Northcote, J. Spencer (James Spencer), 1821-1907

English Catholic priest and educator.

Northcote attended Oxford where he was influenced by John Henry Newman and E.B. Pusey of the Oxford Movement. In 1842 he married and was ordained an Anglican deacon in 1844. In 1845 his wife and three of her sisters converted to Catholicism and, after resigning his position in the Church of England, Northcote followed suit. His reasons for converting were outlined in The fourfold difficulty (1846). From 1847-1850 he lived in Rome and became close friends with G.B. De Rossi an historian of the catacombs; this was an area of lifelong study for Northcote and he published a number of archeological works and guides relating to them. After coming back to England, Northcote was the editor of the Clifton tracts and the Catholic journal The rambler. Following the death of his wife in 1853 he began studying for the priesthood and was ordained in 1855. In 1860 he was appointed vice-president of St. Mary's College, Oscott, an important Catholic public school and seminary where he stayed until he retired in 1877. He died in 1907.

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