Robert Johnson, a

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

native, was a

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 ...

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 particu ...

and martyr during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

Life

Robert Johnson had grown up in one of the four parishes of

Claverley Claverley is a village and civil parish in east Shropshire, England. The parish also includes the hamlets of Beobridge, Hopstone, Upper Aston, Ludstone, Heathton and a number of other small settlements. Claverley village is east of the market to ...

, Hales, Owen or

Worfield Worfield is a village and civil parish in Shropshire in the West Midlands, England. It is northwest of London and west of Wolverhampton. It is north of Bridgnorth and southeast of Telford. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Chesterton, i ...

in what was then the

Anglican Diocese of Worcester The Diocese of Worcester forms part of the Church of England (Anglican) Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese was founded around 679 by St Theodore of Canterbury at Worcester to minister to the kingdom of the Hwicce, one of the many ...

. He joined the

German College The ''Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum'', or simply ''Collegium Germanicum'', is a German-speaking seminary for Catholic priests in Rome, founded in 1552. Since 1580 its full name has been ''Pontificium Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum de Urb''e ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 1 October 1571. In his youth he was a servant in a gentleman's household. He was ordained a priest in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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. ...

. After a pilgrimage to Rome in 1579 he returned to England in 1580, was arrested on 12 July and put in the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

on 5 December. Johnson was

rack Rack or racks may refer to: Storage and installation * Amp rack, short for amplifier rack, a piece of furniture in which amplifiers are mounted * Bicycle rack, a frame for storing bicycles when not in use * Bustle rack, a type of storage bin ...

ed on 16 December and put in a dungeon until his trial on 14 November 1581. Johnson was one of 19 priests who stood trial with St Edmund Campion in

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

in the late autumn of 1581. They were charged with treason under an Act of 1351 that did not pertain to religion but to a fictitious conspiracy against the Queen known as the "Plot of Rome and Rheims". The purpose was to send out the message that the priests were not condemned for their faith but for conspiring against the Queen, an accusation which they adamantly denied."Blessed Robert Johnson", Diocese of Shrewsbury
/ref> He was subsequently condemned on 20 November and executed along with Thomas Ford and

John Shert John Shert was an English Catholic priest and martyr, who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I. Background With the notable exceptions of the martyrdom of Cuthbert Mayne and several others the bloody persecution of Catholics under Queen E ...

on 28 May 1582. Johnson was the last to die, after being forced to watch the quartering of Shert. Johnson began to pray in Latin and was bidden by a minister to "Pray as Christ taught." Johnson answered, "What! Do you think Christ taught in English?" Challoner, Richard. ''Memoirs of Missionary Priests'', Thomas Richardson & son, 1843, p. 105
/ref> All three were beatified in 1889.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Robert 1582 deaths English College, Douai alumni Executed people from Shropshire English beatified people 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests Martyred Roman Catholic priests People executed under Elizabeth I 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 16th-century venerated Christians Year of birth unknown Forty-one Martyrs of England and Wales

Life

See also

References