John Southworth (c. 1592,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England - 28 June 1654,

Tyburn, London 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 ...

) 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 ...

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 is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

History

John Southworth came from a Lancashire family who lived at Samlesbury Hall. They chose to pay heavy fines rather than give up the Catholic faith.McNamara, Robert. "St. John Southworth", ''Saints Alive'', St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Rochester, New York
/ref> He studied at the English College in

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

, in northern France. (The college later relocated to

St Edmund's College, Ware St Edmund's College is a coeducational independent day and boarding school in the British public school tradition, set in in Ware, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1568 as a seminary, then a boys' school, it is the oldest continuously operating and ...

in Hertfordshire.) In 1585 a law had been passed branding as treasonable any priest who dared to come back to England. The law was later extended to all who assisted such priests. Southworth was ordained priest before he returned to England 13 October 1619,Wainewright, John. "St. John Southworth." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 17 February 2018 where he remained until 1624, when he was then recalled to serve as chaplain to Benedictine nuns in Brussels."The 17th-century martyr whose corpse was found in the 1920s", ''Catholic Herald'', 24 June 2011
/ref> After about a year, he returned to Lancashire, where he was arrested in 1627 and imprisoned in

Lancaster Castle Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of ...

along with Edmund Arrowsmith. Arrowsmith was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Lancaster on 28 August 1628. Southworth was later moved to

The Clink The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Libe ...

in London. He was sentenced to death for professing the Catholic faith, but in 1630, at the insistence 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 ...

, he and seventeen others were delivered to the French ambassador and deported to France. By 1636 he had returned to England and lived in Clerkenwell, London, during a plague epidemic. He and Henry Morse ministered to the sick in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, and raised money for the families of victims. Southworth was arrested again in November 1637 and sent to the

Gatehouse Prison Gatehouse Prison was a prison in Westminster, built in 1370 as the gatehouse of Westminster Abbey. It was first used as a prison by the Abbot, a powerful churchman who held considerable power over the precincts and sanctuary. It was one of the pri ...

and again transferred to

, where he remained for three years. Four times Southworth was arrested, and three times released by the Secretary of State Sir

Francis Windebank Sir Francis Windebank (1582 – 1 September 1646) was an English politician who was Secretary of State under Charles I. Biography Francis was the only son of Sir Thomas Windebank of Hougham, Lincolnshire, who owed his advancement to the Cecil ...

at the direction of the Queen. The fourth time he managed to escape. From 1640 and 1654 he continued his clandestine ministry. He was again arrested under the Interregnum and was tried at the Old Bailey under Elizabethan anti-priest legislation. He pleaded guilty to exercising the priesthood and was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. He was executed at Tyburn, London. The Spanish ambassador returned his corpse to Douai for burial."St. John Southworth", Westminster Cathedral
/ref> His corpse was sewn together and parboiled, to preserve it. Following the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, his body was buried in an unmarked grave for its protection. The grave was discovered in 1927 and his remains were returned to England. They are now kept in the Chapel of St George and the English Martyrs in

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City o ...

in London.

Veneration

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. In 1970, he was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. His feast day is 27 June celebrated in the Westminster diocese. He is a patron saint of priests."St John Southworth", ''Independent Catholic News''
/ref> In 2014, The Guild of Saint John Southworth was established in Westminster Cathedral. Its members are volunteers who will meet visitors, answer their questions and guide them around the cathedral if they wish. This service is free.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southworth, John 1592 births 1654 deaths English College, Douai alumni Executed people from Lancashire English saints English Roman Catholic saints 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests Forty Martyrs of England and Wales Martyred Roman Catholic priests People executed under the Interregnum (England) by hanging 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Incorrupt saints People executed at Tyburn