Francis Blyth
Francis Blyth (1705–1772) was a Carmelite friar whose religious name was Simon Stock of the Blessed Trinity.
Life
Both of Blyth's parents were Protestant and he was raised in their faith. Francis was a convert from the Anglican Protestants and so would have been familiar with the King James Bible.[1] However, as a young man Blyth converted to Catholicism and soon joined the Discalced Carmelites in Modena, Italy. Here he changed his name to Simon Stock.[2]
He was released from his tenure at the Discalced Carmelites due to poor eyesight and was then sent to Malta to study for the priesthood. He was eventually ordained there.[2]
Blyth returned to England in 1730, working in Wiltshire and then in London. Whilst in England he used the pseudonym Francis Courtney. During this time he also revised the Douay Bible with Bishop Challoner.
In 1740, he was appointed assistance chaplain at the Portuguese Embassy in London. In 1756 he was promoted to chaplain-major at the Portuguese Embassy in London, a position he retained until his death on 11 December 1772.[2] He was buried in the churchyard of Old St. Pancras in London.[2]
Bibliography
- Blyth, Francis (1740). A Caution Against Prejudice.[2]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Francis Blyth — English Carmelite, reviser of the Douay Bible, born c. 1705; d. in London, 11 December 1772. Though born of Protestant parents, be joined the Catholic Church while yet a youth, and entered the Carmelite novitiate at Modena in 1723, taking the name Simon Stock of the Blessed Trinity. Having obtained a dispensation from irregularity on account of a defect in vision, he proceeded to Malta for a course of studies, and after ordination returned to England, in November, 1730, where he first served a mission in Wiltshire. In 1741 he became assistant chaplain, and in 1756 chaplain-major to the Portuguese embassy in London, where he remained until his death. From 1742 till 1755, he also was Vicar Provincial of the English Carmelites. While in London, he assumed the name of Courtney. The chapels of the various embassies being recognized as places of worship for Catholics, the chaplains held a position not unlike that of parish priests, and Father Blyth distinguished himself by his eloquent and zealous preaching. The first ambassador under whom Father Blyth served was Dom Sebastiâo-José de Carvalho e Mello, afterwards Marquez de Pombal (1739-45), whom he was, at a later period accused of having aided in high-handed proceedings against the Jesuits. He indignantly protested against the calumny. Blyth was buried in the cemetery of St. Pancras, London, and, being a man of great literary attainments and author of many works, a memorial was raised there in his honour. His chief labour was the revision, in conjunction with Bishop Challoner, of the so-called Douay Bible; while adhering closely to the text of the Vulgate, the revisers sacrificed the energetic language of the older translators for a much weaker one which frequently lacks dignity. His other works comprise expositions of the Penitential Psalms and other portions of Holy Scripture, sermons, and controversial writing.
The Rheims Testament, with Annotations (London, 1738); GILLOW, Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cath., I, 252; ZIMMERMAN, Carmel in England (London, 1899), 373.
References
- Back to citation "The Bible in English".
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Back to citation occurrence 2.3 Back to citation occurrence 2.4 Arblaster, Paul (2004). "Blyth, Francis [alias Francis Courtney; name in religion Simon Stock of the Blessed Trinity] (c. 1705–1772)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10597. Retrieved October 8, 2010. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)