John Fenwick, real surname Caldwell (1628–20 June 1679) was an English
Jesuit, executed at the time of the fabricated
Popish Plot. He is a Catholic martyr,
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 by
Pope Pius XI.
Life
He was born in
county Durham, of
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
parents who disowned him when he became a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
convert. He took his course in humanities at the
College of St. Omer
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
, was sent to
Liège to study theology, and entered the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
at
Watten
Watten may refer to:
Places
* Watten, Nord, a commune in the Nord ''département'' of France
** ''Blockhaus d'Éperlecques'' or Watten bunker, intended to be a launching facility for the V-2 ballistic missile
* Watten, Highland, a village in Cai ...
on 28 September 1660. Having completed his studies, he was ordained a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
, and spent several years, from 1662, as procurator or agent at the College of St. Omer. He was made a professed father in 1676, and was sent to England the same year.
[ :s:Fenwick, John (1628-1679) (DNB00)]
Popish Plot
He resided in London as procurator of St. Omer's College, and was also one of the
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
fathers there. In 1678, on the information of
Titus Oates
Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.
Early life
Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father Samuel (1610 ...
, he was summoned to appear before the
Privy Council, and committed to
Newgate Prison. He was put in chains and suffered great pain as a result: one of his legs became so infected that
amputation was proposed. His correspondence was seized, but to the Crown's disappointment it turned out to be completely innocuous: as he forcefully pointed out at his second trial, among at least a thousand letters taken from him there was not one which could be construed as treasonable. He was tried for
high treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
with
William Ireland, in that they had conspired to kill King
Charles II, a charge fabricated by Oates and later embellished by other informers. Oates claimed that he had overheard some incriminating remarks they made at a meeting of senior Jesuits in late April 1678 in the White Horse Tavern on
the Strand: they could truthfully deny this, although they had at the time been at a meeting of senior Jesuits in the
Palace of Whitehall. As the evidence of treason was insufficient, since the Crown lacked the requisite two witnesses, he was remanded back to prison.
However, in the political climate of the time, it was unthinkable that so prominent a Jesuit should be allowed to escape with his life: accordingly, he was arraigned a second time at the
Old Bailey on 13 June 1679, before all the High Court judges. He was tried together with four other Jesuit fathers (
John Gavan,
William Harcourt,
Thomas Whitebread
Thomas Whitbread (alias Harcourt) (1618–30 June 1679) was an English Jesuit missionary and martyr, wrongly convicted of conspiracy to murder Charles II of England and hanged during the Popish Plot. He was beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI and h ...
and
Anthony Turner}. Oates and two other notorious informers,
William Bedloe and
Stephen Dugdale, were the main witnesses against them, and in accordance with the direction of Lord Chief Justice
William Scroggs
Sir William Scroggs (c. 162325 October 1683) was Lord Chief Justice of England from 1678 to 1681. He is best remembered for presiding over the Popish Plot trials, where he was accused of showing bias against the accused.
Youth and early career
S ...
, the jury found the prisoners guilty, despite their spirited defence. At the end of the prosecution case Fenwick made a vigorous protest:
"I have had a thousand letters taken from me: not any of these letters had anything of treason in them. All the evidence comes but to this: there is but saying and swearing."
Execution
The five Jesuits suffered death at
Tyburn
Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern O ...
on 20 June 1679. As an act of clemency, the King, who was well aware that they were innocent, but realised that it would be politically unthinkable to grant a
royal pardon or reprieve, ordered that they be allowed to hang until they were dead, and be spared the indignity of
drawing and quartering
To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ( ...
. In a sign that public sympathy was turning against the plot, the large crowd heard their final speeches from the scaffold in respectful silence, as each maintained his innocence.
[Kenyon, p. 206.] Fenwick's remains were buried in the churchyard of
St. Giles-in-the-Fields.
[
An account of the trial and condemnation of the five Jesuits ''for High Treason, in conspiring the Death of the King, the Subversion of the Government and Protestant Religion'' was published by authority at London, 1679.][
]
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenwick, John
1628 births
1679 deaths
Converts to Roman Catholicism
17th-century English Jesuits
English beatified people
Victims of the Popish Plot
People executed at Tyburn
One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales