Peter Wright (1603 – 19 May 1651) was an English Jesuit priest and

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 ...

who has been beatified by the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

Early life

Peter Wright was born in Slipton,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, one of twelve children. Peter was still young when his father died. He had to work in a country solicitor's office at

Thrapston Thrapston is a market town in North Northamptonshire, England. It was the headquarters of the former East Northamptonshire district, and at the time of the 2011 census, had a population of 6,239. The town's name means 'Farmstead or town of a ...

in his home area. After spending ten years with the solicitor he enlisted in the English army in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

in 1627 or 1628, but finding that he did not care for military life, he deserted after a month and went to Brabant."Blessed Peter Wright", Jesuits -Global
/ref>

Priesthood

Having drifted away from his

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

in his youth, he visited the English

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

in Liège and asked to be reconciled to the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

. He then visited

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

and for two years attended the college of the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

. In 1629 he entered the Jesuit novitiate 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 ...

. After studying philosophy and then

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at Liège, 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 ...

there in 1639 and after a further period at Liège was sent to serve at the English

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 ...

. Having no aptitude in supervising young boys, he was then sent to serve as chaplain to Colonel Sir

Henry Gage Henry Tifft Gage (December 25, 1852 – August 28, 1924) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. A Republican, Gage was elected to a single term as the 20th governor of California from 1899 to 1903. Gage was also the U.S. Minister ...

's English regiment in the service of

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, based near

.Wainewright, John. "Ven. Peter Wright." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 21 Feb. 2014
/ref>

Arrest

When Gage returned to England in the spring of 1644 to aid King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, Wright went with him, first to

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and then to the relief of Basing House, the seat of

John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester (c. 1598 – 5 March 1675), styled Lord John Paulet until 1621 and Lord St John from 1621 to 1628, was the third but eldest surviving son of William Paulet and his successor as 5th Marquess of Winchester. ...

. He administered the sacraments to the dying Gage on 11 January 1645. After this Wright became the marquess's chaplain, first in Hampshire and later in the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

house. Wright was seized there by a band of pursuivants who burst in on Candlemas day, 2 February 1650, as he was about to say Mass.Bassett, Bernard. ''The English Jesuits: From Campion to Martindale''
Gracewing Publishing, 2004, p. 84

Trial

Committed to Newgate, he was brought to trial before

Henry Rolle Sir Henry Rolle (1589–1656), of Shapwick in Somerset, was Chief Justice of the King's Bench and served as MP for Callington, Cornwall, (1614–1623–4) and for Truro, Cornwall (1625–1629). Origins Henry Rolle was born ''circa'' 1589, ...

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, sitting with justices Philip Jermyn and Richard Aske and others, at the Old Bailey on 14–16 May. Something of the atmosphere of the times should be clear when it is recalled that Charles I had been put on trial and subsequently been executed on 30 January 1649. The evidence at Wright's trial was provided by the informer

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of th ...

, apostate brother of the late Sir Henry and a renegade Dominican priest. Thomas Gage had met Wright in the years when he was a military chaplain and testified against him. Wright was condemned under the Jesuits, etc. Act 1584 for being a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

in England, and sentenced on Saturday 17 May to being hanged, drawn and quartered.

Execution

His execution at

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 ...

on a hot Whit Monday, 19 May 1651, took place before over twenty thousand spectators,"May 19th - Blessed Peter Wright, SJ", The Jesuits -Singapore
/ref> including a number of Jesuits in disguise, on hand to give their friend absolution. In the period of the trial and the days after his execution, Wright was if not popular, at least a respected figure in public opinion. The sheriff's officers also seem to have been relatively well disposed to him and he was allowed to hang until he was dead, being thus spared the agonies of being eviscerated alive. His friends were allowed to take his body away and later it was taken to the Jesuit college in Liege where it was buried. Peter Wright 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 ...

by Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

on 15 December 1929. His feast day is 19 May.

Early life

Priesthood

Arrest

Trial

Execution

References

Further reading