Frederick William Faber was the son of Mr. Thomas Henry Faber, a Protestant gentleman of French descent. He was born at his grandfather's residence, the Vicarage of Calverley, in Yorkshire, on June 28, 1814. In the following year his father removed to Bishop Auckland, where the family continued to reside till his father's death in 1833.
Frederick, who was his mother's idol, was a singularly attractive child, and gave early indications of the brilliant genius which afterwards distinguished him. His parents, both of whom were persons of much intellectual culture, spared no pains to foster the nascent talents of their boy, and were rewarded beyond their dreams by the results.
After a brief sojourn at the Grammar School of Bishop Auckland, Frederick was placed for a time under the tuition of the Rev. John Gibson, at Kirkby Stephen. In 1825 he was removed to Shrewsbury School. After a short stay there, he proceeded to Harrow, where he remained till he entered the University of Oxford.
Whilst in Harrow, scepticism, then as now so rampant in England, had well-nigh dealt his spiritual being a deadly blow. God's merciful providence rescued him in the hour of danger.
He matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford, and came into residence there in 1833. One of his contemporaries writes: 'He resisted from first to last the temptations to which many succumb, and, by the grace of God, was able to preserve unstained the purity of his life.' He went to Oxford imbued with Calvinistic principles inherited from his parents, and treasured by him all the more in that he had so narrowly escaped the loss of faith in Harrow. After some months, however, Frederick's religious tendencies underwent a change. This change was brought about by the High Church movement, under the influence of which he had now to some extent fallen. For the leader of the movement, the illustrious John Henry Newman, afterwards Cardinal, Faber conceived an affectionate veneration which lasted through life. But whilst fully sympathizing with the spirit which animated this movement, he, nevertheless, shrank from the lengths to which some of its advocates were going.
That his earnest and deeply religious nature was even now striving after truth is evidenced in every page of the voluminous correspondence penned by him at this period. A few extracts from his letters may not be out of place here as showing the tone of his mind at this time. In a letter dated from the University in January, 1835, he thanks God that the temporalities of the Church of England are no longer such as to induce men to enter the ministry from motives of mere worldly ambition.
To realize fully the disinterestedness of these views, we must bear in mind that from his earliest years his aspirations had all tended towards the clerical state. In a letter dated the same month and year as the above, he writes:
'I feel to an almost sinful degree that I never could be happy or content in any other profession. It has thrown a colour over all my boyhood; it has been my life's one dream, so much so that I sometimes fancy I am called to it. So high, however, is the standard which I have set up in my own mind, and so much below that standard do I feel myself, that I do at times question my fitness for so awful a vocation.'
What wonder that the deep personal love of our Divine Lord, which even now is so apparent, should, increasing with his years, give him that wonderful success in dealing with souls which marked his missionary labours as a Catholic priest!
On May 26, 1839, he received ordination in Oxford, and soon after made a brief visit to the Continent, whence he returned very unfavourably impressed with what he had seen of Catholicism, a result, no doubt, of his prejudices against the faith. In 1840 he accepted the post of tutor to the eldest son of Mr. Harrison of Ambleside. The greater part of 1841 was spent on the Continent as travelling companion to Mr. Harrison.
Meanwhile prayer and spiritual reading had been doing their work in his soul, and it was from a different standpoint that he now studied the Church which he had recently regarded so unfavourably. Already the light of faith, under the touch of grace, was beginning to dawn upon his mind.
In 1842 Faber, after some hesitation, accepted the rectory of Elton, and on April 2, 1843, he introduced himself there. Next day, accompanied by his late pupil, he set out on his travels.
While in Rome, Dr. Grant took him to see Saint Peter's. Writing of it, he says:
'The roof gives one the true notion of its enormous size; the cottages of the workmen, with the spacious offices, the fountains, and the whole appurtenances of a little village, seem only to occupy a moderate portion of the roof of a single church! The idea of people living, cooking, sleeping, etc., on the roof struck me beyond anything.'
On June 17, 1843, Faber had a private audience with the Pope, Gregory XVI. His Holiness, who was alone, said: 'You must not mislead yourself in wishing for unity, yet waiting for your Church to move. Think of the salvation of your own soul.' After some further words of counsel, he laid his hands on Faber's shoulders, who immediately knelt down, upon which he laid them on his head, saying: 'May the grace of God correspond to your good wishes and deliver you from the nets of Anglicanism, and bring you to the true holy Church.' And for answer to the holy Pontiff's prayer he had not long to wait. Gradually the veil was removed from his eyes, till at last he beheld in all her majesty and beauty the One, Holy, Catholic Church, the nursing Mother of the Saints, from whom all ecclesiastical authority emanates, whose Founder neither can deceive nor be deceived, Who will be with her all days, even to the consummation of the world.
