VAUGHAN, HERBERT ALFRED

Cardinal, third archbishop of westminster; b. Gloucester, England, April 15, 1832; d. Mill Hill, London, June 19, 1903. Herbert was the eldest son of Col. John F. Vaughan of Courtfield and Louise Elizabeth (Rolls) Vaughan, a convert who gave six sons and five daughters to the Church, including Abp. Roger vaughan and Bernard vaughan, SJ. Educated at Stonyhurst and Downside in England, Brugelette in Belgium, and Rome, Herbert was ordained at Lucca, Italy (Oct. 28, 1854).

In 1855 he became vice president of St. Edmund's College, a seminary in Ware, England, and in 1857 he joined the oblates of st. charles. Leaving St. Edmund's (1861), he traveled widely to collect money for an English college to train foreign missionaries (1863–65). The result was the establishment of St. Joseph's College, Mill Hill, which opened March 1, 1866. Vaughan was the founder of the mill hill missionaries, josephite Fathers, and the franciscan Missionary Sisters of St. Joseph.

Largely through the influence of Cardinal manning, Vaughan became second bishop of Salford (1872). There he founded a pastoral seminary, and within 12 months he had established St. Bede's College in Manchester and begun his labors on behalf of poor Catholic children. He spent some time in Rome defending the claims of the English bishops against certain activities of the regular clergy.

Vaughan became archbishop of Westminster (March 1892) and cardinal (1893). Pursuing a different course than Manning, his predecessor, he closed the seminary at Hammersmith and became one of the seven bishops who sat on the board of control for the new common seminary at Oscott. He also persuaded the English hierarchy to request the Congregation of Propaganda to withdraw its admonition against Catholic attendance at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. This petition was granted in 1895.

Vaughan was often involved in controversy, and in 1868 he bought the Tablet to propagate his ultramontane

views on papal infallibility. Between 1894 and 1897 he officially entered the discussion regarding Anglican orders. At his suggestion an international papal commission was formed, leading to Leo XIII's apostolic letter Apostolicae curae (1896), that denied the validity of Anglican orders. Vaughan also continued to campaign for the rights of denominational schools. The Education Act of 1902 recognized his fundamental principle that such schools merited government support.

Vaughan published many manuals of devotion and religious instruction whose simple style and direct thought contributed to their popularity. He is responsible for the present cathedral at Westminster—he envisioned it, engaged John F. Bentley as architect, and laid the foundation stone (June 29, 1895). The cathedral opened with his funeral service in 1903. Vaughan's impulsive and somewhat romantic nature found an appeal in bold enterprises. He was a natural leader, tall in appearance, but a seeming haughtiness and lack of sympathy lessened his attractiveness.

Bibliography: j. g. snead-cox, The Dictionary of National Biography from the Earliest Times to 1900 (London 1885–1900) (1901–11) 3:550–554; The Life of Cardinal Vaughan, 2 v. (London 1910; abr. ed. New York 1934); s. leslie, ed., Letters of Herbert Cardinal Vaughan to Lady Herbert of Lea, 1867–1903 (London 1942).

[d. milburn]