William George Ward (21 March 1812 – 6 July 1882) was an English theologian and mathematician. A

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

convert, his career illustrates the development of religious opinion at a time of crisis in the history of English religious thought.

Life

He was the son of William Ward and Emily Combe. He was educated at Winchester College and went up to

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 ...

, in 1830, but his father's financial difficulties forced him in 1833 to try for a scholarship at Lincoln College, which he succeeded in obtaining. Ward had a gift for

pure mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications ...

but for history,

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

or anything outside the exact sciences, he felt contempt. He was endowed with a strong sense of humour and a love of paradox carried to an extreme. His examination for mathematical honours exhibited some of the peculiarities of his character and mental powers. Four out of his five papers on applied mathematics were sent up absolutely blank. Honours, however, were not refused him, and in 1834 he obtained an open fellowship at Balliol. In the previous year, the Tractarian movement had been launched: Ward was attracted to it by his hatred of moderation and what he called "respectability". He was repelled by the conception he had formed of John Henry Newman, whom he regarded as a mere antiquary. When, however, he was at length persuaded by a friend to go and hear Newman preach, he at once became a disciple. But he had, as Newman afterwards said of him, "struck into the movement at an angle." He had no taste for historical investigations. He treated the question at issue as one of pure

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

: disliking the Reformers, the right of private judgment which

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s claimed, and the somewhat prosaic uniformity of the English Church, he flung himself into a campaign against Protestantism in general and the

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 ...

form of it in particular. He nevertheless took deacon's orders in 1838 and priest's orders in 1840.Aveling, Francis. "William George Ward." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 6 June 2019 Bust of Ward by Raggi

In 1839 Ward became a writer for the '' British Critic'', the organ of the Tractarian party, and he excited suspicion among the adherents of the party by his violent denunciations of the Anglican Church, to which he still belonged. In 1841 he urged the publication of the celebrated '' Tract 90'', and wrote in defence of it. From that period Ward and his associates worked undisguisedly for union with the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1844 he published his ''Ideal of a Christian Church'', in which he openly contended that the only hope for the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

lay in submission to the Church of Rome. This publication brought to a height the storm which had long been gathering. The

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

was invited, on 13 February 1845, to condemn '' Tract 90'', to censure the ''Ideal'', and to deprive Ward of his degrees. The two latter propositions were carried with Ward being deprived of his tutorship and '' Tract 90'' only escaped censure by the ''non-placet'' of the proctors, Guillemard and Church. Ward left the Church of England in September 1845, and was followed by many others, including Newman himself. After his reception into the Catholic Church, Ward devoted himself to ethics,

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

and moral philosophy. After his conversion he married, and for a time had to struggle with poverty. But his circumstances slowly improved. In 1851 he became a professor of moral philosophy at St Edmund's College, Ware, and the following year he was appointed to the chair of dogmatic theology.

''Dublin Review''

Ward wrote articles on free will, the philosophy of theism, and on science, prayer and miracles for the ''Dublin Review''. In 1863 he became editor of the Dublin Review (1863–1878). He took over as editor in July 1863, deferring editorial decisions on politics, history, or literature to sub-editors. He was an opponent of Liberal Catholicism and defender of papal authority, and attacked the views of Charles Forbes René de Montalembert and Ignaz von Döllinger.Houghton, Walter E., "The Dublin Review", ''The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals 1824-1900'', Routledge, 2013, p. 15
He supported the promulgation of the dogma of

Papal Infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

in 1870. He also dealt with the condemnation of Pope Honorius I, carried on a controversial correspondence with

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...

, and took a leading part in the discussions of the Metaphysical Society.

Family

Ward was the grandnephew of Robert Plumer Ward, the nephew of Sir Henry George Ward, and the son of William Ward. He was the father of Newman's biographer, Wilfrid Philip Ward; a grandfather of Father Leo Ward, a missionary in Japan and co-founder of Sheed & Ward, and of Leo's sister, the writer and publisher Maisie Ward; and a great-grandfather of the translator Rosemary Sheed, and of Rosemary's brother, the novelist Wilfrid Sheed. His daughter was professed as a Benedictine nun and became Lady Abbess of Oulton Abbey, Staffordshire.

