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Edward Caswall

From Catholicism Wiki

Edward Caswall, CO (15 July 1814 – 2 January 1878) was a British clergyman and hymn writer who converted to Catholicism and became an Oratorian priest. His more notable hymns include: "Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthem Rise", "Come, Holy Ghost" and "Ye Sons and Daughters of the Lord".

Biography

He was born at Yateley, Hampshire on 15 July 1814, the son of Rev. R. C. Caswall, sometime Vicar of Yateley, Hampshire.[1]

Caswall was educated at Chigwell School,[2] Marlborough Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1836 with honours and later proceeded to Master of Arts. In 1838 he was ordained deacon, and in 1839 priest, in the Church of England.[1] Before leaving Oxford, he published, under the pseudonym of Scriblerus Redivivus, The Art of Pluck, a satire on the ways of the careless college student.[3]

He was curate of the Church of St Lawrence at Stratford-sub-Castle, near Salisbury from 1840 to 1847. As curate, he would invite the children who had attended morning services to the parsonage and give them breakfast. On the anniversary on one's baptism, he would give some money to buy clothes.[4] In the summer of 1846 he, his wife, and his brother Tom visited Ireland.

He resigned his curacy and, in January 1847, was received into the Catholic Church by Cardinal Januarius Acton in Rome. His brother Tom had converted to Catholicism previously. Caswall's conversion caused an estrangement from some members of his family, including his mother and brother Alfred. His wife, Louisa Stuart Caswall, who had also become a Catholic, died of cholera on 14 September 1849 while they were staying at Torquay.[4] The following year Caswall joined the Oratory of St. Philip Neri under future-cardinal John Henry Newman, to whose influence his conversion to Catholicism was due. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1852. Caswall was delegated the responsibility of establishing the Oratory school, which opened in 1859. He often served as acting superior in Newman's absence.

His brother Henry was a priest in the United States and England, who is perhaps best known today for his encounter with Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.

He died at the Birmingham Oratory, Edgbaston on 2 January 1878 and was buried at Rednal, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.[1]

Works

Hymns

He wrote original poems that have survived mainly in Catholic hymnals due to a clear adherence to Catholic doctrine. Caswall is best known for his translations from the Roman Breviary and other Latin sources, which are marked by faithfulness to the original. Most of the translations were done at the Oratory of St. Philip Neri at Edgbaston.[3] They were published in Lyra Catholica, containing all the breviary and missal hymns (London, 1849); The Masque of Mary (1858); and A May Pageant and other poems (1865). Hymns and Poems (1873) are the three books combined, with many of the hymns rewritten or revised. Some of his translations are used in the Hymns Ancient and Modern.[5]

According to hymnologist John Julian, Caswall's translations featured an especial purity of rhythm, which made his hymns easy to set to music and easy for congregations to sing.[3] His widely used hymn texts and translations include "See, amid the Winter's Snow", "Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthem Rise"; "Glory be to Jesus", "Come, Holy Ghost"; "Earth Has Many A Noble City"; "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee"; "O Blest Creator of the Light"; "When Morning Gilds the Skies"; "Sleep, Holy Babe" and "Ye Sons and Daughters of the Lord".[6]

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Edward Caswall — Oratorian and poet, b. 15 July 1814, at Yately, Hampshire, of which place his father, the Rev. R. C. Caswall, was vicar; d. at the Oratory, Birmingham, 2 January, 1878. He was educated at Marlborough Grammer School and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he was Hulme exhibitioner. Before leaving Oxford he published, under the pseudonym of Scriblerus Redivivus, "The Art of Pluck", in imitation of Aristotle, a witty satire upon the ways of the careless college student, which still has a circulation. To the eighth edition, in 1843, he wrote a special preface of regret for certain passages, now excluded, which, at that later date, he had come to regard as irreverent. In 1838 he was ordained deacon, and in 1839 priest, in the Church of England. In 1840 he became perpetual curate of Stratford-sub-Castle in the diocese of his uncle, Dr. Burgess, Bishop of Salisbury. In 1846 he published "Sermons on the Seen and the Unseen", a volume of thoughtful discourses marked by the same tender and fervent piety found in his well-known hymns, and by a clear leaning to certain elements of Catholic doctrine. Soon afterwards, having come under the influence of Cardinal (then Dr.) Newman and the "Tracts for the Times", he resigned his curacy and, in January, 1847, was received into the Church by Cardinal Acton at Rome. In 1849 Caswall's wife, who had also become a Catholic, died suddenly of cholera, and early in 1850 he became an Oratorian. In 1852 he was ordained priest, and lived at the Oratory until his death. He was buried at Rednal, in the private cemetery of the congregation, near the grave of Cardinal Newman. Besides various manuals of devotion, several of which he translated from the French, his principal works are: "Lyra Catholica", a translation of all the Breviary and Missal hymns with some others (often reprinted; last edition, London, 1884); "The Masque of Mary and other Poems", original poetry, thoughtful, imaginative, tender, and full of zealous faith, a book which drew from Cardinal Newman, in return, a remarkable poem addressed to the author (reprinted several times; last edition, London, 1887); "The Catholic's Latin Instructor in the principal Church offices and devotions" (frequently reprinted; last edition, London, 1897).

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Edward Caswall". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. Back to citation Darch, O. W; Tween, A. S. "Chigwell Register, TOGETHER WITH A Historical Account of the School BY THE REV. CANON SWALLOW". Internet Archive. JOHN W. PHELP, PRINTER. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  3. Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Back to citation occurrence 3.2 "Edward Caswall 1814-1878", The Hymns and Carols of Christmas
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 De Flon, Nancy Marie. Edward Caswall: Newman's Brother and Friend, Gracewing Publishing, 2005, ISBN 9780852446072
  5. Back to citation H. Eskew, H.T. McElrath, Sing with Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Hymnology, 1980, p. 139
  6. Back to citation "Edward Caswall". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

Bibliography

  • Julian, John (June 1907). A Dictionary of Hymnology. London: John Murray. pp. 214–215.
  • Bailey, Albert Edward (1950). The Gospel in Hymns. New York: Charles Scribner's sons. pp. 198–199.
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