THE
ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE IN HONOUR OF ST DAVID LEWIS WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY, 30th
AUGUST 2015. THE CEREMONY WILL COMMENCE
AT 3:00 pm WITH BENEDICTION AT THE CHURCH OF SS FRANCIS XAVIER AND DAVID LEWIS,
PORTH-Y-CARNE ST, USK. PILGRIMS WILL
THEN PROCESS TO THE MARTYR’S GRAVE AT ST MARY’S PRIORY CHURCH, USK, FOR A SHORT
SERVICE. FOLLOWING THIS SERVICE, ALL ARE INVITED TO RETURN TO THE PARISH HALL
FOR LIGHT REFRESHMENTS.
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| The Church of SS Francis Xavier and David Lewis, Porth-Y-Carne St, Usk |
St David Lewis was a Jesuit priest who
was falsely accused of taking part in the Popish Plot. The Popish Plot was spawned in the disordered
brain of one Titus Oates. Although the
so called plot was a figment of the imagination of the despicable Oates, terror
and suspicion swept the country and many innocent people suffered and
died. Among those executed for their
faith was Abergavenny born Fr David Lewis S J, (alias Charles Baker).
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| St David Lewis depicted in a stained glass window in the Catholic Church at Abergavenny |
Fr David Lewis laboured on the
Hereford-Monmouth border for more than 30 years. His kindness to all merited him the designation
“Father of the Poor”. Amidst the mayhem of the Oates Plot, he was
arrested as he prepared to offer Holy Mass at Llantarnam, Cwmbran on 17th
November 1678. At that time, the law of
the land deemed it High Treason to be a Catholic Priest and to say Mass in the
country. Having been found guilty of High Treason, Fr
Lewis was condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered, the usual punishment meted
out to those convicted of the crime of High Treason. On 27th August 1679 he was taken
from his cell in Usk Gaol and dragged on a hurdle to a place knows as the Coniger and there executed for his
faith, his priesthood, and for the Mass.
The site of the Saint’s execution is near the Catholic Church in
Porth-Y-Carne St.
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| The plaque marking the site of the execution of St David Lewis |
The martyred Jesuit was given a decent
burial, an indication of the esteem in which the priest was held by all classes. His butchered remains were reverently carried
in procession to the Priory Church of St Mary, Usk, where the incumbent was
Phineas Rogers, and interred in the Churchyard, just outside the west porch. Fr David Lewis S J was the Last Welsh Martyr.
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| The grave of St David Lewis, just outside the west porch of the Priory Church of St Mary, Usk |
In October 1970, Fr David Lewis, along
with his kinsman, Fr John Kemble, and thirty-eight others, was canonised by
Pope Paul VI. Collectively, this group
of men and women, who gave their all for their faith, is known as THE FORTY
MARTYRS OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
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| The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales |
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