Imatges de pàgina
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MEMOIRS

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MISSIONARY PRIESTS,

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As soon as queen Elizabeth was dead, James, the sixth of that name, king of Scotland, was proclaimed king of England: under whom the catholics hoped for better times. And in effect, not long after his accession to the throne, several recusants of the best rank were by order of his majesty sent for to Hampton-Court, and were there told, by his special direction to some of the lords of the council, that henceforth he was resolved to exonerate the catholics of England, of the usual fine or payment of twenty pounds a month, for recusancy; favour they should so long enjoy, as their behaviour towards the king and state was without contempt. And when the catholics humbly desired to know whether their recusancy would not be interpreted contempt ? They were assured it would not; and were ordered to signify as much to all of that profession. See a small tract, called, The Lay Catholics' Petition for Priests,' &c., chap. I.

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As to the priests also, many of them, who were in confinement, experienced his majesty's clemency, by being allowed to sue forth their pardons, paying a small fine to the then lord chancellor. So that when the king, soon after his arrival into England, was told of one Mr. Freeman, put to death at Warwick, for taking orders in the church of Rome, and remaining in England contrary to the statute; he said to those about him, with some surprise; Alas! poor man, had he not four nobles to purchase his pardon? Some people looked upon this as a jest upon a certain great minister of State: but it was no jesting matter for the priest, who was hanged, drawn, and quartered, according to sentence. See Protestants' Plea for Priests and Papists,' p. 54. Of this Mr. Freeman, I have found no further particulars, nor any mention of him in any of our catalogues; unless he be the same as Mr. John Sugar, priest, who suffered at Warwick, July 16, 1604, as we shall see hereafter.

divine law; which they doubted not might rightly stand with that alle. giance which they had professed to their temporal princess: for as they were most ready to pour forth their blood for the defence of her majesty and their country; so were they resolved to part with their lives, rather than violate the lawful authority of the catholic church of Christ. This declaration was given up to the lords of the council, by direction, signed by thirteen of the most eminent men of the secular clergy, viz: William Bishop, Dr. of Sorbon, afterwards bishop of Chalcedon; John Colleton. John Mush, Robert Charnock, John Bosville, Anthony Hebburn, Roger Cadwallador, Robert Drury, Anthony Champney, Dr. of Sorbon, John Jackson, Francis Barnaby, Oswald Needham, and Richard Button. This declaration is said to have given satisfaction to the queen and her council; though I don't find that it put a stop to the persecution, unless perhaps with regard to the subscribers in particular, none of whom were any farther prosecuted, during the remainder of that reign. But what was judged satisfactory in point of allegiance by queen Elizabeth and her council, was not, it seems, deemed so, in the following reign of king James the first. For now, a new oath of allegiance was imposed upon catholics, by which they were to abjure and detest as damnable and heretical, a doctrine relating to the pope's power; which neither the word of God, nor the church of God had condemned for such. This oath, which is said to have been contrived by Sir Christopher Perkins, a fallen jesuit, and worded on purpose in such a manner, that the catholics might be divided in their opinions about the lawfulness of it; was taken by some of the missioners, but refused by the far greater number, and prohibited by two several breves, addessed by pope Paul the fifth, to the catholics of England.

About the time of the imposing of this new oath, Mr. Drury fell into the hands of the persecutors, and was brought to his trial for being a priest, and remaining in this realm contrary to the statute of Elizabeth 27. For this supposed treason, (for no other was objected to him,) he was condemned to die. 'Tis true he might have saved his life, if he would have complied with the new oath; but he chose rather to die, than to act against his conscience: not that he suffered death for refusing the oath, or that this refusal was by the laws punishable with death; but that being upon another account, viz: for his priesthood, sentenced to die, he had his life offered him, if he would have taken that oath, which was the case also with several other priests who suffered during this reign, who refused to save their lives by taking an oath which they judged to contain a falsehood. Mr. Drury suffered with great constancy at Tyburn, February 26, 1606-7, Anno Etatis, 39, Missionis, 14.

