THE JESUIT COLLEGE AT THE CWM

In 1595 Fr Robert Jones arrived in England. The Jesuit General, Aquaviva, had sent him to assist Fr Robert Persons, Prefect of the English Jesuits. Fr Persons wished to provide for the needs of the many faithful Catholics in Wales. By 1605, Fr Jones had established a Jesuit mission closely involving the Welsh Jesuits, the Welsh Secular clergy and recusant gentry. This was largely financed by the Morgans of Llantarnam. Lady Frances (Somerset) Morgan was one of Fr Jones’s converts and Fr Jones sometimes lived at Llantarnam. This financial support made it possible to maintain two Jesuits in North Wales and two in South Wales. When Fr Jones died in 1615, Fr John Salisbury succeeded him as Superior of the North and South Wales Districts. Raglan Castle was a major Catholic centre and Fr Salisbury went to live there. The generous and continued support of the Morgans of Llantarnam and the Somersets of Raglan Castle enabled him to lease and eventually buy the farm known as the Cwm and to found there in 1622 the Jesuit College of St Francis Xavier. Over the years, the College of St Francis Xavier housed many priests, Seminary priests as well as Jesuits. It is interesting to note that, according to Br Henry Foley, Fr John Lloyd and Fr David Lewis were together at the Cwm in 1655. Fr John Lloyd was a secular or seminary priest who was martyred at Cardiff just days before Fr Lewis was martyred at Usk.

(THE RUINED CHAPEL AT RAGLAN CASTLE - CLICK ON

PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM)

Fr David Lewis served two terms as Rector of the Cwm, 1667 – 1672 and again from 1674 – 1678. As early as 1660 the Government authorities had know of the existence of the College of St Francis Xavier at the Cwm. The priests went about openly and unmolested until Titus Oates exploded upon the scene in 1678. Titus Oates was a detestable character who hated Catholics in general and Jesuits in particular. He claimed to have uncovered a plot to restore Catholicism to England by murdering the King, Charles II, and putting his Catholic brother James Duke of York on the throne. The King himself did not believe a word of the Plot but among a populace that believed Catholics responsible for the Great Fire of London as well as the Plague, it was easy for certain politicians to use the plot to serve their own purposes. The Oates Plot took wings and before it had ended, many innocent Catholics up and down the country had lost life and liberty.

Only two Jesuits at the Cwm were named in the spurious plot, Fr Charles Prichard and the Rector, Fr David Lewis. Fr Lewis was aware of the seriousness of the situation and decided to evacuate the Cwm and the priests dispersed. Some found shelter with Catholic families but most had to hide in woods, barns or caves. Through it all, those courageous and faithful priests, travelling by night and on foot, ministered to their scattered flocks. The Government ordered the Bishop of Hereford, Herbert Croft, to investigate the Cwm and in December 1678, Croft, with the exuberant assistance of John Arnold, John Scudamore and Charles Price, raided the College. The buildings were ransacked and among items taken away were the books from the Cwm’s extensive library. Many of the books were stolen by Croft to restock the library of Hereford Cathedral, which had been rifled by Cromwell’s Roundheads. About 100 volumes can still be seen in Hereford Cathedral Library.

The lease on the Cwm did not expire until 1737 but after 1678, it was never again occupied by Jesuits. Eventually, the old house, which was said to have at least two priest holes, was demolished. In 1830 the present house was built. Today, the Cwm, nestled in gentle countryside, is a beautiful Bed and Breakfast Hotel. Catholicism in South Wales never fully recovered! Neither did it die out so the priests who tended the Catholics of Monmouth and the Welsh marches did not suffer or die in vain. The Faith lives on and their memory is revered.

ST DAVID LEWIS AT LLANTARNAM

I think I might have jumped the gun a bit in my last post. I said now that the snow had gone we could get out and about again. When I got up the next morning, there was a light covering of snow on the ground! So, I am making no further comment on weather conditions! I will continue though with a blogging trip in the footsteps of our patron, St David Lewis.

