John Sugar or Suker (1558 – 16 July 1604) was an English

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 lette ...

priest. 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 1987.

Life

He matriculated at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

from St. Mary's Hall of

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, 30 October 1584, and is described as the son of a priest (''clerici filius''). He left without taking a degree, it is said because he disliked the

Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Failure to do so was to be treated as treasonable. The Oath of Supremacy was ori ...

; but it appears that he acted as a Protestant minister at

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverh ...

, Staffordshire, for some time. He was ordained a priest from the

English College, Douai The English College (''College des Grands Anglais'') was a Catholic seminary in Douai, France (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), associated with the University of Douai. It was established in 1568, and was suppressed in 1793. ...

(1601), and sent on the mission the same year. He was arrested on 8 July 1603, at

Rowington Rowington is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. It is five miles north-west of the town of Warwick and five miles south-west of the town of Kenilworth. The parish, which also includes Lowsonford, Pinley and Mousley ...

, Warwickshire, with ' Robert Grissold', a native of Rowington (in the service of Mr. Sheldon of

Broadway, Worcestershire Broadway is a large village and civil parish in the Cotswolds, England, with a population of 2,540 at the 2011 census. It is in the far southeast of Worcestershire, close to the Gloucestershire border, midway between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh ...

), who was in attendance on him. He was not accused of any specific act of

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 ...

, but simply of acting as a priest in England, contrary to 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 was reinforced by a second statute of 1604. After a year's imprisonment at Warwick, they were condemned there on 14 July, Sugar for being a priest, and Grissold for assisting him. Sugar was cut down before he was fully dead. Grissold was offered his life if he would promise to conform to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. Sugar endured his fearful death with exemplary courage: at one point during his ordeal, he said "I shall soon be above the sun", and later "after a sharp dinner I shall have a sweet supper".

Legacy

He and his companion Grissold were beatified on 22 November 1987 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

along with eighty-three others. Their joint feast day is every 16 July. There is a painting depicting him before his execution by Rebecca Dering, along with a fresco of him and his companion at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugar, John 1558 births 1604 deaths English beatified people 17th-century venerated Christians Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests People from South Staffordshire District

Life

Legacy

See also

References