While in Florence he began to wear the miraculous medal, and would have made a practice of invoking our Immaculate Mother were he not withheld from doing so by Newman, who disapproved of his taking so pronounced a step in favour of Rome whilst still fluctuating as to her claims on his allegiance.
It seems, indeed, certain that he would have entered the Church before returning to England had not Newman succeeded in dissuading him. He, who later on was to shed so bright a lustre on the Church, was still undecided in his religious opinions, and resolved to make no move towards Catholicity till he had sounded to their depths the vitally important questions on which such momentous issues hung. He strongly advised his friend to do likewise, and the latter, in deference to the wishes of one whose counsels he had been accustomed to follow, consented to remain for the present in the Anglican communion.
On his return to England, Faber at once entered upon his duties at Elton. Notorious as they were for their callousness and indifference, his new flock afforded ample scope for the exercise of his zeal. Carefully avoiding controversy, he selected such subjects for his sermons as were calculated to instill a love and reverence for God and the moral life. Devotion to the Sacred Heart formed his favourite theme, as appealing to every denomination of Christians. Keeping his religious doubts in abeyance, the young pastor merged all his anxieties into zeal for the salvation of the souls confided to him. He visited the sick, consoled the sorrowing, taught the suffering to sanctify their pains by uniting them to those of our Divine Lord, and spared no effort to aid and encourage the faint-hearted in their striving after good. His utter unselfishness and entire devotion to their interests, combined with the unction of his preaching and his sanctity and austerity of life, soon obtained for him an absolute ascendancy over the minds of his people. The change wrought in them was marvelous. A number of his parishioners, especially the young men, began to come to confession to him weekly, and they frequently communicated.
In 1845 many of Faber's friends were received into the Church. Foremost amongst them was Newman. All his doubts dispelled, that great man, whose magnificent intellect and spotless integrity of life were the admiration of Protestants and Catholics alike, brought with him to the Church a loyalty as unswerving as his gifts were great. Till now he had retarded Faber's conversion, but no sooner had he himself received the gift of faith than he hastened to communicate the joyful tidings to his erstwhile disciple, urging upon him the imperative necessity of at once making his submission to the Church of Christ. Scarcely had the voice so long listened to as an oracle spoken in this sense than Faber's mind was made up, and he resolved with as little delay as possible to enroll himself amongst the children of the Catholic Church.
On November 16, 1845, he officiated for the last time as Rector of Elton. At the evening service, after a few introductory words, he told his people that he could no longer remain in the Anglican Church, being convinced of its untenable position. Had a thunderbolt fallen amongst them, his audience could not have been more electrified. With saddened hearts, some bent their steps homewards, while others followed him to the Rectory, imploring him to reconsider his decision. On the following morning, November 17, he left Elton for ever, accompanied by Mr. T. F. Knox, Scholar of Trinity College, his two servants, and seven of his parishioners, all of whom were to enter the Church with him. Loved and venerated as he had been by his flock, their grief at losing him was indescribable. Many, with streaming eyes and voices stifled by sobs, exclaimed: 'God bless you, Mr. Faber, wherever you go!' It was an hour of the intensest suffering for Faber; but the sacrifice was for God, and His servant counted not the cost. On that evening he and his companions were received into the Church by Dr. Wareing, Bishop of Northampton. They made their First Communion, and were confirmed on the next morning.
After a brief stay with his brother, Faber repaired to Birmingham on the invitation of the Rev. Father Moore, and took up his residence at Saint Chad's till he should come to some decision concerning the future. No sooner was he admitted into the Church than he began to devote himself exclusively to the furtherance of her interests. With the approbation of Dr., afterwards Cardinal, Wiseman, he took a small house in Caroline Street, Birmingham, and, with his eight Elton converts to form a community, of which he was Superior, took possession on December 19, 1845. From the moment of his conversion all Faber's aspirations tended towards the priesthood. October 12, 1846, December 19 of the same year, and March 20 following, were dates for ever memorable to him. On these several days he received the Orders preparatory to priesthood, and on Holy Saturday, April 3, he saw the realization of his fondest hopes in the crowning grace of his priestly ordination.
