Thomas Roberts (bishop)


Thomas Monsignor Roberts

Archbishop
Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay
Roberts blessing the foundation stone of St. Peter's Church in Bandra
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of Bombay
ProvinceBombay
MetropolisBombay
SeeBombay (emeritus)
Installed12 August 1937
Term ended4 December 1950
PredecessorJoachim Lima SJ
SuccessorCardinal Valerian Gracias
Other post(s)Titular Archbishop of Sugdaea
Orders
Ordination20 September 1925
Consecration21 September 1937
by Archbishop Richard Joseph Downey
RankArchbishop
Personal details
Born
Thomas d'Esterre Roberts

(1893-03-07)7 March 1893
Le Havre, France
Died28 February 1976(1976-02-28) (aged 82)
London, England
BuriedKensal Green Cemetery
51°31′41″N 0°13′03″W / 51.5281°N 0.2174°W / 51.5281; -0.2174
DenominationRoman Catholic
ResidenceLondon
ParentsWilliam d'Esterre Roberts (father)
Clara Louise Roberts (mother)
Alma materCollege of St Elme
Parkfield School, Liverpool
St Francis Xavier's College
Stonyhurst St Mary's Hall
MottoCarior libertas (Latin)
Freedom is more precious (English)
Styles of
Thomas Roberts
Reference styleThe Most Reverend
Spoken styleYour Grace
Religious styleMonsignor
Ordination history of
Thomas Roberts
History
Priestly ordination
Date20 September 1925
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorArchbishop Richard Joseph Downey.
Co-consecratorsArchbishop Francis Edward Joseph Mostyn ,
Bishop Robert Dobson
Date21 September 1937
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Thomas Roberts as principal consecrator
Bishop Leone Proserpio13 March 1938
Bishop Valerian Cardinal Gracias29 June 1946

Thomas d'Esterre Roberts (7 March 1893 – 28 February 1976) was an English Jesuit prelate. He was rector of St Francis Xavier’s, Liverpool, from 1935 to 1937. He was Archbishop of Bombay, India, from 1937 to 1950 but in practice did not exercise this role after 1946 when he absented himself from the post and left his Indian auxiliary bishop effectively in charge. In 1950 he was appointed titular Archbishop of Sugdaea, modern Sudak.

After leaving Bombay, not having a regular diocesan job, he dedicated himself to lecturing, writing, and the promotion of debate on controversial issues. He held that to be effective, authority had to be accepted, not imposed. This required that it be subject to open criticism, scrutiny and review, procedures which he felt were somewhat lacking in the governance of the Church. His refusal to sweep any question under the carpet at times unnerved some church authorities[1] and gained him a reputation in some Catholic circles as a "rogue bishop"[2] or a "maverick".[3] Although others applauded his challenging insights, the controversy obscured the significance of his work in Bombay.[4]

  1. ^ "Obituary: Archbishop Thomas Roberts", Kay, Hugh, Letters and Notices, Volume 81, No 371, Society of Jesus, November 1976
  2. ^ "Archbishop Roberts Dies at 82; 'Rogue Bishop' Served Bombay". New York Times. 29 February 1976. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. ^ Hebblethwaite, Peter (6 March 1976). "Archbishop Roberts". The Tablet. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015.
  4. ^ Blake, Robert; Nicholls, C.S., eds. (23 September 2004). "Roberts, Thomas D'Esterre (1893–1976)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 1971-1980. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198652089.