In the time of St David Lewis (1616-1679) Penal Laws were in force and it was considered High Treason to be a Catholic priest and to say Mass. Priests risked being hanged, drawn and quartered, the usual punishment for treason, and Catholics who sheltered or helped them risked fines, imprisonment and, in some cases, even death. In Wales, the authorities, for the most part, were sympathetic to their Catholic neighbours, friends and families, and were somewhat lax in enforcing the laws. However, there were some, particularly John Arnold, an M P and Justice of the Peace, who were determined to stamp out Catholicism by making sure that the laws were rigidly enforced. The evil Titus Oates, with his fabricated Popish Plot, was a boon to men like Arnold, and the authorities, sympathetic or not, were forced to act.

Despite the dangers, there were many, up and down the country, who were willing to provide safe houses for priests and places where Catholics could gather for Mass and to receive the Sacraments. The Morgans of Llantarnam were one such family. They had a chapel in their home and Fr Lewis, who was a nephew of Lady Frances Morgan, lived there for a time, saying Mass and ministering to the Catholics of the area. In 1670 John Arnold and several others informed the House of Lords that "At Llantarnam, an eminent papist's house in Monmouthshire, there is a room fitted up chapelwise for saying of Mass where Fr David Lewis, a popish priest, hath said Mass for many years past". Today Llantarnam Abbey, pictured above, is a convent of the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy.

With the increased persecution brought about by the Popish Plot, Fr Lewis, not wishing to put the Morgans in danger, moved out of Llantarnam Abbey and into a cottage opposite. This cottage was next to the Blacksmith's Shop and it was here, on 17th November 1678, that the priest was arrested. It was early on a Sunday morning and Fr Lewis was about to celebrate Holy Mass when the arresting party, including armed dragoons, arrived. On 17th November 2007, a plaque was unveiled at the site of the arrest, now a private home.

Opposite the Blacksmith's Shop, and running beside the Church of St Michael and All Angels, is an ancient public footpath which leads to Llantarnam Abbey. This footpath is still in use. One wonders if the holy Jesuit walked this path on his way to say Mass. It is certainly very likely.

In November 2008, to commemorate the 330th Anniversary of the arrest of St David Lewis, a tree was blessed and planted in the little Garden of Remembrance at the site of the Saint's arrest at Llantarnam. A large group, led by Fr John Edwards S J, gathered to pray and give thanks for the life and example of Fr David Lewis.

At Llantarnam Abbey, where he once lived and worked, the memory of St David Lewis burns bright. His portrait hangs in a place of honour and the Sisters treasure a relic of the Martyr. Every November, the Abbey hosts a special day of remembrance in honour of St David Lewis. Watch your local press for notification of this event. (I know, I'm a bit early with the plug! I will remind you again next November!)

ST DAVID LEWIS, PRAY FOR US.

RELICS OF ST DAVID LEWIS

The word “relic” comes from the Latin “reliquiae” and it means “remains”.

Saint Jerome said, “We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore Him whose martyrs they are.”

In August 1679, at the execution of the Welsh Jesuit Martyr, Fr David Lewis, many Catholics were busy dipping cloths in the martyr’s blood. Within a short time of the martyrdom, cures were reported in Monmouthshire. These cures were attributed to the effectiveness of relics of the martyred priest.

There are many known relics of St David Lewis still in existence. At Stonyhurst, there are several small unidentified relics of David Lewis. A small travelling chalice owned by St David Lewis is kept at the Catholic Church in Abergavenny, the saint’s birthplace.

Pieces of the rope with which Fr David Lewis was hanged are in the possession of several churches in this country. The Jesuit house in Farm Street, London, is said to have two pieces, a church at Roehampton has a piece and the Church of St David Lewis and St Francis Xavier, Usk, also has a piece.

