Thomas Joseph Brown OSB (called Joseph;Belmont Abbey Association – A Brief History
accessed 2 March 2014. 2 May 1796 – 12 April 1880) was a

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 ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served for two ecclesiastical jurisdictions, first 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 Welsh District from 1840 to 1850, then as Bishop of Newport and Menevia from 1850 to 1880.

Life

Born in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

on 2 May 1796, Brown 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 ...

of the

Order of Saint Benedict 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 ...

on 12 March 1823. Through reorganisation of the

Catholic Church in England and Wales The Catholic Church in England and Wales (; ) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th century, when Pope Gregory I through a Roman missionary and Benedictine monk, Augustine, ...

in 1840, the Welsh District was created out of the Western District. Brown was appointed the

of the Welsh 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 '' Apollonia'' on 5 June 1840. 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 28 October 1840, 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 Thomas Griffiths (

Vicar Apostolic of the London District The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1688 and was dissolved ...

), and the principal co-consecrators were Bishop

William Wareing Bishop William Wareing (14 February 1791 – 26 December 1865) was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Northampton. Born at Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, and after studying at Oscott College, William Wareing was ordained as a Ca ...

( Vicar Apostolic of the Eastern District ) and Bishop

Bernard Collier Bishop Bernard William Allen Collier, Order of Saint Benedict, O.S.B. (1802 – 21 November 1890) was an English-born Roman Catholic prelate. He was the second Vicar Apostolic and the first Diocesan Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Port-Loui ...

( Vicar Apostolic of the Cape of Good Hope.) On the erection of the Catholic Hierarchy in England and Wales, the Welsh District was divided between the dioceses of

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 ...

and Newport and Menevia. Brown was appointed the first Bishop of Newport and Menevia on 29 September 1850. He died in office on 12 April 1880, aged 83 and is buried at the Benedectine Belmont Abbey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Joseph 1796 births 1880 deaths Burials at Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire Apostolic vicars of England and Wales Clergy from Bath, Somerset English Benedictines Benedictine bishops 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Wales English Roman Catholic bishops