Basil Hume


Basil Hume

Cardinal, Archbishop of Westminster
Hume's statue in Newcastle
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ProvinceWestminster
Appointed9 February 1976
Installed25 March 1976
Term ended17 June 1999
PredecessorJohn Carmel Heenan
SuccessorCormac Murphy-O'Connor
Other post(s)Cardinal Priest of San Silvestro in Capite
Previous post(s)Abbot of Saint Lawrence's Abbey, Ampleforth (1963–1976)
Orders
Ordination23 July 1950
by Thomas Shine
Consecration26 March 1976
by Bruno Heim
Created cardinal24 May 1976
by Paul VI
RankCardinal priest
Personal details
Born
George Haliburton Hume

(1923-03-02)2 March 1923
Died17 June 1999(1999-06-17) (aged 76)
London, England
BuriedChapel of St Gregory and St Augustine, Westminster Cathedral, London
NationalityBritish
DenominationRoman Catholic
Parents
  • William Errington Hume
  • Maria Elizabeth Hume (née Tisserye)
Coat of arms

George Basil Hume OSB OM (born George Haliburton Hume; 2 March 1923 – 17 June 1999) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1976 until his death in 1999. A member of the Benedictines, he was made a cardinal in 1977.

Hume served as abbot of Ampleforth Abbey for 13 years until his appointment as an archbishop. From 1979, Hume served as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He held these appointments until his death from cancer in 1999. His final resting place is at Westminster Cathedral in the Chapel of St Gregory and St Augustine.

During his lifetime, Hume received wide respect from the general public beyond the Catholic community. Following his death, a statue of him in his monastic habit and wearing his abbatial cross was erected in his home town of Newcastle upon Tyne outside St Mary's Cathedral (opposite Newcastle station); it was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II.