former pupil

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) is an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was born ...

, the future primate; but Tait had signed, with three others, the first protest against '' Tract XC''. The furore over this last Tract led Oakeley, like Ward, to despair of his church and university; and in two pamphlets, published separately at the time both in London and Oxford, he asserted that he held, "as distinct from teaching, all Roman doctrine". For this avowal he was cited before the

court of arches The Arches Court or Court of Arches, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name fr ...

by the Bishop of London. His license was withdrawn, and he was suspended from all clerical duty in the province of Canterbury until he had "retracted his errors" (July 1845).

Catholic

In September 1845 Oakeley joined

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

's community at

Littlemore Littlemore is a district and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxford, England. The civil parish includes part of Rose Hill, Oxfordshire, Rose Hill. It is about southeast of the city centre of Oxford, between Rose Hill, Blackbird Ley ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and on 29 October was received into the Roman communion in the little chapel in

St Clement's, Oxford St Clement's is a district in Oxford, England, on the east bank of the River Cherwell. "St Clement's" is usually taken to describe a small triangular area from The Plain (a roundabout) bounded by the River Cherwell to the North, Cowley Road to ...

, over

Magdalen Bridge Magdalen Bridge spans the divided stream of the River Cherwell just to the east of the City of Oxford, England, and next to Magdalen College, Oxford, Magdalen College, whence it gets its name and pronunciation. It connects the High Street, Oxf ...

. On 31 October he was confirmed at

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 ...

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was an English Roman Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1 ...

. From January 1846 to August 1848 he was a theological student in the seminary of the London district,

St Edmund's College, Ware St Edmund's College is a coeducational private day and boarding school in the British public school tradition, set in in Ware, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1568 as a seminary, then a boys' school, it is the oldest continuously operatinga claim ...

. In the summer of 1848 he joined the staff of the newly-built

St George's Cathedral, Southwark The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St George, usually known as St George's Cathedral, Southwark, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, south London, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Southwark. The cathedral is ...

; on 22 January 1850 he took charge of St John's, Islington; in 1852, on the establishment of the new hierarchy under Wiseman as cardinal-archbishop, he was created a canon of the Westminster diocese, and held this office for nearly thirty years, till his death at the end of January 1880, aged 77.

Works

Oakeley published 42 works. Before his conversion were: * ''Whitehall Chapel Sermons'' (1837)
''Laudes Diurnæ; the Psalter and Canticles in the Morning and Evening Services, set and pointed to the Gregorian Tones by Richard Redhead'', with a preface by Oakeley on antiphonal chanting, 1843
Also a number of articles contributed to the ''

British Critic The ''British Critic: A New Review'' was a quarterly publication, established in 1793 as a conservative and high-church review journal riding the tide of British reaction against the French Revolution. The headquarters was in London. The journa ...

''. After his conversion he brought out many books in support of Catholicism, including: * ''The Ceremonies of the Mass'' (1855) a standard work at Rome, where it was translated into Italian by Lorenzo Santarelli, and published by authority; * ''The Church of the Bible'' (1857) *
The Order and Ceremonial of the Most Holy and Adorable Sacrifice of the Mass: Explained in a Dialogue Between a Priest and a Catechumen
' (1859) * ''Lyra Liturgica'' (1865) *
Historical Notes on the Tractarian Movement
' (1865) * ''The Priest to the Mission'' (1871) *
Catholic Worship: A Manual of Popular Instruction on the Ceremonies and Devotions of the Church
' (1872) * ''The Voice of Creation'' (1876) He was a constant contributor to the '' Dublin Review'' and ''

The Month ''The Month'' was a monthly review, published from 1864 to 2001, which, for almost all of its history, was owned by the English Province of the Society of Jesus and was edited by its members. History ''The Month'', founded and edited by Frances ...

''. To Cardinal Manning's ''Essays on Religious Subjects'' (1865) he contributed ''The Position of a Catholic Minority in a non-Catholic Country''. The last article he wrote was one in ''Time'' (March 1880), on ''Personal Recollections of Oxford from 1820 to 1845'' (reprinted in Lilian M. Quiller-Couch's ''Reminiscences of Oxford'', 1892, Oxf. Hist. Soc.) His ''Youthful Martyrs of Rome'', a verse drama in five acts (1856), was adapted from Cardinal Wiseman's ''Fabiola''.

References

;Attribution

External links