Richard Fetherston (Fetherstone, Featherstone) (died 30 July 1540) was an English Roman Catholic priest. He was Archdeacon of Brecon"Pedro de Ribadeneyra’s 'Ecclesiastical History of the Schism of the Kingdom" p303: Leiden, Brill, 1683 and

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 Catharine of Aragon and tutor to her daughter, Mary Tudor. He was executed in 1540 and beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 29 December 1886.

Life

He is called ''sacrae theologiae Doctor'' by John Pits (''De illustribus Angliae scriptoribus'', 729). He was one of the theologians appointed to defend Queen Catharine's cause in the divorce proceedings before the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...

and Cardinal Campeggio, and is said to have written a treatise ''Contra divortium Henrici et Catharinae, Liber unus''. No copy of this work is known to exist.Huddleston, Gilbert. "Bl. Richard Fetherston." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 28 May 2013
/ref> He took part in the session of

Convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a speci ...

which began in April 1529, and was one of the few members who refused to sign the Act declaring

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

's marriage with Catharine to be illegal ''ab initio'', through the pope's inability to grant a dispensation in such a case. In 1534 he was called upon to take 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 ...

and, on refusing to do so, was committed to the Tower of London on 13 December 1534. He seems to have remained in prison until 1540. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Smithfield on 30 July 1540, together with the Catholic theologians Thomas Abel and Edward Powell, like himself councillors to Queen Catharine in the divorce proceedings, and three others, Robert Barnes,

Thomas Garret Thomas Gerard (1500?–1540) (Gerrard, also Garret or Garrard) was an English Protestant reformer. In 1540, he was burnt to death for heresy, along with William Jerome and Robert Barnes. Life He matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, o ...

, and William Jerome, condemned for teaching Zwinglianism. All six were drawn through the streets upon three hurdles, a Catholic and a heretic on each hurdle. The Protestants were burned, and the three Catholics executed in the usual manner, their limbs being fixed over the gates of the city and their heads being placed upon poles on London Bridge.

Notes

References

* ;Attribution * The entry cites: ** John Pits, ''De illustribus Angliae scriptoribus'' (Paris, 1619), 729; **Sander, tr. Lewis, ''Rise and Growth of the Anglican Schism'' (London, 1877), 65, 67, 150; **

Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academic, ...

, ''History of the Reformation'', ed.

Pocock Pocock is a surname, and may refer to: *Andrew Pocock (born 1955), British High Commissioner to Nigeria * Barbara Pocock, one of the candidates of the 2022 Australian federal election * Bill Pocock (1884–1959), English footballer * Blair Pocock ...

(Oxford, 1865), I, 260, 472, 566–67; IV, 555, 563; ** Thomas Tanner, ''Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica'' (London, 1748), 278; **''Original Letters Relative to the English Reformation'' (Parker Society, Cambridge, 1846), I, 209; **''Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII'', ed. Gairdner (London, 1882, 1883, 1885, VI, 311, 1199; VII, 530; VIII, 666, 1001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fetherston, Richard 1540 deaths 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests English beatified people People executed by Tudor England by hanging, drawing and quartering 16th-century venerated Christians Year of birth unknown English chaplains Catholic chaplains 16th-century English educators Executed English people People executed under Henry VIII Archdeacons of Brecon Forty-one Martyrs of England and Wales