John Shert was an English Catholic priest and martyr, who was executed during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

Background

With the notable exceptions of the martyrdom of

Cuthbert Mayne Cuthbert Mayne (c. 1543–29 November 1577) was an English Roman Catholic priest executed under the laws of Elizabeth I. He was the first of the seminary priests, trained on the Continent, to be martyred. Mayne was beatified in 1886 and canonise ...

and several others the bloody persecution of Catholics under Queen Elizabeth I did not begin in earnest until more than 20 years into her reign. The frenzy of persecution was triggered by real conspiracies to remove the Queen, by her excommunication by Pope Pius V and by the hysteria that accompanied the arrival of the Jesuit St Edmund Campion on the English Mission in 1580. St Edmund and his colleagues brought to an end prevailing confusion over whether Catholics could in good conscience obey laws that compelled them to attend new Anglican services. Catholics were assured that they could not.

Life

John Shert was born at Shert Hall near Macclesfield, Cheshire, and received his degree from

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, in 1566.Wainewright, John. "Blessed John Shert." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 5 Feb. 2013
/ref> A convert, he worked as a schoolmaster in

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 ...

, then as servant to Dr Thomas Stapleton in

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, Dou ...

, before entering the seminary in 1576, where he was ordained a subdeacon. He attended the

English College in Rome The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English College, ...

, where he was ordained to the priesthood. He then went to

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. On 27 August 1579, he left Rheims for England, where, he worked in London and Cheshire for two years before he was arrested and sent to the Tower of London on 14 July 1581."Blessed John Shert", Diocese of Shrewsbury
/ref> He was one of 20 who stood trial in Westminster Hall, London, for treason in the fictitious "Rome and Rheims Plot" against Queen Elizabeth I. He was brought before the Queen's Bench 16 November, on an absurd charge of conspiracy. Although he could amply demonstrate that he was in England when the plot was allegedly hatched he, like all the other priests, was convicted. He was the second of three priests to die at Tyburn on 28 May 1582 and was made to watch as the first, Thomas Ford, was butchered, shouting with arms outspread: "O happy Thomas! You have run that happy race. You blessed soul, pray for me." When it was his turn to die, Shert rejected an invitation from the Sheriff to request the Queen's forgiveness on the grounds that he was guilty of no offence. Along with Thomas Ford and

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

, he was executed on 28 May 1582. All three were beatified in 1886.Camm, Bede. ''Lives of the English Martyrs Declared Blessed by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and 1895: Martyrs under Queen Elizabeth'', Burns and Oates, 1905, p. 460
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shert, John 1582 deaths English beatified people Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford English College, Rome alumni 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests Martyred Roman Catholic priests People executed under Elizabeth I Executed people from Cheshire 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 16th-century venerated Christians Year of birth unknown People from Macclesfield Forty-one Martyrs of England and Wales

Background

Life

See also

References