Russell Sparkes

In this new biography, Cardinal Manning is revealed as one of the greatest men of his age, an inspirational figurehead who inspired massive depth of affection. A former Anglican clergyman who had lost his wife after only a few years of marriage, he later became a Catholic and was ordained priest, rising to become Archbishop of Westminster. In his role as Primate, he strengthened the structure of the Church and developed a practical ecumenism. He was a champion of Papal infallibility, and at the same time a promoter of Catholic social teaching, pushing for the education of the poor, for a change of policy in Ireland, and acting as a mediator in the Great Dock Strike. 'From my plane of thought and life, I can only look at him (Manning) as a man looks at the stars.' W.E. Gladstone