FORTESCUE, ADRIAN (1874-1923), writer on liturgical and historical subjects. Educated at the Scots College at Rome (1891-4) and at Innsbruck university (1894-9), he was ordained priest in 1898. After serving several parishes and missions in England he became the RC parish priest at Letchworth in 1907, where he built a church which he made a centre of liturgical life. Apart from his pastoral work he devoted himself to writing on a variety of subjects, esp. on Liturgy and on the E. Churches. The Orthodox Eastern Church (1907), The Lesser Eastern Churches (1913), and The Uniate Eastern Churches (1923) all cover a wide range of historical material. The Mass (1912) is a useful summary of modern studies in the Roman rite. The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite (1918; ed. 12, revised by J. B. O'Connell, 1962) was until recently a widely used directory of ceremonial practice.
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J. G. Vance-J. W. Fortescue (distant cousin), Adrian Fortescue. A Memoir (1924), with list of main works, p. 61 f. H. *Leclercq, O.S.B., in D.A.C.L., ix (pt. ii; 1930), col. 1739, s.v. `Liturgistes' (critical).