Victor Guazzelli (19 March 1920 – 1 June 2004) was a

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 ...

. He served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster (1970–1996) and held the

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...

(1970–2004). He was known as a devoted supporter of

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

Biography

Victor Guazzelli was born in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

on 19 March 1920 of Italian immigrants from

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

, Tuscany. His father, Cesare Guazzelli, worked as an iceman. Two of his three sisters died from childhood

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. At the age of nine, Victor told his father he wanted to enter the priesthood. Cesare gave his blessing, and in 1935 Victor left for the

English College, Lisbon The English College, Lisbon (Portuguese: ) was a Roman Catholic seminary that existed from the 17th century to the 20th century. Early history Philip III of Spain issued a royal charter for the college on 3 December 1621, with a papal brief from ...

, a Roman Catholic

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

. Whilst attending the seminary,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out and Victor was unable to return to

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 ...

until 1945, by which time he was already a

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 ...

. His father had died during his absence. Now fluent in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and Italian, Victor took up a post at St Patrick's,

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park leasehold estate, let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II of Engla ...

, before being recalled to the seminary in Lisbon as

bursar A bursar (derived from ''wikt:bursa, bursa'', Latin for 'Coin purse, purse') is a professional Administrator of the government, administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usual ...

, and to teach

Church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

and

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

. In 1958, Guazzelli came back to the staff at

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

, at the time when

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

was beginning to make changes in the Catholic Church, which would culminate in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

and the new rite of mass. In 1970, Guazzelli was made an auxiliary bishop of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and titular Bishop of Lindisfarne. In 1976, Cardinal Hume divided the diocese into pastoral areas and Guazzelli was made area bishop in east London, covering the deprived boroughs of

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

and Hackney. Guazzelli came home, making his base in Pope John House in Poplar – not far from where Cesare pushed his ice cart 50 years before. In 1975, Guazzelli became president of the peace movement,

Pax Christi Pax Christi International is an international Catholic peace movement. The Pax Christi International website declares its mission is "to transform a world shaken by violence, terrorism, deepening inequalities, and global insecurity". History ...

. In May 1982, he condemned the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

and called for British troops to return. In 1983, he backed

Bruce Kent Bruce Kent (22 June 1929 – 8 June 2022) was an English Catholic former priest who became a political activist in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), holding various leadership positions in the organisation. Early life Born on 22 Ju ...

, one of his own priests and General Secretary of

CND The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

Bruno Heim Bruno Bernard Heim (5 March 1911 – 18 March 2003) was a Swiss prelate and Latin Titular Archbishop of Xanthus, a long-serving diplomat of the Holy See who among other appointments was Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, and later Apostolic ...

, the Vatican's Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain described Kent as an 'idiot', remarks Guazzelli furiously condemned as offensive. That year, Guazzelli was the only English Catholic bishop to join a big CND demonstration in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

. He then turned his attentions to an East End in the throes of change. The

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England. It includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Haml ...

was a huge building site for

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

, an increasingly bitter strike was being played out at the

News International News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a List of newspapers in the United Kingdom, British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media Conglomerate (c ...

plant at

Wapping Wapping () is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End. Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This posit ...

, and the parties of the far right were mobilising against immigration into the East End. Guazzelli, from his Poplar base, saw a way to bring together residents and community leaders and make their voice heard. He invited all to have their say at the new East London Pastoral Area. There were workshops, training days, and discussion sheets printed, with cartoons explaining the Work of the

. As the physical and social fabric of the East End was stretched to the limit, the role of the parish priest was to change too – with less emphasis on 'maintaining' the parish, more on going out on 'missions'. Guazzelli gathered a 'hit squad' of priests to conduct intensive six-week missions in the parishes. Meanwhile, the tireless bishop was active as a member of the Latin American Desk of the Catholic Relief Agency

Cafod The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, commonly known as CAFOD, is an international development and relief charity. It is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. CAFOD is part of the global Caritas Internat ...

, visiting

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 1981. He was also the English representative on the

Apostleship of the Sea Stella Maris is an international agency of the Catholic Church that provides pastoral care to seafarers, other maritime workers, and their families. Stella Maris offers practical and pastoral care to all seafarers, regardless of nationality, beli ...

– the mission to seafarers. During Victor's life span he saved many lives with the relief agency. He stayed on at Poplar after retirement age but, after a

haemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

, his life saved by the

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of Evangelical counsels, poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Enclosed religious orders, enclosure of a monastery or convent.' ...

at Pope John House, he decided to return to

. He kept working to the end – leisure time was filled with

stamp collecting Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...

, playing

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

on the organ, and a round of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

. The

connection came in handy: he became an overseas member of Shooters Hill Golf Club on the basis that his see was an island. Guazzelli died on 1 June 2004, aged 84.

References

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guazzelli 1920 births 2004 deaths People from Stepney 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England English people of Italian descent 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops English College, Lisbon alumni