Michael Scott Napier (15 February 1929 – 22 August 1996) was a British

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

priest. He was an Oratorian Father of the

London Oratory The London Oratory ("the Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri in London") is a Catholic community of priests living under the rule of life established by its founder, Philip Neri (1515-1595). It is housed in an Oratory House, next to ...

from 1959 until his death, and twice served as its provost (1969–1981; 1991–1994). He also served as the pope's

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 ...

to the Oratory of St Philip Neri, 63 Oratories worldwide, between 1982 and 1994.

Early life

Napier was born on 15 February 1929 in India, the only child of Major-General Charles Scott Napier, a decorated British Army engineer, and his wife Ada Kathleen Napier (née Douetil). His father was an Anglican and his mother was a French convert to Catholicism. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

, then an all-boys

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

boarding school. He then studied at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(BA) degree in 1952. While at Cambridge, he converted to Roman Catholicism under the instruction of the university's Catholic chaplain, Alfred Gilbey: he was received into the Catholic Church in October 1952. After graduation, he spent a year working the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

Religious life

Napier entered the

as a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

in November 1953: the Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri is a society of apostolic life of priests and lay brothers who live in community without formal vows. As part of his formation, he attended the

Pontifical Beda College The Pontifical Beda College ( it, Pontificio Collegio Beda) is a college in Rome. It was founded as the ''Collegio Ecclesiastico'' at the Palazzo dei Convertendi in 1852 by Pope Pius IX and is intended for older men, often convert clergymen, wi ...

in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1959. He was first elected Provost of the London Oratory in 1969, and was re-elected for a further three terms. During this time, he had to lead the community through the changes of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

: he did not, however, introduce a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

altar but maintained the centrality of the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagani ...

. In 1981, he was chosen to undertake a

canonical visitation In the Catholic Church, a canonical visitation is the act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view to maintaining faith and discipline and of correcting abuses. A person delegated to car ...

of the Oratories worldwide as Visitor of Holy See. He stepped down as provost in 1982, and undertook the visitation of 63 Oratories worldwide between 1982 and 1994. With each Oratory maintaining its autonomy, this was not an easy task, but he perceived and had a strong influence on the young congregations in Vienna and Toronto. In 1991, he returned to the London Oratory and was once more elected for a three-year term as provost. From 1994 to his death in 1996, he was but an ordinary Oratorian Father. Napier died on 22 August 1996 at the foot of the altar of

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...

(the London Oratory's church), having suffered a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

shortly before he was due to celebrate

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Michael Scott 1929 births 1996 deaths Oratorians 20th-century British Roman Catholic priests People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism British people of French descent