Saints celebrated on the 15th of May
The son of lawyer Simon Butler, Alban Butler was born October 10, 1710 in Appletree in Northamptonshire in central England. His once highly distinguished family was in decline by the time of his birth.
He shares with the venerable Bishop Challoner the reputation of being one of the two most prominent Catholic students during the first half of the dreary eighteenth century, when the prospects of English Catholics were at their lowest. In 1712, he was sent to the celebrated "Dame Alice's School", at Fernyhalgh, in Lancashire. From thence while still young he was transferred to the English College at Douai.
Not long into his tenure at Douai, his parents died in quick succession. Shortly before her death, Alban Butler’s mother, Ann, sent him a letter that said, "I beg of you to make constant resolutions rather to die a thousand times, if possible, than quit your faith."
Heartfelt as it was, her deathbed exhortation was not necessary, for Alban Butler never gave any indication of straying from his faith. A noble character was also evident, and a fellow student in ill health recalled him in particular for his kindness, in addition to his voracious reading. He read at meals, during walks, and reportedly even while on horseback.
Alban Butler was ordained a priest in 1734, after which point he became a professor of philosophy and theology. As an educator, he found the works of some philosophers irreconcilable with the Catholic faith, and he used great caution with what he chose to include in his teachings. He was also opposed to the theatre, believing that stage entertainments had evil tendencies.
At the time of his ordination, Fr Butler had already gained a reputation for extraordinary diligence and regularity, and was asked to remain at the college as professor, first of philosophy, later on of theology. During his years at Douai, he devoted himself to what became the great work of his life, "The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints". His mastery of ancient and modern languages fitted him specially for a task which involved such wide reading, while his unremitting industry and steady perseverance enabled him to overcome all obstacles. He also assisted Dr Challoner by preparing matter for the latter's "Memoirs of Missionary Priests", the standard work on the martyrs of the reign of Elizabeth and later. Alban Butler's notes are still preserved at Oscott College.
In 1745, Fr Butler came to the attention of the Duke of Cumberland, younger son of King George II, for his devotion to the wounded English soldiers during the defeat at the Battle of Fontenoy.
Around 1746, Alban Butler served as tutor and guide on the Grand Tour to James and Thomas Talbot, nephews of Gilbert Talbot, 13th Earl of Shrewsbury. Their elder brother, George, succeeded their uncle as 14th Earl of Shrewsbury. Both James and Thomas Talbot later became Catholic bishops.
Upon his return to England in 1749, Fr Butler was made chaplain to the Duke of Norfolk, whose nephew and heir, the Hon. Edward Howard, he accompanied to Paris as tutor. While he was in Paris, Alban Butler completed his Lives of the Saints, on which he had been engaged nearly thirty years. It contains biographies of more than 1,600 saints arranged in order of date; and is a monument of work and research. It was published anonymously, in London, in 1756-59, nominally in four, really in seven octavo volumes. This was the only edition which appeared during the author's lifetime; but there have been many others since, and the work has been translated into Italian and French.
In 1766 the presidency of the English College at St-Omer, in France, falling vacant by the elevation of Thomas Talbot to the episcopate, Alban Butler was appointed to succeed his former pupil, no doubt that he might be placed where he would have greater facilities for study. Fr Butler hesitated about accepting the position offered him; but we are told by his nephew and biographer, Charles Butler, that having taken counsel of the Bishops of Amiens and Boulogne, he was advised that he could accept the post with a safe conscience. Alban Butler's reputation by this time was such that no less than four bishops of neighbouring dioceses, Arras, Boulogne, St-Omer, and Ypres, continually sought his advice, and invested him with faculties as vicar-general. Thus during the concluding years of his life he had to devote himself to active work more than at any previous time. Alban Butler died in Saint-Omer on May 15, 1773 and was buried in the parish church of Saint-Denis, almost opposite to the English College at St-Omer. Since the French Revolution, all traces of his tomb have disappeared.
Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913 - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alban-Butler -https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alban_Butler -https://aleteia.org/2017/09/04/youve-probably-heard-of-butlers-lives-of-the-saints-but-who-was-butler
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