Michael Ellis (8 September 1652 – 16 November 1726) was an English

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

who was a

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England and Wales, and subsequently

Bishop of Segni A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in Italy.

Life

He was born Philip Ellis, the son of

John Ellis John Ellis may refer to: Academics *John Ellis (scrivener) (1698–1791), English political writer *John Ellis (naturalist) (1710–1776), English botanical illustrator *John Ellis (physicist, born 1946), British theoretical physicist at CERN * Jo ...

, Rector of

Waddesdon Waddesdon is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, west-north-west of Aylesbury on the A41 road. The village also includes the hamlets of Eythrope and Wormstone, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace m ...

, Buckinghamshire, a descendant of the Ellis family of Kiddall Hall, Yorkshire, and Susannah Welbore. Of six brothers,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, the eldest, became Under-Secretary of State to

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from ...

; William, a

Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

Protestant, was Secretary of State of

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

in exile; Welbore became

Protestant bishop of Kildare The United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare is a diocese in the Church of Ireland located in the Republic of Ireland. The diocese is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Alone of English and Irish bishops who are not also archbishops, the Bis ...

and afterwards of

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Unt ...

, Ireland; Samuel was Marshal of King's Bench; and Charles an Anglican clergyman. Ellis, while still a Westminster schoolboy, was converted to the Catholic faith from his Anglicanism, and when 18 years old went to St Gregory Priory in

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Do ...

, France, where he was received as a monk, taking the religious name of Michael, making his

religious profession In the Catholic Church, a religious profession is the solemn admission of men or women into consecrated life by means of the pronouncement of religious vows, typically the evangelical counsels. Usage The 1983 Code of Canon Law defines the ...

on 30 November 1670. Receiving

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

shortly after, he returned in 1685 to serve in the English Mission, at which time he became one of the

royal chaplain A royal chapel is a chapel associated with a monarch, a royal court, or in a royal palace. A royal chapel may also be a body of clergy or musicians serving at a royal court or employed by a monarch. Commonwealth countries Both the United King ...

s. In 1688 he was appointed vicar Apostolic of the newly created Western District and was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

Ferdinando d'Adda Ferdinando d'Adda (27 August 1649 – 27 January 1719) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, bishop and diplomat. As a member of the family of the counts of Adda, he was a kinsman of Pope Innocent XI, who conferred upon him the titular abbacy of a fa ...

, the

papal nuncio 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 ...

(6 May). During the Glorious Revolution of 1688 Ellis was imprisoned, but being soon liberated he retired to the

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a former royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the ''département'' of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the ''musée d'Archéologie nationale'' (Na ...

in France and afterwards to Rome. In 1696 he was named an

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately b ...

; in Rome his knowledge of English affairs made him so useful that his repeated petitions for leave to return to his vicariate were refused. In 1704 Ellis resigned the vicariate, and in 1708 was made the Bishop of Segni by

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

, being enthroned on 28 October. His first care was to rebuild the ruined Monastery of Santa Chiara and open it as a diocesan

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

. This he enriched with many gifts and a large legacy. A curious survival of his English title is an inscription at Segni to "Ph. M. Mylord Ellis". After his death, this became his resting place. Eleven sermons preached in 1685 and 1686 before King James II, Queen

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the younge ...

, and Queen Dowager

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...

, were published in pamphlet form, some of which have been reprinted (London, 1741; 1772). The Acts of his

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mea ...

at Segni in 1710 were also published by order of Pope Clement.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Michael 1652 births 1726 deaths People from Aylesbury Vale People educated at Westminster School, London Converts to Roman Catholicism Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism English Benedictines Benedictine bishops 18th-century English Roman Catholic priests Apostolic vicars of England and Wales 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops English expatriates in Italy Bishops in Lazio