ST RICHARD GWYN, HUSBAND, FATHER, TEACHER

St Richard Gwyn (Richard White in English)  is the protomartyr of Wales.  Born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, around 1537, he attended Oxford and Cambridge Universities and eventually returned to Wales.  He married, had six children and became a school teacher.  In 1579 he was arrested for his Catholic Faith.  On this date, 15 October, in 1584, Richard Gwyn was hanged drawn and quartered at Wrexham.  He and 39 other Catholic Martyrs were canonised by Pope Paul VI in October 1970.  They are known collectively as 'The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales'.  St Richard Gwyn's feast day is celebrated on 17 October. 

St Richard Gwyn and scenes depicting his life

ST RICHARD GWYN, PRAY FOR US.

For more on St Richard Gwyn, click here ST RICHARD GWYN:

VENERABLE EDWARD MORGAN

Today, 23rd April, our thoughts turn to some famous people who are embedded in our culture. Today is the Feast of St George, Patron Saint of England.  It is also the birth date of William Shakespeare.  

St George, Patron Saint of England

However, there is another I wish to remember on this Blog today. A fellow countryman of our beloved St David Lewis, Edward Morgan was born in Flintshire, North Wales.   He studied at the English Colleges of Rome, Madrid and Valladolid.  In 1621 Edward Morgan was ordained priest at Salamanca.

Photo J D Smith

Using the alias of John Singleton, Fr Morgan returned to his homeland to work among his struggling Catholic brethren. In April 1629 he was imprisoned in Flintshire for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance.  Three years later, 1632, the priest was condemned in the Star Chamber to have his ears nailed to the pillory for accusing certain judges of treason.

Photo J D Smith

Immediately after, Fr Morgan was committed to the Fleet Prison in London.  He languished there for almost ten years.  On St George's Day, 23rd April 1642, at the Old Bailey, Fr Morgan was condemned to death for being a priest.  Soon after, on 26th April 1642, Welsh priest, Fr Edward Morgan,  was executed at Tyburn.  In 1886, he was declared Venerable by Pope Leo XIII. So, on this St George's Day, 23rd April 2019, let us remember another stalwart Welsh priest and martyr, Venerable Edward Morgan.

Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903)

FR EDWARD POWELL, ANOTHER WELSH MARTYR

Edward Powell was a Catholic priest who was born in Wales around 1478.  Powell had a brilliant mind and was a Fellow of Oriel College Oxford in 1495. 

King Henry VIII

He became a court preacher and was held in high esteem by King Henry VIII.  It is said that he helped Henry write ‘Assertio Septem Sacramentorum’, a ‘Defence of the Seven Sacraments,’ in reply to Luther’s attack on indulgences.  For this, Pope Leo X rewarded Henry with the title ‘Fidei Defensor’, ‘Defender of the Faith’ in 1521.  (That’s another story!)  Then in 1523 Powell published his own work on this subject for which Oxford University wrote to the King calling Powell “the glory of the University”.

Fr Powell’s slide from favour began when he was one of the four theologians selected to defend the legality of the King’s marriage to Catherine of

Queen Catherine of Aragon

 Aragon.  Denouncing Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was another nail in his coffin and when he refused to take the oath of succession, he was deprived of his benefices and imprisoned in the Tower of London.  Found guilty of High Treason, Fr Powell received the usual sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering.  The sentence was carried out on 30 July 1540.  I suppose we could say King Henry was impartial, dispensing with all who opposed him, Catholic or Protestant!  Fr Powell, two other Catholics and three Protestants suffered together.  The six victims were dragged on hurdles from the Tower to Smithfield.  A Catholic and a Protestant shared each hurdle and Fr Powell’s companion was Robert Barnes, a Protestant divine.  The six suffered horrific deaths – the Catholics, considered traitors, were hanged drawn and quartered.  The Protestants, considered heretics, were burnt.  Fr Edward Powell was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 29th December 1886 (cultus confirmation).

The plaque in University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford (Photo J D Smith)

In the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, a plaque has been erected to remember both Catholics and Protestants who suffered death in the terrible times of religious strife in this country.  The Welsh scholar and priest, Fr Edward Powell, is the second name on the plaque.