Bishop King, of Portsmouth, Gives

the "C. H." a Picture of His Diocese By F. A. FULFORD "Quite satisfied with the diocese " is Bishop King, of Portsmouth, whom 1 have just interviewed. He has 117 priests, and is not thinking of establishing a Seminary for the education of more priests.
His Lordship, a formidable pipe-smoker like myself, spoke freely for over an hour in his presbytery drawing-room at St. Peter's, Winchester, his temporary residence till Bishop's House, Portsmouth, destroyed in the war, is rebuilt.
Before settling down to listenThe Bisho ing to what he had to say about diocesan progress, I told him I had seen his throne apparently permanently set up in the sanctuary of St. Peter's, Winchester, Was Winchester his temporary proCathedral? And had he in effect, if not in name, revived the old See of Winchester whose boundaries were identical with those of the Portsmouth diocese of today?
He laughed: " The earochial clergy insisted on the throne being kept in place while I reside here," he said, " but I always pontificate at Portsmouth for the major feasts." He added that it is not uncommon to have St. Peter's referred to locally as the " Catholic Cathedral."
Bishop King was appointed parish priest of Winchester in 1923 and his well-known attachment to this ancient see-city of England, honoured in later years by the presence and brilliant campaigning of the illustrious Milner, subsequently to become Bishop and Vicar Apostolic for the Midlands, is so great that I gladly and respectfully heard him reminisce on the subject, Twenty-five years ago he had cut the first sod on the site of the lovely and spacious church that stands near to where Milner had his chapel; he chose Winchester as the scene for his own consecration in 1938; two months later he himself consecrated that same church.
HISTORIAN OF WINCHESTER Just recently he has been presented with a car by the priests and religious Orders of the Diocese to help him cover the two counties under his spiritual jurisdiction, Berkshire, Hampshire, which with the Isle of Wight, and the Channel Islands, make up the Diocese.
" Winchester is a convenient centre both for me and the clergy on the mainland who want to visit me," said the Bishop. An historian on Winchester, just as Milner himself had been, Bishop King quickly rattled off names of confessors of the Faith and Catholic nobles whose remains lie buried in a local Catholic cemetery dating back to Queen Elizabeth's day, and still in use.
There has been a resident priest at Winchester ever since 1674. " I am now the oldest parson here," said the Bishop with pride. He was born in 1880.
In the above connection it is interesting to learn that the Bishop THE, RIGHT REV. JOHN HENRY KING, D.D., D,P.H., was born at Wardour, Wilts, on September 16, 1880. After completing his ecclesiastical studies in Rome he was ordained for the Portsmouth diocese on November 20, 1904.
He acted for some time as secretary to Bishop Cotter and in 1923 was appointed parish priest of St. Peter's, Winchester. Ile was made a Canon of Portsmouth in 1924, Vicar General in 1929; he was made a Domestic Prelate in 1933 and consecrated Bishop of Opus and Auxiliary to Bishop Cotter in 1938. Tie was made VicarsCapitular in 1940. He succeeded to the diocese of Portsmouth on June 4, 1941. He will be 68 in September.
is responsible for much information now being brought out for the Catholic Records Society, and which will materially contribute to what is being treasured for history in re. gard to past events in Winchester Having said at the beginning that the Bishop is " quite satisfied" with the diocese of Portsmouth, which hr has ruled as fourth Ordinary since 1941, 1 should specify that his refer ence is to the adminstrative side of his •work.
One anxiety of His Lordship (and he probably has others which he may not have thought of general interest in an interview of this sort) is the common one shared by pastors particularly of the South, i.e., Mixed Marriages.
These are as high as, if not higher than, elsewhere, and must, as His Lordship said gravely, be tackled, at the moment anyway, through strict insistence on a thorough pre-Marriage instruction for both parties, not just for the non-Catholic partners alone.
THE CLERGY Nearly two hundred Regular clergy are to be found in the Diocese, some of the Orders and Congregations possessing their Apostolic Schools in it; "I am glad to have them here," said His Lordship, " they do good work in week-end supplies."
But anxious to show how. despite the fact of non-existence of a diocesan Seminary, vocations to the secular priesthood were nevertheless steadily coming in, he turned the
—Lying Low
Bishop King was appointed to Portsmouth when the blitz was raging. Many records and documents were lost when the Bishop's house was destroyed, among them the record and details of a young Irish ecclestical student. Some time after the Bishop received front the Irish Seminary notice that on such and such a date a priest had been ordained for the Portsmouth diocese.
Bishop King wrote to the young prime asking him did he not think that he ought to tell his Bishop that he was ready to take up his duties. "1 he priest wrote back saying that he had pondered the matter and had consulted learned and distinguished clergy on the matter who confirmed him in the conclusion to which he had come that in the circumstances he ought to " lie low" for the time being, as he was " neutral."
pages of a register that, he said, had been rescued from the blitzed Bishop's House, Portsmouth, and pointed to 22 priests ordained within the last three years.
There were actually 13 students in Rome, 3 at Valladolid and more at each English Seminary, while the contributions from Osterley were as steady as ever. " It may not be generally known," said Bishop King, " that the war has led to an increase in Late Vocations."
ENOUGH PRIESTS He added with evident pleasure: " For the first time in the history of the Diocese we can say that we are not hard up for priests. I shall start wondering where to put them all ! No, there will be no need to think of starting a Seminary just yet."
He meant to go ahead meanwhile with the opening of new Mass centres, especially in the Berkshire area; one would be started in a barn at East Ilsley in February, to be served front East Hendred. And, of course, priests would continue to supply the Irish workers' camps that exist in the diocese.
Those 22 students being now educated in Rome meant fairly heavy expenses that the Diocese had to meet, for students of Portsmouth have, in their majority, to be educated at the Catholic public expense; while fees at St. Edmund's, Ware, England, amounted to £100 -per year, education in Rome called for £130 per year, plus travelling.
BISHOP'S HOUSE Regarding Bishop's House, Portsmouth, which as readers know was destroyed in a raid in January, 1941, necessitating the temporary transfer of the Bishop's residence to Winchester, His Lordship hastened to acknowledge his indebtedness to the local authorities who had been sympathetic to his desire that a part of it at least may be rebuilt, as soon as this can be done wi.hout prejudice to works with prior claim, such as homes for the people. " I would never dream of pushing my own cause while greater emergencies exist." be said, " but the readiness which the authorities show in studying our needs at Portsmouth Cathedral is added proof of the goodwill and amity existing among us all."
STAY FOR OUR CEILDHE The Bishop expects that he Will in due course return to Portsmouth, and that a partial rebuilding of Bishop's House, which if all goes well may soon be undertaken, will pave the way to his return.
Despite his profound interest in Winchester and his well-known " Englishness," Bishop King talks much and warmly of the Irish people among the Winchester congregation, and invited me to stay the night to join in an Irish " Ceildhe " taking place that evening, an invitation which. unfortunately, could not be accepted on account of other pressing engagements.
So concluded one of the most gratifying interviews I have had.