THE ENGLISH COLLEGE, ROME, PART 3

ST STEPHEN'S DAY CUSTOM

The English College gained a reputation as a nursery of martyrs. Owing to the number of its martyred students, the custom arose of a student of the college preaching, on the theme of martyrdom, before the Pope on St Stephen’s Day.

On St Stephen’s Day, 1581, Blessed John Cornelius, who had entered the English College, Rome, in April 1580, preached before Pope Gregory XIII. (Pope Gregory XIII is best remembered for producing, with the help of Christopher Clavius S J, the Gregorian calendar.) In his sermon, John called the College the “Pontifical Seminary of Martyrs”. Thirteen years later, on 4th July 1594, John Cornelius was martyred at Dorchester, Oxfordshire. He was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.

On St Stephen’s Day 1642, the recently ordained Welshman, David Lewis, preached before Pope Urban VIII in the Lateran Basilica. He preached in Latin and his sermon, entitled “Corona Christi pro spinis gemmea” was on the Martyrdom of St Stephen, the first Christian Martyr. David Lewis was martyred at Usk on 27th August 1679. He was canonised in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

THE COLLEGE MARTYRS

St Ralph Sherwin, 1581
St Luke Kirby, 1582
Blessed John Shert, 1582
Blessed William Lacey, 1582
Blessed Thomas Cottam, 1582
Blessed William Hart, 1583
Blessed George Haydock, 1584
Blessed Thomas Hemerford, 1584
Blessed John Munden, 1584
Blessed John Lowe, 1586
Blessed Robert Morton, 1588
Blessed Richard Leigh, 1588
Blessed Edward James, 1588
Blessed Christopher Buxton, 1588
Blessed Christopher Bales, 1590
Blessed Edmund Duke, 1590
St Polydore Plasden, 1591
St Eustace White, 1591
Blessed Joseph Lambton, 1592
Blessed Thomas Pormort, 1592
Blessed John Cornelius S J, 1594
Blessed John Ingram, 1594
Blessed Edward Thwing, 1594
St Robert Southwell S J, 1595
St Henry Walpole S J, 1595
Blessed Robert Middleton, 1601
Blessed Robert Watkinson, 1602
Venerable Thomas Tichborne, 1602
Blessed Edward Oldcorne, 1606
St John Almond , 1612
Blessed Richard Smith, 1612
Blessed John Thules, 1616
Blessed John Lockwood, 1642
Venerable Edward Morgan, 1642
Venerable Brian Tansfield S J, 1643
St Henry Morse S J, 1645
Blessed John Woodcock O F M, 1646
Venerable Edward Mico S J, 1678
Blessed Antony Turner S J, 1679
St John Wall O F M, 1679
St David Lewis S J, 1679

This blog is dedicated to St David Lewis and the Martyrs of the 16th & 17th centuries. The horrific events of yesterday, Christmas Day 2011, are a stark reminder that being murdered for one's religion is, sadly, not a thing of the past. Today, on this feast of the first Christian Martyr, St Stephen, let's remember Christians everywhere who are suffering for their faith. In particular, those who were murdered yesterday in the atrocities across Nigeria.

LINKS TO THIS POST:

THE ENGLISH COLLEGE, ROME, PART 1

THE ENGLISH COLLEGE ROME PART 2

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS

Now that the snow has gone (we hope) and everyone is able to get out and about again, I thought I would do some posts on places associated with St David Lewis. If you are in the area, you might like to visit the sites and see them for yourself. If that isn't possible, then I hope you will enjoy seeing them in photographs. I will start with some lovely stained glass windows which commemorate St David Lewis.

This beautiful window is in the Catholic Church of Our Ladye and St Michael, Abergavenny. In the window, St David Lewis is referred to as 'Charles Baker S J'. In those extremely dangerous times, it was the prudent custom of Catholic priests to work under an alias. 'Charles Baker' was the alias used by Fr David Lewis. St David Lewis was born in Abergavenny in 1616. He was the son of Morgan Lewis and Margaret (Pritchard) Lewis.

This colourful window is in the Baptistry of the Catholic Church in Usk. In 1679, St David Lewis was executed on or near the site of this church. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970. The church was originally dedicated to St Francis Xavier but in 1974 it was rededicated and it now bears the name of 'St David Lewis and St Francis Xavier'. This beautiful window honours these two Jesuit Saints.

This window is in the Catholic Church in Tenby. As well as honouring St David Lewis, it also commemorates two other Welsh priests, Fr John Lloyd and Fr Philip Evans, who were martyred as a consequence of the fabricated Popish Plot. The fourth person depicted is St Stephen, the very first Christian Martyr.

(TO BETTER APPRECIATE THE THREE PHOTOS, ENLARGE THEM BY CLICKING ON EACH ONE.)

ST STEPHEN’S DAY 1642

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, it was the Government’s objective that the Catholic Faith should die out in England. To this end, new laws were introduced forbidding the training and ordination of Catholic priests. According to their plan, once the Marian priests (those ordained under Catholic Queen Mary) died, there would be no priests to take their place and, of course, no priests would mean the end of Catholicism in the country. They reckoned without the tenacity of the Catholics!

Cardinal William Allen conceived of a plan to alleviate the situation. In 1568, Cardinal Allen opened a seminary in Douai, Flanders, for the training of boys and young men from Britain. Then in 1576, he converted the English Hospice in Rome into a seminary. Its first students arrived in 1577. Many of its students, upon ordination, were destined for the “English Mission”, having to steal back into their homeland in disguise. Being a time of great persecution, the College quickly gained a reputation as a training ground for martyrs. Its protomartyr, St Ralph Sherwin, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 1st December 1581.

In 1638, David Lewis, a 21 year old Welshman, entered the English College in Rome. Because of the persecution at home, it was necessary for the British students to assume an alias. David Lewis assumed the name of Charles Baker. On 20th July 1642, David Lewis was ordained priest at the English College.

Owing to the number of its martyred students, the custom arose of a student of the English College preaching on the theme of martyrdom before the Pope on St Stephen’s Day. On St Stephen’s Day 1642, that honour fell to the recently ordained Fr David Lewis. Fr Lewis preached eloquently before Pope Urban VIII in the Lateran Basilica. His Latin homily, entitled “Corona Christi pro spinis gemmea”, was on the Martyrdom of St Stephen, the first Christian Martyr.

The College produced a long line of priests who, for their faith, suffered imprisonment or exile. More than 40 former students were martyred. The last Alumnus to suffer martyrdom was St David Lewis who was executed at Usk on 27th August 1679. Because of its many martyrs, the College has been known since 1818 as “The Venerable English College”.

(The photograph of the two Martyrs is taken from a stained glass window in the Catholic Church, Tenby, South Wales)

THE TENBY WINDOW

The Catholic Church of the Holyrood and St Teilo, Tenby, is home to this beautiful stained glass window. The window commemorates the first Christian martyr, St Stephen, and three Welsh martyrs, St David Lewis, St John Lloyd and St Philip Evans. The three Welsh martyrs were all victims of the bogus Popish Plot and were executed in 1679. Fr Philip Evans S J, and Fr John Lloyd were hanged, drawn and quartered at Cardiff on 22nd July 1679. Little more than a month later, on 27th August 1679, Fr David Lewis S J, the last Welsh martyr, was executed at Usk. In 1970, Fr Evans, Fr Lloyd, Fr Lewis, and 37 others who died for their faith, were canonised by Pope Paul VI - the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.