George Conn ( la, Conæus) (died 1640) was a Scottish Roman Catholic priest, a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

and papal diplomat in England.

Early life

Conn was a catholic brought up by his father, Patrick Conn of Auchry, near

Turriff Turriff () is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies on the River Deveron, about above sea level, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name ''Turra'', which is derived fr ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

; his mother was Isabella Chyn of Esselmont. When he was very young, he was sent to be educated at Douay, from which he went to the Scots College in Paris, and Rome. He completed his education at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, where the Duke of Mirandola engaged him as a tutor for his son. Conn went to Rome in the summer of 1623, to work in the household of Cardinal

Alessandro Peretti di Montalto Alessandro Damasceni Peretti di Montalto (1571 – 2 June 1623) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal Bishop. He received the title by his uncle Felice Peretti after the latter was elected Pope Sixtus V on 24 April 1585, in the consistory on 13 May ...

, who left him a legacy on his death at the end of the year. He then transferred his services as secretary to Cardinal Francesco Barberini, and accompanied him when he went to France as nuncio. He was subsequently made canon of St Lawrence in Damaso and secretary to the

Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by '' Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969. The Congregation was charged with the ...

. He also joined the

Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

.Derek A. Wilson, ''The King and the Gentleman: Charles Stuart and Oliver Cromwell, 1599-1649'' (London-New York: Macmillan, 1999), p. 210, claims that Conn was a Dominican.

Papal agent

Conn filled the place of papal agent at the court of

Queen Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

, vacated because of

Gregorio Panzani Gregorio Panzani (died 1662) was an Italian Catholic priest, who became Bishop of Mileto and a papal emissary to England during the reign of King Charles I of England. Life Gregorio Panzani received a Doctorate ''in utroque iure'' (in both Civil ...

's return to Italy. He landed at

Rye, East Sussex is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederatio ...

on 17 July 1636 (O.S.). Conn took his mission to be to gain individual Catholic converts, and to make use of his position at court to ameliorate the lot of the English Roman Catholics. He stirred up the queen to give active support to the spread of Catholicism. In October 1637 the conversion of Anne, Lady Newport, wife of

Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport, to 12 February 1666, was an English courtier and politician, who held a number of positions under Charles I of England and supported the Royalists in the First English Civil War. Personal details Mountjoy ...

and daughter of Lord Boteler, brought matters to a head. King Charles was urged by

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...

to enforce the laws against conversion Catholicism, but the queen, at Conn's urging, pleaded with the King to be lenient. In the end, a proclamation was issued against conversion, but its terms were so mild that the queen did not object. King Charles favoured Conn on a personal level.

Death

Conn remained in England until the summer of 1639; he was in poor health. His death took place at Rome, according to the monument erected to his memory in the church of St. Lawrence in Damaso by Cardinal Barberini, on 10 January 1640 (N.S.).

Works

* In 1621, George Con published ''Praemetiae, sive Calumniae Hirlandorum indicatae, et epos... auctore Georgio Conaeo'' at the Tebaldini Press in Bologna. Conn wrote a life of Mary Stuart, published in 1624. In 1628 he wrote ''Georgii Conaei de dvplici statv religionis apvd Scotos libri duo''; it was published in Rome by the Vatican Press. He also wrote a book entitled, ''Georgii Conæi Assertionum catholicarum libri tres. In quibus ex solo scripto Dei verbo præcipua hæresum ætatis nostræ dogmata refelluntur.'' It was published in Rome in 1629 by the Zannetti firm.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Conn, George Year of birth missing 1640 deaths Scottish Roman Catholic priests Scottish Friars Minor Diplomats of the Holy See University of Bologna alumni People from Aberdeenshire England–Holy See relations