MATTHEW FLATHERS-GEORGE GERVASE.

MATTHEW, (ALIAS MAJOR) FLATHERS, PRIEST.-1608.

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MR. FLATHERS was born at Weston, in Yorkshire, and educated in the English college or seminary of Douay. I find by the records of the college, that he was presented to the holy order of priesthood, and or dained at Arras, March 25, 1606, and that he was sent with proper faculties upon the English mission, in the company of Mr. Thomas Somers, on the last day of June of the same year. It seems he fell very soon into the hands of the adversaries of his faith and character, for I have seen his name in a catalogue of priests banished this same year, 1606. However, he quickly returned to the work of his Lord, and after labouring some time in Yorkshire, his native country, he was again apprehended and prosecuted at York for his priestly character. For this, and for his functions only, (no other treason being so much as objected to him, he was condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. He refused to save his life by taking the new oath of allegiance, as it was called, and being drawn to the common place of execution, without Mickle Bar, (a gate of York so called) he was butchered in a most barbarous manner,† for he was no sooner turned off the ladder, but immediately cut down, and rising upon his feet, attempted to walk, as one half stunned, but one of the sheriff's men quickly stopped his journey, by giving him a desperate cut on the head with his halberd; another violently flung him down, and held him fast whilst the executioner ripped up his breast, pulled out his heart, and so completed the butchery. He suffered at York, March 21, 1607-8.

GEORGE GERVASE, PRIEST, O. S. B.‡

GEORGE GERVASE, or Jarvis, was born at Boseham, in Sussex. His father was a gentleman of a noted family in that country, his mother was of the ancient family of the Shelleys. He was left an orphan when he was twelve years of age, and not long after was kidnapped by a pirate, and carried away to the Indies, with two others of his brethren; where he continued for about twelve years, and quite lost his religion; at length he found means to return into England. His eldest brother, Henry, a catholic, was at this time abroad in Flanders, probably for the security of his conscience, and that he might there enjoy the free exercise of his religion. Mr. George, soon after his return, went over to make him a visit, and by his religious example, and the conversation of

From the Douay diary, and the printed catalogues of Dr. Worthington, p. 48, and Arnoldus Raissius, p. 70.

+ Statim abscisso fune in terram dejectus, ipse in pedes se erexit, et ambulare attentabat; at ex lictoribus unus telo ei capitis partem abscidit; alter eum vi magna in terram prostravit, et retinuit, dum carnifex ventrem secaret et erueret, T. W. in catalogo, p. 48. Raissius, 71.

From the Douay diary, T. W. in his catalogue, p. 45, and Raissius, p. 94.

VOL. II.

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a learned catholic divine, was reconciled to the catholic faith, and soon after became a student in the English seminary at Douay.

Here he employed about eight years in the study of virtue and learning, and being judged by his superiors duly qualified for the sacred functions, he was presented to holy orders, and passing through the usual degrees, was ordained priest in 1603; and was sent upon the English mission, August 26, 1604. Here he laboured with great benefit to the souls of his neighbours, for about two years; and then being apprehended, was, with many other priests, sent from prison into banishment, in June, 1606. In his banishment he called at Douay, and after a short refreshment there, he made a journey of devotion to Rome, to visit the tombs of the apostles. He petitioned, whilst he was at Rome, to be admitted amongst the jesuits. But this not succeeding, he returned to Douay, and there staid some months at his mother college. His brother designed to have him kept in Fianders, and had provided for him a comfortable subsistence in the city of Lisle, where he might live remote from the dangers that visibly threatened him, if he ventured to return to England; but as Mr. Gervase was under an engagement to serve the mission, and his heart and affections were there, he was not to be kept from it, either by the importunity of his friends, or the fear of dangers.

