John Constable (Jesuit)

In 1695 he entered the Society of Jesus. For many years he served the Fitzherbert family at Swinnerton, where he is buried.

Constable's chief controversial opponents were:

• Pierre François le Courayer (1681–1776)^[1] who championed Anglican orders, came over to England in 1728, was lionized, and eventually buried in the cloisters of Westminster; and
• Charles Dodd, a pseudonym of Hugh Tootell, who wrote, Constable maintained, with a prejudice against Jesuits.

The chief writings of Constable are:

• "Remarks on Courayer's Book in Defense of English Ordinations, wherein their invalidity is fully proved", an answer to Courayer's "Dissertations" of 1723;
• "The Stratagem Discovered to show that Courayer writes 'Booty', and is only a sham defender of these ordinations", by "Clerophilus Alethes" (8vo, 1729), against Joseph Trapp, The Church of England Defended Against the Calumnies and False Reasoning of the Church of Rome (1727):
• "Doctrine of Antiquity concerning the Eucharist" by "Clerophilus Alethes" (8vo, 1736);
• "Specimen of Amendments proposed to the Compiler of 'The Church History of England'", by "Clerophilus Alethes" (12mo, 1741);
• "Advice to the Author of 'The Church History of England'", manuscript at Stonyhurst.

Joseph Gillow enumerates a few other writings by Constable.

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "John Constable". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. The entry cites:
  • Oliver, Collectanea S.J., 73;
  • Henry Foley, Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus, III, 207; VII (i), 159;
  • Sommervogel, Bibliothèque de la C. de J., II col. 1374;
  • Joseph Gillow, Dict. of Eng. Cath., I, 552, sqq.;
  • Thompson Cooper (1887). "Constable, John (1676?-1744)". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 12. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 36.