Bp Thomas Wilson

The devil never tempts us with more success than when he tempts us with a sight of our own good actions. ... Bp. Thomas Wilson

Thomas Wilson (1663-1755), a saintly figure described by John Henry Newman as “a burning and shining light”, was Anglican Bishop of Sodor and Man between 1697 and 1755.
He was born in Burton, in the Wirrall, Cheshire, in December 1663. Having studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, he was ordained priest in 1687. In 1692 the Lord of Man, the Earl of Derby, appointed him as his chaplain and as tutor to his son. Five years later, at Lord Derby’s urging, Wilson reluctantly accepted promotion to the vacant bishopric of Sodor and Man. In 1698, he married Mary Patten.
Bishop Wilson's relations with the people of the Isle of Man were marked by mutual affection and esteem. His conspicuous personal piety expressed itself in energetic charitable activity and he often intervened to shield his flock from the demands of the temporal authorities. He declined preferment to the much wealthier see of Exeter, reputedly saying to Queen Caroline, “I will not forsake my wife and children because they are poor”. When he died on 7 March 1755 at the age of 93, it is said that his funeral was attended by nearly the whole adult population of the island.