William Chisholm (II)

William Chisholm (II)
Bishop of Dunblane
1580 statue of William Chisholm at Crestet
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Diocese of Dunblane
In office	1564–1569
Predecessor	William Chisholm (I)
Successor	Andrew Graham
Personal details
Born	1525 x 1526 Scotland
Died	26 September 1593 Rome, Italy
Previous post	Coadjutor of Dunblane (1561–1564)

William Chisholm (called II in some biographies; died 26 September 1593), bishop of Dunblane and bishop of Vaison, was a son of Chisholm of Cromlix, and nephew to William Chisholm (I), bishop of Dunblane from 1527 to 1564, to whom he was appointed coadjutor by a brief of Pope Pius IV dated 1 June 1561.

He is spoken of by John Knox as "one of the chief pillars of the Papisticall Kirk", and in the very highest terms by the pope's legate, Nicolas de Gouda, in his despatch from the Scottish court in 1562. The legate, after commenting on the incapacity of the Scottish bishops generally, goes on to say: "The only exception is the coadjutor bishop of Dunblane; though holding but a secondary position during the lifetime of his superior, he has already made his influence felt, both in public and in private, having succeeded in confirming a great many people in the faith, and being justly held in high esteem and regard by all good men".

This bishop was much employed by Mary, Queen of Scots, in diplomatic missions, of which the most important were in 1565 to Rome to obtain the pope's leave for her marriage with Darnley in spite of their consanguinity, and in 1567, when she sent him as special envoy to France to convey the intelligence of her marriage with Bothwell, and to explain the circumstances attending that event.

He was also one of the commissioners for the divorce of Bothwell from Lady Jane Gordon, daughter of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly. He is said to have still further dilapidated the income of his bishopric, and was declared to have forfeited it for non-compliance with the new arrangements after the fall of his royal mistress. In exile in Rome in January 1569, he was appointed as a priest at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore by Carlo Borromeo. On 3 July 1573 a license was issued by the four regents for the choice of successor as Bishop of Dunblane.