Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Coleridge, Henry James
COLERIDGE, HENRY JAMES, D.D. (1822–1893), born on 20 Sept. 1822, was second son of Sir John Taylor Coleridge [q. v.] He was thus a grand-nephew of the poet and younger brother of John Duke Coleridge, Baron Coleridge [q. v. Suppl.] From Eton he proceeded to Trinity College, Oxford, where he matriculated on 16 June 1840. Soon after taking his B.A. degree in 1845 he was elected a fellow of Oriel College. He graduated M. A. in 1847, and after taking Anglican orders he held for a short time a cure at Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, a village which for nearly two centuries has been associated with his family. He was received into the Roman catholic church in 1852 and soon afterwards went to Rome to pursue his theological studies in the Collegio Romano (Browne, Annals of the Tractarian Movement, p. 262). He was ordained priest in 1855 and took about the same time his doctor's degree. He joined the Jesuit novitiate at Beaumont Lodge, near Windsor, 7 Sept. 1857, and on the expiration of his two years' probation he was sent to St. Beuno's College, Flintshire, where he was engaged for six years in teaching holy scripture.
About 1864 the 'Month' was started under the editorship of Miss Fanny Margaret Taylor, and in 1865 she sold it to the Jesuit fathers, who were anxious to possess a periodical of their own. This was the immediate occasion of Coleridge's removal from Wales to Farm Street, London, where he spent the remainder of his active life. He became editor of the 'Month,' and held that post till 1881, when he resigned it in order to devote himself exclusively to his work on 'The Life of our Lord' and the bringing out of 'The Quarterly Series.' In 1891 he had a stroke of paralysis, and he died at Manresa House, Roehampton, on 13 April 1893. His remains were interred in the family vault at Ottery St. Mary.
He was the author of: 1. 'Vita Vitæ Nostræ Meditantibus Proposita,' London, 1869, 8vo; translated into English under the title of 'The Story of the Gospels harmonised for Meditation,' London, 1884, 8vo. 2. 'The Theology of the Parables . . . with an arrangement of the Parables ... by Father Salmeron,' London, 1871, 8vo. 3. 'The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier,' 2 vols. London, 1872, 8vo; new edit. 1881. 4. ' The Life of our Lord,' including 'The Life of our Life,' 2 vols.; 'The Public Life of our Lord,' 11 vols.; ' Passiontide,' 3 vols.; and 'The Passage of our Lord to the Father,' London, 1872, &c., 8vo, in ' The Quarterly Series,' beginning with vol. xii. and ending with vol. Ixxviii. 5. 'The Prisoners of the King : Thoughts on the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory,' London, 1878, 8vo; reprinted 1882. 6. ' The Sermon on the Mount (part of a larger work ... on the Life of our Blessed Lord),' 3 vols. London, 1879, 8vo. 7. 'The Life and Letters of St. Teresa,' 3 vols. London, 1881-8, 8vo. 8. 'The Life of Mother FranCes Teresa Ball, Foundress in Ireland of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary,' London, 1881, 8vo. 9. 'The Works and Words of our Saviour, gathered from the Four Gospels,' London, 1882, 8vo. 10. 'The Return of the King: Discourses on the Latter Days,' London, 1883, 8vo. 11. 'The Baptism of the King: Considerations on the Sacred Passion,' London, 1884, 4to. 12. 'The Preparation of the Incarnation,' London, 1885, 8vo. 13. 'The Mother of the King : Mary during the Life of our Lord,' London, 1886, 8vo. 14. ' The Mother of the Church: Mary during the First Apostolic Age,' London, 1887, 8vo. 15. 'Teachings and Counsels of St. Francis Xavier,' London, 1888, 8vo. 16. 'Chapters on the Parables of our Lord,' London, 1889, 8vo. [Foster's Alumni Oxon. 1715-1886; Month, May 1893, p. 1; Tablet, 22 April 1893, p. 624; Times, 17 April 1893; Weekly Register, 22 April 1893, p. 499.]