Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick (1802-1865), was an English Roman Catholic leader. In 1850, Pope Pius IX made Wiseman a cardinal and the first archbishop of Westminster. Wiseman was perhaps the most important figure in the revival of Roman Catholic life in England during the mid-1800’s. He encouraged religious orders to establish houses in England and helped found the Roman Catholic quarterly Dublin Review in 1836. He also became well known as a lecturer on social and artistic topics. Wiseman wrote several books, including studies in Asian languages and a popular historical novel, Fabiola, or the Church of the Catacombs (1854).
Wiseman was born on Aug. 2, 1802, in Seville, Spain, but his parents were Irish. The family returned to Ireland after the death of Wiseman’s father in 1804. Wiseman was educated in Waterford, Ireland, and then studied at the English College in Rome. He was ordained in 1825. Wiseman was professor of Hebrew and of Syro-Chaldaic languages in Rome and served as rector of the English College in that city from 1828 to 1840. He died on Feb. 15, 1865.
