Basil Hume

George Basil Cardinal Hume OSB, OM, MA, STL (2 March 1923 – 17 June 1999) was a British prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1976 and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales from 1979 until his death. Hume was elevated to the cardinalate in 1976.

 Early life and ministry
George Haliburton Hume was born in Newcastle upon Tyne to Sir William Errington Hume and Marie Elizabeth Tisseyre. His father was a Protestant heart doctor from Scotland, and his mother the French Catholic daughter of an army officer. He had three sisters and one brother.

Hume joined the Benedictine monastery at Ampleforth Abbey in North Yorkshire at the age of 18.  He took the name Basil when he made his final promise to be a monk 1945. He became a priest on July 23, 1950. 

 Bishop 
On 9 February 1976, Pope Paul VI made Hume the Archbishop of Westminster, the highest ranking Catholic priest in England and Wales. He was the first monk to be archbishop since 1850 when Roman Catholic bishops returned to England.

Hume was told he was being appointed at dinnerTime Magazine. Jogger's Progress  March 1, 1976 

Cardinal Hume's time in office saw Catholicism become more accepted in Britain than it had been for 400 years. 1995 saw the first visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Westminster Cathedral. He also read from the Bible at the installation ceremony of Archbishop Robert Runcie as of Canterbury in 1980. It was also during his term in Westminster that Pope John Paul II made first ever visit of a pope to England.

In 1998, Hume asked John Paul II for permission to retire, so that he could go back to his monastery at Ampleforth and spend some time fly fishing and watching Newcastle United Football Club. The request was refused.

He was diagnosed with inoperable abdominal cancer in April 1999. On 2 June of that same year, Queen Elizabeth awarded him the Order of Merit. He died just over two weeks later in London, at age 76. His funeral was broadcast live on British national television and he was buried in Westminster Cathedral. John Paul II said he was a "shepherd of great spiritual and moral character".BBC News. Pope's Tribute to Hume - full text June 25, 1999

 Legacy 
 A statue of Cardinal Hume was erected in his home town of Newcastle and unveiled by the Queen in 2002.
 The Cardinal Hume Centre based in Westminster works to improve the lives of homeless young people, families, and other vulnerable and socially excluded members of society.
 The Cardinal Hume Rose is named after him.
 The Cardinal Hume Catholic School view03 sm.JPG Cardinal Hume Catholic School has been recently opened in Wrekenton, part of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.

References

Other websites
 Cardinal Hume Secondary School
 BBC Coverage of the Cardinal's death
 Cardinal Hume Centre
 Archdiocese of Westminster's biography 
 Statue of Cardinal Hume, Newcastle upon Tyne

Category:1923 births
Category:1999 deaths
Category:Benedictines
Category:British cardinals
Category:Christian monks
Category:Order of Merit
Category:People from Newcastle upon Tyne
Category:English Roman Catholic archbishops