Robert Aston Coffin (19 July 1819 – 6 April 1885) was an English

Redemptorist The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

and Bishop of Southwark (25 May 1882 – 6 April 1885). Coffin was born at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and 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 ...

( BA 1841, MA 1843). In 1843 he became

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 St. Mary Magdalene, Oxford, but resigned two years later, and was received into 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 ...

on 3 December 1845. For a year after this he resided with Ambrose Lisle Phillips at Grace Dieu Manor, and then he went with

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 ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he was ordained priest in 1847. Coffin joined the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, and in 1848–9 he was provost of the Oratorian community at St. Wilfrid's, Cotton Hall,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. He then left the Oratorians and was received into the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Redemptorist Fathers at Trond in Belgium, and made his profession on 2 February 1852. In 1855 he was chosen Rector of St. Mary's Church in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

, and in 1865 appointed to the office of

Provincial Superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

, in which he was successively confirmed every three years 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 ...

. From 1852 to 1872 he was mostly employed in preaching missions and giving clergy retreats throughout England, Ireland and Scotland. In April 1882

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

appointed Coffin to the see of Southwark, in succession to James Danell. He was consecrated by Cardinal Howard in the church of St. Alfonso, on the Esquiline, at Rome, 11 June 1882, and enthroned at

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 the 27th of the following month. He died at the house of the Redemptorists at

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...

Works

Coffin published English translations of many of the works of Alphonso de' Liguori; and of Blosius's ''Oratory of the Faithful Soul''.

References

Catholic-Hierarchy.org
*

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coffin, Robert 1819 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Roman Catholic bishops of Southwark English translators English religious writers 19th-century English writers People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Clergy from Brighton Redemptorist bishops 19th-century English translators