Thomas Joseph Talbot (14 February 1727 – 24 April 1795) was an English

Roman Catholic bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy orders in the Catholic Church, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teachin ...

who served as the

Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District The Vicariate Apostolic of the Midland District (later of the Central District) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic) who was a titular bishop. The Apostolic Vicar ...

from 1778 until his death in 1795.

Life

Thomas Talbot was born in

Heythrop Heythrop is a village and civil parish just over east of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Dunthrop. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 93. History Heythrop had a Norman parish church of Saint ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

on 17 February 1727, the fifth son of the Honourable George Talbot and Mary FitzWilliam. Thomas' eldest brother, George, succeeded as the 14th

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

, and another brother,

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

, was the

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 ...

.Brady, William Maziere. ''The Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland A.D. 1400 to 1875'', Tipografia della Pace, 1877, p. 214
/ref> He attended

Twyford School Twyford School is a co-educational, private, preparatory boarding and day school, located in the village of Twyford, Hampshire, England. History Twyford states itself to be the oldest preparatory school in the United Kingdom. It moved to its ...

, and then Douai in 1739. In 1745–46, together with his brother James, he made the grand tour under the tutelage of

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiography, hagiographer. Born in Northamptonshire, he studied at the English College, in Douai, Douay, France where he later taught philosophy and theology. He s ...

. He then returned to Douai to study theology.Whitfield, Joseph Louis. "Thomas Joseph Talbot." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 20 March 2015
/ref> On the expulsion of the Jesuits from France, Talbot was named President of the College of St. Omer's in August, 1762. In March 1776, he was consecrated to the titular See of Acon as

coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

to Bishop Hornyold, whom he succeeded in the government of the Midland District in December, 1778. Bishop Talbot died in Bristol on 24 February 1795, and was buried in St. Joseph's Church in Trenchard Street. One of the tombs bears a small metal tablet inscribed "Charles Thomas Talbot Esq", a burial from 1838, this may also be Thomas's tomb.

Life

References

Further reading