The blog post you've been waiting for: On Downton Abbey and Catholicism

Spoiler Alert: The following article contains spoilers from the most recently aired episodes of Downton Abbey. If you have not watched through Season 3 Episode 5 (aired Sunday, January 27th in the US) and do not want to be spoiled, do not read.

The PBS show Downton Abbey has been a raving success on both sides of the Atlantic, including here at the FOCUS headquarters. Anecdotally, I’ve seen fellow employees wearing black after the death of one of the characters and stories of missionaries almost praying for Mrs. Hughes’ cancer during Mass! I have been a fan of the show since Season 1 because of its ability to capture history, virtue, vice, class, plot line, and character development to name a few. But, my interest really piqued when producer Julian Fellows noted that Season 3 would include a Catholic storyline.

The Catholic storyline comes through the marriage of Sybil to Branson, a Catholic Irishman. Catholicism runs to the foreground when Sybil gives birth to a child and it is decided that the child will be baptized Catholic (even among protests by Sybil’s family). Julian Fellows, a Catholic and fellow graduate of a Benedictine college, uses this plot line to share with the viewer some of his own experiences as a Catholic growing up in England.

While my expectations might have been bigger than they should have been, the show does touch on several Catholic and theological topics, especially in the last two episodes. Here are some topics that are threaded through the storyline:

1.      Roman Catholicism as something Un-English

It is clear that Lord Grantham is not a fan of Catholicism. He calls them “Johnny Foreigner” and remarks that Catholicism as “something un-English.” Downstairs they question whether a Catholic can be loyal to the crown. Americans aren’t the best at European history, so here is a brief timeline of Catholicism in England.

Lord Grantham and Carson - both not fans of Catholicism

Brief timeline:

100-200 – Catholicism is first spread to England.

597 – Pope Gregory the Great sends St. Augustine of Canterbury (not Hippo!) and 40 missionaries to convert the entire nation. Task basically completed by the year 800.

1534 – English King Henry VIII officially separates from the Roman Church because of the Pope’s refusal to grant him an annulment. Henceforth, the king of England would serve as head over the Church of England, uniting Church and State. Catholic religious orders and monasteries are dissolved. Many Catholics are executed, including St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher.

1553 – Queen Mary I is a Catholic queen who attempts to re-establish Catholicism in England, which includes burning 300 Protestants at the stake.

1558 – Mary dies. Catholics remain a minority in England from this point forward would be persecuted in various degrees throughout the centuries, including the limitations of rights in regard to holding office, owning land, and voting.

Today – Catholics have equal citizenship in England, but there are still laws in place that prevents Catholics from being King or Queen over England (these laws were revisited with Kate Middleton’s marriage to Prince William).

Because of the connection of Church and State to Anglicanism (Church of England), it is easy to see why Catholics are seen as enemies of the state.

2.      Baptism

As if the above history wasn’t enough, the pressure builds with the idea of baptism. As it was then and is now, a Catholic is allowed to marry a non-Catholic in the Catholic Church as long as it is agreed that the children will be raised and educated in the Catholic faith. With this being the case, Anglicans feared marriage to Catholics for this very reason.

The Baptism of Branson and Sybil’s child (also named Sybil). Not the happiest bunch. The Dowager, always looking to make a statement, is dressed in black.


Producer Julian Fellows recalls this sentiment from his own childhood:

 “Most people had reached the point where they were happy for you to come to their dances or shoot their pheasants, but there were plenty who did not want you to marry their daughters and risk Catholic grandchildren.”

This seems to sum up the sentiment of Lord Grantham and others as they have to watch a member of their family not only marry a Catholic, but produce children raised as Catholics as well.

3.      Miscellaneous Catholic verbiage and theological debate

There are many other points of theology and Catholic-speak, especially in episode five of Season 3. Slight derogatory phrases abound like, “Latin and smelly smoke and men in silly dresses,” “bells, incense, and paganism,” and “headbobbing” (surely a reference to Catholics bow of reverence during Mass when God’s name is spoken).

The show even mentions “transubstantiation” – not a word often heard on television outside of EWTN – when Thomas broaches the subject as a way to belittle the help downstairs with his superior knowledge.

Transubstantiation is the Catholic belief that Jesus is present in the bread and wine at Mass, body, soul, and divinity. More specifically, it is the belief that the very substance of the bread is completely turned into Christ’s body (despite appearances) and the very substance of the wine is completely turned into Christ’s blood.

In contrast, Anglicans believe in consubstantiation. This is the belief that the substance of Jesus’ body and blood is present alongside the substance of the bread and wine.

Bet you didn’t guess you would learn that by watching Downton Abbey.

Here’s hoping for more Catholic and theological banter in Season 4!