June 28th - Saint of the Day: Saint John Southworth, Priest & Martyr
The Priest Who Refused to Stop Being a Priest — Even When It Cost Him Everything In 1654, a sixty-two-year-old Catholic priest stood at the Tyburn gallows in London. His judge had wept while reading the sentence. The foreign ambassadors in the room had begged him to deny being a priest. There was barely enough evidence to convict him. He refused to lie. Saint John Southworth had already been arrested four times, deported three times, and had voluntarily walked back into a plague-ravaged London — at a time when being a Catholic priest on English soil was legally a capital offense. He served the dying. He raised money for plague victims' families. He heard the final confession of his martyred friend through a prison window. And when they finally executed him, his body was quartered, purchased by the Spanish Ambassador for forty guineas, stitched back together, sent to France, and then buried in an unmarked grave during the French Revolution — where it remained hidden and forgotten for over 130 years. It was only rediscovered in 1927 when workers demolished a building. His is the ONLY complete body of any English Reformation martyr still in existence. Every other was destroyed. His came back whole. His final words at the gallows were: "My faith is my crime, the performance of my duty the occasion of my condemnation." This is the full story of one of the most fearless priests in Catholic history — and it is one you will not forget. Head to HolyManna.blog to read the complete post and explore more stories like this one.
28 June
25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai
Profile
Studied and was ordained at the English College, Douai, France. he returned to England on 13 October 1619 to minister to covert Catholics. Arrested and condemned to death for his faith in Lancashire in 1627; he was held in various prisons, at one point hearing the final confession of Saint Edmund Arrowsmith just before that martyr was led to the gallows. Through the intercession of Queen Henrietta Maria, he and fifteen other priests were turned over to the French ambassador on 11 April 1630 to be sent into exile in France.
Soon after, Father John returned to England, working with Saint Henry Morse. They worked tirelessly and fearlessly with the sick during a plague outbreak in 1636. He was arrested again for his faith in Westminster on 28 November 1637. Held in various prisons until 16 July 1640 when he was released due to the mitigating circumstances of his good works.
Arrested again on 2 December 1640; he pled guilty to the crime of priesthood, and was condemned to death. After 14 years in prison, during which he ministered to any prisoners who showed interest, he was executed by orders of the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Born
1592 at Samlesbury, Lancashire, England
Died
hanged, drawn, and quartered on 28 June 1654 at Tyburn, London, England
remains purchased by the Spanish ambassador to England, and sent to the English College in Douai, France
the relics were hidden to prevent destruction during the French Revolution, were rediscovered in 1927, and are now housed at Westminster Cathedral, London
Venerated
8 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI (decree of martyrdom)
Beatified
15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized
25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI