Christopher Bales, also spelled Christopher Bayles, alias Christopher Evers (1564–1590), was an English

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

in 1929.

Biography

Christopher was born at Coniscliffe near

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, County Durham, England, about 1564. He entered the English College at Rome on 1 October 1583, but owing to ill-health was sent to the College at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. Bales suffered from consumption.Brown, C.F. Wemyss. "Nicholas Horner." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 16 April 2020 He was ordained 28 March 1587 at Reims. Sent to England on 2 November 1588, he was soon arrested, racked and tortured by Topcliffe, and hung up by the hands for twenty-four hours at a time and "bore all most patiently".Camm, Bede. "Ven. Christopher Bales." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 16 April 2020, Bales was tried and condemned for high treason on the charge of having been ordained beyond seas and coming to England to exercise his office. He asked Judge Anderson whether

Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – probably 26 May 604) was a monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church.Delaney '' ...

, Apostle of the English (who did the same), was also a traitor; the judge said no, but that the act had since been made treason by law. He was executed on 4 March 1590, "about Easter", in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

(London), opposite

Fetter Lane Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It forms part of the A4 road and runs between Fleet Street at its southern end and Holborn. History The street was originally called Faytor or Faiter Lane, then Fe ...

. On the gibbet was set a

placard A placard is a notice installed in a public place, like a small card, sign, or plaque. It can be attached to or hung from a vehicle or building to indicate information about the vehicle operator or contents of a vehicle or building. It can also refe ...

: "For treason and favouring foreign invasion". He spoke to the people from the ladder, saying that his only "treason" was his priesthood. On the same day,

Nicholas Horner Nicholas Horner (died 3 March 1590) was an English Roman Catholic layman, hanged, drawn and quartered because he had "relieved and assisted" Christopher Bales, a seminary priest. A tailor by trade, he was charged with making a jerkin for a pries ...

was executed in Smithfield for having made Bales a jerkin, and Alexander Blake for lodging him in his house.

Alexander Blake

Alexander Blake was an ostler convicted of aiding Bale and was hanged outside his own door at

Gray's Inn Lane Gray's Inn Road (or Grays Inn Road) is an important road in the Bloomsbury district of Central London, in the London Borough of Camden. The road begins at the City of London boundary, where it bisects High Holborn, and ends at King's Cross and ...

.Mann, Stephanie. "A Martyred Priest and His Lay Companions", ''National Catholic Register'', March 4, 2017
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References

Sources

* *John Gibbons, ''Concertatio Ecclesiae Catholicae in Anglia'' (Trier, 1589). (Formerly attributed to

John Bridgewater John Bridgewater was an English clerical historian of the Catholic Confessors under Queen Elizabeth I. Biography Bridgewater was born in Yorkshire about 1532; died probably at Trier, about 1596. He proceeded M. A. at Oxford University in 1556, wa ...

). * Richard Challoner, ''Memoirs'' * John Hungerford Pollen, ''Acts of English Martyrs'' (London, 1891) *''Northern Catholic Calendar'' *

Thomas Francis Knox Father Francis Knox (born as Thomas Francis Knox; 24 December 1822 – 20 March 1882, LondonThompson Cooper''Knox, Thomas Francis (1822–1882)'' reviewed by Sheridan Gilley, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press ...

, ''Douay Diaries'' (London, 1878) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bales, Christopher English beatified people 1560s births 1590 deaths 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 16th-century venerated Christians 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales

Biography

Alexander Blake

See also

References

Sources