John Carey (died 4 July 1594) was martyred at Dorchester, Dorset, England for adherence to the Roman Catholic faith. His feast day is 4 July. John (or Terence) Carey was an Irish layman, born in Dublin, and servant of Thomas Bosgrave and was put to death with Thomas Bosgrave, John Cornelius (a priest, born of Irish parents in

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

in Cornwall), and Patrick Salmon, another lay helper also of Dublin birth, at Dorchester in Dorset in 1594. They were all beatified in 1929. The persecution was part of a crackdown by the

Elizabethan government England under Elizabeth I's reign, the Elizabethan Era, was ruled by the very structured and complicated Elizabethan government. It was divided into the national bodies (the monarch, Privy Council, and Parliament), the regional bodies (the Cou ...

after the passing of the

Jesuits, etc. Act 1584 An act against Jesuits, seminary priests, and such other like disobedient persons, also known as the Jesuits, etc. Act 1584, (27 Eliz.1, c. 2) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of England passed during the English Reformation. The A ...

, which made it an offence punishable by death to seek ordination to the priesthood overseas and return to England. See

List of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation The Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation are men and women executed under treason legislation in the English Reformation, between 1534 and 1680, and recognised as martyrs by the Catholic Church. Though consequences of the English Re ...

. Those apprehended suffered a "traitor's death": partial choking by hanging, then evisceration whilst still alive, and quartering. The authorities hoped that by staging such spectacles the arrival of young, idealistic missionary priests (most of whom were English), inspired by the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

, would be brought to an end. John Cornelius was

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the Arundell family, which service took him to

Chideock Chideock ( ) is a village and civil parish in south west Dorset, England, situated close to the English Channel between Bridport and Lyme Regis. Dorset County Council's 2013 estimate of the parish population is 550. Chideock's economy mostly c ...

Castle, where he was arrested. The two lay helpers, John Carey and Patrick Salmon, were servants at the castle. Thomas Bosgrave was a relative of the Arundells. John Cornelius was accused of high treason, by virtue of being a Catholic priest and returning to England. The others were charged with a felony, for having rendered assistance to one whom they knew to be a priest. Their trial took place in the main hall of what is now Chideock House Hotel; they were condemned to death on 2 July 1594 and executed two days later. The two lay helpers refused the offer of amnesty through the abjuration of their allegiance to Catholicism and conversion to the Protestant faith. All were hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Dorchester, Oxfordshire, England. When he mounted the scaffold, Carey is reported as saying aloud "Oh, precious collar!". The Arundell family retrieved the bodies for proper burial. The men became known as the Chideock Martyrs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, John 1594 deaths 16th-century Irish people Beatifications by Pope Pius XI Executed Irish people Irish beatified people People from Dublin (city) Year of birth unknown One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales