Robert Sutton (;

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

– 27 July 1587;

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

) 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

Robert Sutton was born in Burton-on-Trent sometime between 1543 and 1545,Ross, Francis E., "Venerable Robert Sutton", ''Lives of the English Martyrs'', (Edwin H. Burton and J. H. Pollen eds.), London. Longmans, Green and Co., 1914
/ref> and baptised in St Modwen's Parish Church on 11 September 1545. His father was a carpenter. He was ordained an Anglican minister in 1566 and took the degree of M. A. from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, 9 July 1567. He became Rector of

Lutterworth Lutterworth is a market town and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. It is located north of Rugby, ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, on 17 June 1571.Harris, Philip. "History of the Catholic Church in Lutterworth", The Church of Our Lady of Victories & St. Alphonsus, Lutterworth
/ref> He was converted to Catholicism by his younger brother William, who later became a

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

. With his younger brother Abraham, who matriculated from

Hart Hall Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

in 1576, aged 25, he arrived at

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, D ...

, 23 March 1576. They were both ordained subdeacons at

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

in September, deacons in December, and priests in the following February. They left for the English Mission on 19 March 1578.Wainewright, John. "Ven. Robert Sutton." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 28 March 2016 Robert and his brother Abraham were arrested, imprisoned, and banished in 1585. Robert returned to England and was arrested while saying Mass at Stafford. He was condemned for being a Catholic priest. He was martyred at Gallows Flat, Stafford on 27 July 1588. Sentenced to be

hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under Edward III of England, King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the rei ...

, he was cut down still alive, and while attempting to stand, his head was cut off with a blow to the mouth.

Veneration

Robert Sutton was beatified 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 ...

in 1987."Blessed Robert Sutton", St. Anne's Catholic Church Stafford
/ref>

Relics

After the lapse of a year Catholics, wishing to have some relics of the martyr, carried off one night he theft of a shoulder and an arm. After the parts of his body being exposed to the birds of the air for a year, all were bones except the thumb and forefinger, relatively intact, which came into the possession of his brother Abraham. Abraham Sutton gave Father John Gerard the thumb, later presented in a reliquary to

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

. In 1987 the Jesuits, translated it back to Lutterworth where it is reserved in a niche within the altar of Our Lady of Victories Church, Lutterworth. In 1850 there was found hidden in the sanctuary behind the old chapel of Sutton Place a box of relics containing a rib bone with a label attached bearing the notation in what appeared to be sixteenth or seventeenth century, "R. Sutton, Staffordiae". This relic was placed in the sacristy of St. Edmund's Church, Sutton Park.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Robert 1540s births 1588 deaths 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests English beatified people Converts to Roman Catholicism People executed under Elizabeth I by hanging, drawing and quartering 16th-century venerated Christians People from Burton upon Trent Executed people from Staffordshire Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales

Life

Veneration

Relics

See also

References