14 Facts About Arthur Hinsley

Arthur Cardinal Hinsley was a senior-ranking English prelate of the Catholic Church.

Arthur Hinsley served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1935 until his death and was made a cardinal in 1937.

Arthur Hinsley's father was a carpenter and his mother was an Irish Catholic.

Arthur Hinsley studied at Ushaw College in Durham and then proceeded to theological studies at the English College in Rome.

Arthur Hinsley's education was sponsored by his parish priest, who was one of the 15th Duke of Norfolk's chaplains at Carlton Towers.

Arthur Hinsley then took up pastoral ministry in Leeds and served as headmaster of St Bede's Grammar School from 1900 to 1904.

In 1917, after another period of pastoral work, Arthur Hinsley became a domestic prelate of his holiness and the rector of the English College in Rome, a post in which he remained until 1928.

On 10 August 1926, the then Monsignor Arthur Hinsley was appointed titular bishop of Sebastopolis in Armenia by Pope Pius XI.

Arthur Hinsley was later named apostolic visitor to British Africa on 10 December 1927.

Arthur Hinsley always said even on his deathbed that he regretted not climbing Etna.

From this semi-retired position, Arthur Hinsley was surprisingly nominated as Archbishop of Westminster on 1 April 1935, thus becoming the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Arthur Hinsley was created Cardinal-Priest of S Susanna by Pope Pius XI in the consistory of 13 December 1937.

Arthur Hinsley defended Alfred Noyes in his argument with the Vatican.

Arthur Hinsley wrote a shrewd letter to The Times, stressing President Roosevelt's commitment to freedom of conscience and arguing that Catholic schools should not be bullied by the state as they often provided for the poorest inner-city communities.