So to England he returned, and landed safe there, but was soon after apprehended and committed to prison. Here the new oath of allegiance was tendered to him, which he refused. After a few weeks he was brought upon his trial, and was condemned to be hanged, bowelled, and quartered, barely on account of his being a priest, and having exercised his priestly functions in England; which sentence was accordingly executed upon him at Tyburn, April 11, 1608, where he suffered with the faith, devotion, and courage of the primitive martyrs. At the place of execution he prayed in secret to himself, upon which some that were there desired him to pray aloud, that the people might join in prayer with him; to whom he is said to have made answer, I want not the prayers of heretics, but if there be any catholics here I earnestly beg that they would pray to God for me. He suffered in the thirtyseventh year of his age, and is said a little before his death to have privately received the habit of saint Bennet, at the hands of father Augustin Bradshaw.

Mr. Gervase's execution is mentioned by Howes upon Stow, in his chronicle, and by Mr. Salmon in his history, who calls him Sir George Jarvis.

THOMAS GARNET, PRIEST, S. J.*

THOMAS GARNET, was son of Richard Garnet, a constant professor and great sufferer for the catholic faith, and nephew or near kinsman to father Henry Garnet, who suffered in St. Paul's church-yard,

From father Barton's history of the English Jesuits, 1. vi. chap. xiv. and father More's history of the English province, l. viii. n. 8.

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May 3, 1606. After a pious education at home, under the care of his father, who, from his very birth, had vowed and dedicated him to God and his church, he was sent abroad when he was sixteen or seventeen years of age, to the seminary just then erected at St. Omer's, under the care of the fathers of the society of Jesus; and having, there, finished his humanity, he passed, in the year 1595, into Spain, to the English college of Valladolid, where he learned philosophy and divinity, and was made priest. He was sent upon the mission, in the company of Mr. Mark Barkworth, of whose glorious exit we have treated in the first part of these memoirs, and laboured with zeal in the vineyard of his Lord, for about six years, being remarkably industrious in endeavouring to bring the souls that were under his care, to a thorough sense of solid piety, and to ground them strongly in virtue.

Having been a long time desirous of entering into the society of Jesus, he was admitted by father Henry Garnet, his kinsman, then superior of the English jesuits; but before he could go beyond the seas to make his noviceship, he was apprehended and committed prisoner to the Gatehouse, and from thence was translated to the Tower. His being a kinsman of father Garnet, and having received a letter from him, was the occasion of his being strictly examined by secretary Cecil, (not without severe threats of the rack) concerning the gunpowder plot, then lately discovered; but as they could not find any manner of grounds for a suspicion of his being any way conscious of that exeerable conspiracy, these threats proceeded no farther than the keeping him for eight or nine months in a close confinement, where, with lying on the bare ground, and that in the severest season of the winter, he contracted rheumatic pains, and a kind of a sciatica, which stuck by him for the remainder of his life.

From prison, he was, with many other priests, sent into banishment, in 1606; and then repaired to Louvain, where, at that time, the English jesuits had lately procured an establishment for a novitiate. Here he remained some months, giving great edification to his fellow novices, and then was sent back upon the mission; where being betrayed by one Rouse, an apostate priest, he fell again into the hands of the pursuivants. At this second apprehension, he was brought before Thomas Ravis, bishop of London; by whom, and by Sir William Wade, he was several times examined. In his examination, he neither owned nor denied himself to be a priest, but refused to take the new oath; adding, that he was of opinion, if any catholics had taken it, they did it out of fear, which he hoped would never prevail with him to act any thing against his conscience.

He was committed to Newgate, and not long after, brought upon his trial at the Old Bailey, upon an indictment of high treason, for having been made priest, by authority derived from Rome, and remaining in England contrary to the statute of Elizabeth 27. Three witnesses appeared against him, who deposed that whilst he was prisoner in the Tower, he had written in several places, Thomas Garnet, priest: upon this slender evidence, he was found guilty by his jury, and received the sentence of death with great joy: apprehending nothing so much as, lest by the interest of friends, or by any other means, he should be de

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