HENRY EDWARD CARDINAL MANNING - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/04/1846 - HFSID 131748

HENRY CARDINAL MANNING
Autograph Letter signed in 1846 (before his conversion to Catholicism), recommending Charles Wordsworth for Warden of St. Augustine's College.
Autograph Letter signed: "H. E. M.", 3 pages (front and verso, integral leaf), 4x5. To "My dear Friend", in full: "I have just heard that Charles Wordsworth has resigned the 2nd mastership at Winchester. In many & through high points he is fitter than any man I know for Warden of St. Augustines. He has a good public reputation & must be well known to the public & to the Dean of Canterbury thru H. T. Rose. Ever yours affectionately". Henry Edward Manning (1808-1892) was an Anglican cleric who converted to the Roman Catholic faith in mid-career. A rector (1833) and archdeacon (1841) in the Church of England, he published many of his sermons and a book, The Unity of the Church. In 1851, however, he converted to Catholicism, motivated by theological issues but also but unhappiness with the Anglican Church's subordination to civil authority, especially the courts. In 1865, he became Archbishop of Westminster, and in 1875 was made a Cardinal. He presided over the building of Westminster Cathedral, and actively promoted Catholic education in Britain. A theological conservative who strongly supported the doctrine of Papal infallibility, he was a social reformer who encouraged the church to seek social justice. St. Augustine's College in Canterbury, opened in 1846, was a theological school intended to train missionaries for the Church of England. Charles Wordsworth (1806-1892), a scholar and Anglican priest, became Warden of Trinity College, Scotland, instead. Pencil note (unknown hand) under signature. Horizontal fold crease. Lightly soiled. Otherwise, fine condition.