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SHREWSBURY

Ships, Baptism of. See Baptism, subtitle XVII.

Shire, Vicariate Apostolic of (Shirenensis), in Nyassaland Protectorate, Africa. The Nyassaland Protectorate, formerly known as British Central Africa, lies between 9° 41' and 17° 15' S. lat., and 33° and 36° E. long. It is about 520 miles long, its width varying from 50 to 100 miles. It covers an area of 43,608 square miles. The white population is at most 600, while there are millions of blacks. Nyassaland is divided into thirteen districts. The mission of the White Fathers evangelizes the five northern districts which lie west of Lake Nyassa. The Vicariate Apostolic of Shire is composed of the eight other districts lying south of Lake Nyassa. The vicariate hes between 13° 30' and 17° 15' S. lat. It is bounded on the north by the District of Angoniland and Lake Nyassa, on the east, south, and west by Portuguese East Africa. The territory hes 130 miles as the crow flies from the Indian Ocean. The name is derived from the River Shire which flows through the length of the vicariate. The river carries to the Zambezi the waters of Lake Nyassa; it is 295 miles long, 245 miles in English territory, and 50 in Por- tuguese territory.

Propaganda confided to the missionaries of the Society of Mary, founded by Bl. Louis Grignion de

IMontfort, the evangelization of the territory which now forms the Vicariate Apostolic of Shire. On 28 June, 1901, the first three missionaries arrived at Blantyre and on 25 July began their first mission in Angoniland. The mission of Shire developed rapidly, owing doubtless to the zeal of the missionaries but also to the sympathy of the numerous population. In 1904 the mission was made a prefecture Apostolic and one of the missionaries. Rev. Father Prezeau, former missionary of the Diocese of Kingston, Canada, was elected the first prefect ApostoHc. Already four stations had been founded, and numerous schools established in all directions spread the Christian doctrine. The results were satisfactory. On 14 April, 1908, Pius X erected the prefecture into a vicariate Apostolic with Mgr Prezeau as the first vicar. Mgr Prezeau was consecrated at Zanzibar, 4 Oct., 1908, by Mgr Allgeyer of the Fathers of the Holy Ghost. The life of the first vicar Apostolic was of short duration ; he died in PVance 4 December,

1910. On 4 May, 1910, one of the missionaries re- ceived from Rome the notification of his elevation to the dignity of vicar ApostoHc. Mgr Auneau was con- secrated at Chilubula, Northern Rhodesia, by Mgr Dupont of the White Fathers, 1 Nov., 1910.

At present the Vicariate Apostolic of Shire has 4 missionary stations and 2 convents of the Daughters of Wisdom founded by Bl. Louis Grignion de Montfort. The staff of the mission is composed of 12 missionaries, 9 nuns, and 2 lay brothers.. The workers are few for the task but good work is being done. From 1901 to

1911, 2078 baptisms were administered, 1000 catechu- mens prepared. The 70 schools have more than 5200 pupils. By means of schools the Protestant sects spread their doctrines; they are the most powerful means of propagation. Within the vicariate there are 7 Protestant missions; they have 325 schools, more than 11,606 pupils, and for the support of their schools they spend more than £5173. Schools are also the most powerful means of action for Catholics; the teachers are especially trained and educated for this work, the schools are open on every week day, and on Sunday prayers are taught there. Despite formidable Protestant competition the Catholic re- ligion makes progress, and by degrees its doctrines are made known to the people. The negroes who inhabit the region are Angouis, Yaos, and Angourous, repre- senting three different tribes. Jean Mauie Ryo.

Shirwood, William, a thirteenth-century school- man, the details o£ whose career have been confounded

with those concerning William, Archdeacon of Dur- ham, founder of University College, Oxford. It is certain that Shirwood won a European reputation for scholarship, being described by Roger Bacon in the preface to the "Opus tertium" together with Albertus Magnus as the most celebrated scholars in Christen- dom. Bacon describes Shu-wood as surpassing Albert, and as being without a peer in philosophy. He held the prebend of Aile.sbury, Lincohi, in 1245 and was treasurer of Lincoln Cathedral in 1258 and 1267. Pits, following Leland, ascribes to him incidents from the life of William of Durham and thus assigns his death to the year 1249. The works of Shirwood were "Super Magistrum sententiarum " (4 books), "Dis- tinctiones Theologicae ", and " Condones ". Pits adds "and others not a few".

Pits, De illustribus Anglim scriptoribus (Paria, 1623); Le Neve, Fasti Eccl. AnglicancB, II (Oxford, 1854), 88, 95; Tanner, Bibl. Brii-Hib. (London, 1748) ; Kingsford in Did. Nat. Biog., a. v.

Edwin Burton.

Shrewsbury, Diocese of (Salopiensis), one of the thirteen English dioceses created by Apostolic Letter of Pius IX on 27 Sept., 1850. It then com- prised the English counties of Shropshire and Che- shire, and the Welsh counties of Carnarvon,Fhnt, Den- bigh, Merioneth, Montgomery, and Anglesey. When on 4 March, 1895, Leo XIII formed the Vicariate of Wales, these Welsh counties were separated from this diocese, so that now only Shropshire and Cheshire are under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Shrewsbury. Before the Reformation, Cheshire and the portion of Shroi)shire north and east of the River Severn were under the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, and the rest of Shropshire was under the Bishop of Hereford. On the creation of the Diocese of Chester by Henry VIII, Cheshire was withdrawn from the old Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield. When Pope Innocent XI in 1688 divided P^ngland into four vicariates, Shrop- shire was in the Midland, and Cheshire in the North- ern District, and when eight vicariates were formed by Gregory XVI in 1840, Shropshire was part of the Central District, and Cheshire part of the Lancashire District. The diocese takes its name from Shrews- bur}', the county towTi of Shropshire, and is under the patronage of Oiu- Lady Help of Christians, and St. Winefride. The latter saint was chosen because her body had been translated from Gwytherin, in Den- bighshire, to Shrewsbury in 1138, and deposited with great honour and solemnity in the Benedictine abbey founded by Roger, Earl of Montgomery, in 1083, where it remained imtil her shrine was plundered at the dissolution of the monasteries.

The first bishop of the diocese was James Brown (1812-81), president of Sedgeley Park School, who was consecrated 27 July, 1851. Out of a total popu- lation of 1,082,617, Cathohcs numbered about 20,000. There were 30 churches and chapels attended by resi- dent priests, and 6 stations; 1 convent, that of the Faithful Companions of Jesus, in Birkenhead, to which was attached a boarding-school for young la- dies, and also a small day-school for poor children. There were Jesuits at Holywell, who also had a col- lege at St. Beuno's, Flintshire, and a Benedictine at Acton Burnell. When Dr. Brown celebrated the ju- bilee of his consecration, the secular priests had in- creased to 66, and the regulars to 32. Instead of one religious house of men and one of women, there were now four of men, and nine of women ; and many ele- mentary schools had been provided for the needs of Catholic children. In 1852 the bitter feeling caused by the re-establishment of the hierarchy found vent in serious riots at Stockport. On 29 June a large mob attacked the Church of Sts. Philip and James; they broke the windows and attempted to force in the doors, but before they could et1"(>ct an ent ranee. Canon Randolph Frith, the rector, succeeded in removing the Blessed Saqrament, and secreting It with the