Works

*
The Ideal of a Christian Church
' (1844) * ''The Anglican Establishment Contrasted'' (1850) * ''Heresy and Immortality'' (1851) *
On Nature and Grace: A Theological Treatise
' (1860) *
The Relation of Intellectual Power to Man's True Perfection
' (1862) *
The Authority of Doctrinal Decisions Which are not Definitions of Faith, Considered in a Short Series of Essays Reprinted from "The Dublin Review"
' (1866) * ''De Infallibilitatis Extensione'' (1869) *
Essays on Devotional and Scriptural Subjects
' (1879) *
The Condemnation of Pope Honorius
' (1879) *
Essays on the Church's Doctrinal Authority
' (1880) * ''Essays on the Philosophy of Theis
Vol. 1Vol. 2
' (1884) Selected articles
"Intrinsic End of Civil Government,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LIII (1863).
"The Dogmatic Principle,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LIII (1863).
"The 'Union' Movement,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LIV (1864).
"Rome and the Munich Congress,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LV (1864).
"The University Question,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVI (1865).
"The Encyclical and Syllabus,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVI (1865).
"Public School Education,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVII (1865).
"Rome, Unionism, and Indifferentism,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVII (1865).
"Mr. Oxenham and the 'Dublin Review',"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVII (1865).
"Doctrinal Decrees of a Pontifical Congregation: The Case of Galileo,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVII (1865).
"Dr. Pusey's Apology for Anglicanism,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVIII (1866).
"Dr. Pusey's Project of Union,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVIII (1866).
"The Council of Florence,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LVIII (1866).
"Irish Writers on University Education,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LIX (1866).
"Dr. Pusey on Marian Devotion,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LIX (1866).
"Pius IX. and the 'Civiltà Cattolica',"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LIX (1866).
"Two Criticisms on the Dublin Review,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LX (1867).
"Science, Prayer, Free Will and Miracles,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LX (1867).
"Doctrinal Apostolic Letters,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXII (1868).
"The Witness of Heretical Bodies to Mariology,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXII (1868).
"The Irish Disestablishment,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXIII (1868).
"Principles of Catholic Higher Education,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXIV (1869).
"Catholic Controversy,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXV (1869).
"Grignon de Monfort and his Devotion,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXVIII (1871).
"The Definition of Papal Infallibility,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXVIII (1871).
"Certitude in Religious Assent,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXVIII (1871).
"Copernicanism and Pope Paul V,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXVIII (1871).
"The Rule and Motive of Certitude,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXIX (1871).
"Galileo and the Pontifical Congregations,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXIX (1871).
"Mr. Mill's Denial of Necessary Truth,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXIX (1871).
"Liberalism Religious and Ecclesiastical,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXX (1872).
"Mr. Mill on the Foundation of Morality,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXX (1872).
"Father Liberatore, Father Harper, and Lord Robert Montagu,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXX (1872).
"Parliament and Catholic Education,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXX (1872).
"The Priesthood in Irish Politics,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXI (1872).
"A Word on Classical Studies,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXI (1872).
"The Present Anglican Position,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXI (1872).
"The Labourers and Political Economy,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXII (1873).
"Irish Priests and Landlords,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXII (1873). * "A Few Words on Dr. Brownson's Philosophy," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXVIII (1876). * "Father O'Reilly on Society and the Church," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXVIII (1876). * "Tradition and Papal Infallibility," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXVIII (1876). * "Church and State," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXVIII (1876).
"Professor Mivart on the Rights of Conscience,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXIX (1876).Mivart, St. George Jackson (1876)
"Liberty of Conscience,"
''The Dublin Review'', Vol. LXXIX, pp. 555–567.
"Cremation,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXIX (1876).
"Mr. Mill on Causation,"
''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXIX (1876). * "Civil Intolerance of Religious Error: Professor Mivart on Liberty of Conscience," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXX (1877). * "Hergenröther on Church and State," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXXI (1877). * "Mr. Shadworth Hodgson on Free Will," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXXVII (1880). * "Philosophy of the Theistic Controversy," ''The Dublin Review,'' Vol. LXXXIX (1882).

References

* *

External links

*
Works by William George Ward
at Hathi Trust
Works by William George Ward
at Europeana * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, William George 1812 births 1882 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism Anglo-Catholic clergy English Anglo-Catholics English Roman Catholic writers People educated at Winchester College 19th-century British Roman Catholic theologians Presidents of the Oxford Union