Owen Emeric Vidal (1819–1854) was the first

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Bishop of Sierra Leone and West Africa from 1852 until his death three years later.

Life

Vidal was the son of

Emeric Essex Vidal Emeric Essex Vidal (29 March 1791 – 7 May 1861) was an English watercolourist and naval officer. His opportunities for travel, his curiosity about local customs and human types, and his eye for the picturesque, led him to make paintings whi ...

and his wife Anna Jane Capper, daughter of the Rev. James Capper, born at

Easthampstead Easthampstead is a former village and now a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell, in the civil parish of Bracknell, in the Bracknell Forest district, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. The old village can still be easily ident ...

. He was educated at St Paul's School,

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

. He matriculated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, in 1838, where he graduated

bachelor of arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1842 and

master of arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1845; he was awarded a

doctorate of divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...

in 1852.

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 ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in March 1843, Vidal was ordained

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 ...

in December of the same year. He was

Vicar 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 p ...

of Holy Trinity,

Upper Dicker Arlington is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The parish is on the River Cuckmere, and is the location of a medieval priory, a reservoir and a car racetrack. History Arlington is recorded in the D ...

until his elevation 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 ...

. The ceremony took place on Whit Sunday, May 1852, in

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament of the United King ...

, where the

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

was assisted by the Bishops of

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 ...

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

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

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. Vidal was the first bishop of Sierra Leone, a see that comprised all

British possessions A British possession is a country or territory other than the United Kingdom which has the British monarch as its head of state. Overview In common statutory usage the British possessions include British Overseas Territories, and the Commonwe ...

on the west coast of Africa between the latitudes of 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south, and in particular the colonies of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, and the Gold Coast. Vidal brought his sick wife back to England in 1854, then returned to

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

later that same year where he ordained Thomas Babington Macaulay (Nigeria) and Thomas King, who were the first Africans admitted to the ministry of the Anglican Church upon their own soil. Vidal died while on a sea voyage back to Sierra Leone after his visit to the churches in

Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of . Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Niger ...

, on or about the 23rd December 1854, and was buried at

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

on 27 December 1854.

Family

Vidal married in 1852 Anne Adelaide Hoare, the fourth daughter of the Rev. Henry Hoare, vicar of

Framfield Framfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located two miles (3 km) east of Uckfield; the settlements of Blackboys and Palehouse form part of the parish area of 6,700 acres ...

. They had one daughter, Annie Selina Hoare Vidal.

Publications

''A Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language'' (with Samuel Adjai Crowther) (1852)ABE Books website, ''A Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language''
/ref>

References

External links

Bibliographic directory
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Owen Emeric 1819 births Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 19th-century Anglican bishops in Sierra Leone English Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in Sierra Leone Anglican bishops of Sierra Leone 1854 deaths