He immediately received faculties to hear confessions, and was entrusted with the sole charge of the Mission of Cotton. Overflowing with gratitude to God, Who had dealt so tenderly with him, all the energies of his being were devoted to the service of this good Master. He toiled incessantly to lead others to the truth. For this he preached and worked and wrote. And when with fervid eloquence he cries out, 'Go and help Jesus: why should a single soul for which He died be lost?' he but gives utterance to the feeling that dominated his whole life, and which, united with a patience and kindliness that never failed, was the great secret of his success as a spiritual guide. We have already seen that he was essentially a man of prayer, bringing everything, even his least important avocations, under its influence. Writing on the subject, he says: 'Intellectually speaking, it is very hard to believe in prayer; yet let us spend but one week in the real earnest service of God and the exercises of the spiritual life, and the fact, and far more than the fact, will lie before us, bright beyond the brilliance of human demonstration.' And again: 'All experience concurs with God's written word to tell us that the Immutable is changed by prayer.'
In 1847 Father Faber proposed that he and Father Anthony Hutchinson, who were the only priests in the community, should pronounce their vows as members of the Congregation of the Will of God, and he had actually written to Dr. Wiseman for the requisite permission. However, just at this time the news of Father Newman's projected return to England as Superior of the Oratorians reached him and suggested to him the idea of amalgamating the two communities. On February 14, 1848, they were 'admitted Oratorians.' Father Wilfrid, for such was his religious name, began his noviceship under the immediate supervision of Dr. Newman on February 21, 1848, and at the end of six months he was appointed Novice Master. The influx of novices was soon so great as to necessitate a removal to Saint Wilfrid's, which was much more spacious than Maryvale. The number of subjects continuing to increase, Dr. Newman removed with part of the community to Birmingham, and opened a second house in London, of which he appointed Father Faber Rector; and when, in 1850, Newman erected it into a separate congregation, Father Wilfrid was elected Superior, a post which he held till his death. The present Oratory house at Brompton became the residence of the Fathers in 1855.
Father Faber's literary career, which began when he was scarcely twenty, was from the outset a most active one. But in 1853 he commenced a series of spiritual works, the first of which was 'All for Jesus.' This delightful book, so fascinating in style, so replete with instruction, was written in six weeks. It was followed in quick succession by 'Growth in Holiness,' 'The Blessed Sacrament,' 'The Creator and the Creature,' 'The Foot of the Cross,' 'The Spiritual Conferences,' 'The Precious Blood,' and 'Bethlehem.'
When we take into account Father Faber's duties as Superior, and the many calls upon his time from the thousands that sought his spiritual help, we are lost in wonder at the amount of work accomplished. But he was, in truth, an indefatigable worker.
Such constant application impaired a constitution never robust, and engendered the germs of disease.
On November 11 he was summoned to Arundel Castle to attend the death-bed of Canon Tierney, but had scarcely arrived when he was attacked with acute bronchitis. From this he recovered sufficiently to return to London for the celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. He wrote at this time: 'Pain does not altogether dispense either from penance or prayer. . . . Ejaculations about the Passion and mental acts of conformity to God's will do me most good.'
On April 23, 1863, there was a consultation of doctors as to his state, and their verdict caused grave uneasiness. On the 26th he said his last Mass, and on June 16 it was deemed necessary to administer to him the last Sacraments, as death seemed imminent; but he lingered till the end of September. For months his sufferings had been so intense that he had been unable to lie down. On September 25 his attendants, noticing a great change for the worse, placed him in bed. 'Here he lay supported by pillows, not speaking, but gazing steadily at a large white crucifix before him, and moving his eyes sometimes from one of the Five Wounds to the other. . . . Just before seven o'clock a.m. a sudden change came over the Father; his head turned a little to the right, his breathing seemed to stop; a few spasmodic gasps followed, and his spirit passed away. In these last moments his eyes opened, clear, bright, intelligent as ever, in spite of the look of agony on his face, but opened to the sight of nothing earthly, with a touching expression, half of sweetness and half of surprise.' He was only in the forty-ninth year of his age.
The news of his death cast a gloom over the Metropolis, where he was mourned by thousands. Many lost in him a venerated father and trusted friend, whilst to countless souls his loss as a spiritual guide is not to be expressed.
Through life the kindness he has so eloquently advocated formed the keynote of his character. May the brightness of his example ever linger with us, that, won by its attractiveness and aided by its influence, we may strive to follow in his foot-steps, however imperfectly.
- Ursuline Convent, Thurles, Ireland
Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, 1901