Kennedy, James
Kennedy, James
Bishop of St. Andrews, Scotland. Born about 1406; died 10 May, 1466. Of the ancient house of Kennedy of Denure, he was a son of Lady Mary, daughter of King Robert III, and was therefore a cousin of James II, then reigning in Scotland. After studying on the Continent, he was appointed Bishop of Dunkeld in 1438, and Abbot of Scone soon afterwards, and in 1440 he succeeded Henry Wardlaw as Bishop of St Andrews. Appointed chancellor in 1444, he showed himself a vigorous reformer of the civil and ecclesiastical abuses rampant in Scotland, and consequently incurred the enmity of many of the nobles. Kennedy soon resigned the chancellorship, finding it incompatible with his ecclesiastical duties, to which he devoted himself with the greatest assiduity. His zeal for learning was shown by his foundation and munificent endowment, in 1450, of St. Salvator’s College, St. Andrews, with the sanction and approval of Nicholas V and Pius II. He introduced the Franciscan Observants into St. Andrews, in 1458; and he also built a vessel — described by his comtemporaries as “a vast ship of great burden” — for trading purposes, called the St. Salvator, which remained the property of the see till 1472, when it was wrecked. At the death of James II, in 1460, Kennedy was chosen a regent of the kingdom, and exercised the office until his death five years later. The remains of his splendid tomb are still to be seen in the ruined chapel of St. Salvator’s. Kennedy was one of the most learned, wise, and pious prelates of the ancient Scottish Church.
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LYON, History of St. Andrews (Edinburgh, 1843), I, 218-230; Registr. Prior. S. Andreae (Edinburgh, 1841); LANG, St. Andrews (London. 1893); 79-86; LINDSAY OF PITSCOTTIE, Chronicles of Scotland, ed. DALYELL, (Edinburgh, 1814); CRAWFORD, Chancellors of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1864), II, 138, 196, an eloquent panegyric.
D.O. HUNTER-BLAIR Transcribed by Joseph P. Thomas Dedicated to the Catholics of Scotland
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Kennedy, James
a Scotch prelate, grandson, by his mother, of Robert III of Scotland, was born in 1405 (?). I After studying at home, he was sent to the Continent to finish his education, entered the Church, and as early as in 1437 became bishop of Dunkeld, and in 1440. exchanged for the more important see of St. Andrew. He next made a journey to Florence, to lay before pope Eugenius IV the plan of the reforms he intended introducing in the administration of his diocese. On his return (1444) he was made lord chancellor, and as such took an active part in the affairs of Scotland. Pained at witnessing the discords which marked the first years of the reign of James II, he again applied to the pope for advice; but the latter’s intervention, which he thought would restore peace, did not have this result. During the minority of James III he sat in the council of the regency, and, according to Buchanan, used his influence there for the public good… He died at St. Andrew, May 10, 1466. Kennedy founded and endowed the college of San Salvador, which afterwards became the University of St. Andrew. He is reputed to have written a work entitled Monita Politica, and also a history of his times, both of which are probably lost. ‘ See Mackenzie, Lives; Crawford; Lives of Statesmen; Buchanan, History of Scotland; Chambers, Illustrious Scotsmen; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, 27, 560. (J. N. P.)