The most numerous relics of St David Lewis seem to be cloths stained with his blood. Erdington Abbey has large pieces of linen soaked in his blood. The Church at Usk, as well as its fragment of rope, has a piece of linen stained with his blood. The Carmelite Convent at Lanherne, Cornwall, has a piece of blood stained linen. The Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy at Llantarnam Abbey also treasure a piece of linen stained with the blood of the martyr.

At one time, when Llantarnam Abbey was a private house, it was owned by Lady Frances Morgan, an aunt of Fr David Lewis. For a time, the priest lived with his relatives and regularly said Mass in the chapel there. The spot where he was arrested is opposite the Abbey. The Catholic Church of St David Lewis and St Francis Xavier, Usk, is either on or directly opposite the site of the martyrdom of St David Lewis. It seems appropriate then that relics of St David Lewis are in the safe keeping of the Catholic Church in Usk and Llantarnam Abbey in Cwmbran.

LLANTARNAM ABBEY AND ST DAVID LEWIS

Llantarnam Abbey, the Cistercian Abbey of the Blessed Virgin, was founded as a daughter house of Strata Florida Abbey about 1179. The Abbey was dissolved in 1536, after Henry VIII’s break with Rome. Llantarnam Abbey had four bells, weighing, in total, more than 38 cwt. The four bells were acquired by a William Jones of Caerleon, who paid the sum of £15 to have them taken down, the lead removed and melted down. It was reported that the lead weighed over 4 fothers. (1 fother = 2,000 lbs.)

In 1561, William Morgan acquired the dissolved Abbey from the Earl of Pembroke, to whom it had been granted by Queen Elizabeth in 1559. A new mansion was built from the stones of the Abbey and Morgan, a staunch Catholic, maintained in the house a Catholic Chapel. Lady Frances Morgan, an Aunt of The Jesuit Martyr, St David Lewis, married a descendent of William Morgan and lived at Llantarnam until her death in 1676. The property passed to her son, Sir Edward who, although a Deputy Lieutenant and a Justice of the Peace, held fast to the Old Faith. He also kept a Catholic Chapel which was frequently crowded with Catholics of the surrounding area. In 1670, the priest hunter, John Arnold, informed the House of Lords, that “At Llantarnam, an eminent papist’s house in Monmouthshire, there is a room fitted up chapel wise for saying of Mass where Fr David Lewis, a popish priest, hath said Mass for many years past”. Indeed, for several years Fr Lewis had lived at Llantarnam Abbey with his relatives and ministered to the Catholics in the area. Later, to avoid endangering his relatives, the priest moved to a nearby cottage adjoining the blacksmith's opposite the church of St Michael Llantarnam. However, Fr Lewis continued to say Mass in the Morgans’ Chapel. According to a helpful young lady at the Rights of Way Office, the present Public Footpath, which runs beside St Michael’s Church, has been legally registered since 1967 but has probably been there as long as the church itself . What route did the faithful priest take to the Abbey? Did he walk parts of this path across the fields on his way to celebrate Holy Mass?

In the 1830s, Reginald Blewitt, a relation of the Morgans, restored Llantarnam Abbey. Later, Sir Clifford Corey bought the Abbey and, later still, it became the property of the Government. During the Second World War, it was used as a storage depot by the R A F. In 1946 it was purchased by the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy. That year, on 26th October, the Feast of Christ the King, Holy Mass was joyfully celebrated there for the first time in two hundred and sixty-eight years. The celebrant was Fr John Cahalane, Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Angels, Cwmbran.

A large metal ring in the pavement, originally a tyring platform used by the wheelwright, marked the site of the blacksmith’s in Llantarnam. That was providential because it also marked the site of Fr Lewis’s cottage and, later, the old Post Office. Today, the old Post Office is a private house. The owners have preserved the metal ring in a beautiful garden of remembrance, which they have lovingly created in honour of the last Welsh Martyr, St David Lewis.