Charles Michael Baggs

Charles Michael Baggs (1806–1845) was a Roman Catholic bishop, controversialist, scholar and antiquary. He briefly served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England from 1844 to 1845.

Biography

Early life and family He was born in Belville, County Westmeath, Ireland, on 21 May 1806, His father was a Protestant barrister of Dublin (Ireland), who afterwards was judge of the court of vice-admiralty in Demerara, British Guyana (South America).

Education His father being a member of the Church of Ireland, he was sent to a Protestant academy at Englefield Green in Berkshire. He became a distinguished student, winning prizes in logics, Hebrew, physics, mathematics and theology. and a priest by Cardinal Zurla in December 1830.

Publications He became a controversialist when he published two discourses as a young priest in 1836: "On the Supremacy of the Roman Pontiffs", which was delivered at the Church of Gesù e Maria in the Corso, Rome, on 7 February 1836; and the "Letter addressed to the Rev. R. Burgess, Protestant Chaplain at Rome", which appeared on 8 March 1836. "The Ceremonies of Holy Week at the Vatican and S. John Lateran's: Described and Illustrated from History and Antiquities" (1839) and dedicated to Hugh Charles Clifford, 7th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh. "The Pontifical Mass sung at St. Peter's Church on Easter Sunday, on the Festival of SS. Peter and Paul, and Christmas Day, with a Dissertation on Ecclesiastical Vestments" (1840) and dedicated to Cardinal Giacomo Giustiniani, bishop of Albano and protector of the English College.

Baggs preached the funeral oration for his cousin, Gwendoline, widow of Marcantonio Borghese, 5th Prince of Sulmona, in the church of San Carlo ai Catinari on 23 December 1840. In its printed form, he inscribed it to the father of the young princess, John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury.