Charles Lowder

Charles Fuge Lowder (22 June 1820 – 9 September 1880) was a priest of the Church of England. He was the founder of the Society of the Holy Cross, a society for Anglo-Catholic priests.

Early life

Charles Lowder was born on 22 June 1820 at Lansdown Crescent, Bath, England, the eldest of two sons and four daughters of Charles Lowder, a banker, and his wife Susan Fuge. In 1835 he went to King's College School, London, before going to Exeter College, Oxford in February 1840. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree, a second in Greats in 1843 and a Master of Arts degree in 1845. While at Oxford he attended the University Church of St Mary the Virgin where he heard John Henry Newman preach. Under Newman's influence Lowder was drawn into the Oxford Movement and decided to enter the priesthood.

Early parish ministry

Lowder was ordained deacon at Michaelmas 1843 and became a curate at Walton near Glastonbury. He was ordained priest in December 1844 by Bishop Denison of Salisbury and became chaplain of the Axbridge workhouse. From 1845 to 1851 he was curate of Tetbury, Gloucestershire. As a result, Lowder was called in front of a magistrate and fined. He was also reprimanded by his bishop and suspended from duty for six weeks.

Keeping a low profile, Lowder travelled to France and stayed at Yvetot seminary. While there he read the life of St Vincent de Paul. The example of Vincent and the Lazarists had a great influence on him and he was convinced of the need for a secular order of priests in the Church of England to provide mutual spiritual support to one another and to extend the Catholic faith, particularly among the poor.

The presence of the sisters of the community allowed Lowder to extend the mission's work providing schools, a refuge for prostitutes, a hostel for homeless girls, night classes and parish clubs, an insurance scheme for dockers, coal for the poor and general poor relief. Most of the trouble, however, focused on Lowder and the mission priests at the parish church and the chapels saw less trouble. Though he was often accused of "Romanism" Lowder was strongly loyal to the Church of England and was deeply upset by a number of his friends and curates becoming Roman Catholics (at one point all his curates left overnight, leaving him alone at the mission).

St Peter's, London Docks

In 1860 Lowder acquired land for a church and began raising funds. St Peter's, London Docks was consecrated on 30 June 1866 and Lowder became perpetual curate (and on the retirement of the previous rector in 1873, vicar). The day after the consecration cholera was discovered in the parish. A few weeks later Lowder died, probably of a perforated ulcer at Zell am See, Austria during a climbing holiday. A requiem mass was held at St Peter's and several hundred clergy and thousands of parishioners attended his burial at St Nicholas', Chislehurst.