ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS JUNE 20-26
June 20
St. Govan, 6th century. Hermit who lived on a cliff at St. Govan’s Head, Dyfed, Wales. He was a disciple of St. Ailbhe and in some lists is called Cofen or Gonen.
Bl. Anthony Turner, 1679 A.D. Martyr of England. The son of a Protestant minister, he was born in Leicestershire and educated at Cambridge. A convert to Catholicism, Anthony went to Rome and joined the Jesuits in Flanders and was ordained in 1661. He returned to England and labored in Worcester until he was arrested in the so-called Titus Oates affair. Convicted on perjured evidence, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on June 20. Anthony was beatified in 1929.
Bl. William Harcourt, 1679 A.D. Jesuit martyr of England, also called William Barrows. Born in Lancashire in 1609, he studied at St. Omer, France, where in 1632 he became a Jesuit. Returning to England in 1645, he labored in London on behalf of the Catholic mission for more than thirty years. Condemned falsely for complicity in the so-called Popish Plot, he was executed at Tyburn with five other Jesuits, He was beatified in 1929.
Bl. Thomas Whitbread, 1679 A.D. English Jesuit and martyr. A native of Essex, England, he studied at St. Omer, France, and entered the Jesuits in 1635. Back in England and using the alias Thomas Harcourt, he served as provincial of the Jesuit mission until his arrest on the entirely false charges of complicity in the Popish Plot. Thomas was tried for sheltering the plotters and was convicted of the charge of attempting to murder the king. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn.
Bls. John Fenwick and John Gavan, 1679 A.D. Jesuit Martyrs of England. John Fenwick was born in Durham and educated at Saint-Omer. He became a Jesuit in 1656. John Gavan was born in London and entered the Jesuits in 1660. They were involved in the Titus Oates Plot hysteria, falsely charged with complicity, and put to death at Tyburn with three Jesuit companions.
June 21
St. John Rigby, 1600 A.D. Martyr of England, a layman executed at Southwark. He was born near Wigan, England, and was reconciled to the Church. Admitting that he was a Catholic, he was arrested and placed in Newgate Prison. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Southwark on June 21. John is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales and was canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
St. Corbmac, 6th century. An abbot and disciple of St. Columba, who made him the superior of Durrow Monastery.
St. Maine. Founder of Saint-Meon in Brittany, France. He was a disciple of St. Samson. Maine, who also is listed as Meen, Mevenus, Mavenus, or Mewan, was either Welsh or Cornish.
June 22
St. Aaron. Aaron was a native of Britain. He went to Brittany, where he became a hermit on Cesabre (St. Malo) island. He attracted numerous disciples, among them St. Malo of Wales, and became their Abbot.
St. Alban. St. Alban was the first martyr of England, his own country (homeland). During a persecution of Christians, Alban, though a pagan, hid a priest in his house. The priest made such a great impression on him that Alban received instructions and became a Christian himself. In the meantime, the governor had been told that the priest was hiding in Alban's house, and he sent his soldiers to capture him. But Alban changed clothes with his guest, and gave himself up in his stead. The judge was furious when he found out that the priest had escaped and he said to Alban, "You shall get the punishment he was to get unless you worship the gods." The Saint answered that he would never worship those false gods again. "To what family do you belong?" demanded the judge. "That does not concern you," said Alban. "If you want to know my religion, I am a Christian." Angrily the judge commanded him again to sacrifice to the gods at once. "Your sacrifices are offered to devils," answered the Saint. "They cannot help you or answer your requests. The reward for such sacrifices is the everlasting punishment of Hell." Since he was getting nowhere, the judge had Alban whipped. Then he commanded him to be beheaded. On the way to the place of execution, the soldier who was to kill the Saint was converted himself, and he too, became a martyr.
St. Thomas More, 1535 A.D. St. Thomas More, Martyr (Patron of Lawyers) St. Thomas More was born at London in 1478. After a thorough grounding in religion and the classics, he entered Oxford to study law. Upon leaving the university he embarked on a legal career which took him to Parliament. In 1505, he married his beloved Jane Colt who bore him four children, and when she died at a young age, he married a widow, Alice Middleton, to be a mother for his young children. A wit and a reformer, this learned man numbered Bishops and scholars among his friends and by 1516 wrote his world-famous book "Utopia". He attracted the attention of Henry VIII who appointed him to a succession of high posts and missions, and finally made him Lord Chancellor in 1529. However, he resigned in 1532, at the height of his career and reputation, when Henry persisted in holding his own opinions regarding marriage and the supremacy of the Pope. The rest of his life was spent in writing mostly in defense of the Church. In 1534, with his close friend, St. John Fisher, he refused to render allegiance to the King as the Head of the Church of England and was confined to the Tower. Fifteen months later, and nine days after St. John Fisher's execution, he was tried and convicted of treason. He told the court that he could not go against his conscience and wished his judges that "we may yet hereafter in heaven merrily all meet together to everlasting salvation." And on the scaffold, he told the crowd of spectators that he was dying as "the King's good servant-but God's first." He was beheaded on July 6, 1535.
St. John Fisher. St. John Fisher was born in Beverly, Yorkshire, in 1459, and educated at Cambridge, from which he received his Master of Arts degree in 1491. He occupied the vicarage of Northallerton, 1491-1494; then he became proctor of Cambridge University. In 1497, he was appointed confessor to Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, and became closely associated in her endowments to Cambridge; he created scholarships, introduced Greek and Hebrew into the curriculum, and brought in the world-famous Erasmus as professor of Divinity and Greek. In 1504, he became Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge, in which capacity he also tutored Prince Henry who was to become Henry VIII. St. John was dedicated to the welfare of his diocese and his university. From 1527, this humble servant of God actively opposed the King's divorce proceedings against Catherine, his wife in the sight of God, and steadfastly resisted the encroachment of Henry on the Church. Unlike the other Bishops of the realm, St. John refused to take the oath of succession which acknowledged the issue of Henry and Anne as the legitimate heir to the throne, and he was imprisoned in the tower in April 1534. The next year he was made a Cardinal by Paul III and Henry retaliated by having him beheaded within a month. A half hour before his execution, this dedicated scholar and churchman opened his New Testament for the last time and his eyes fell on the following words from St. John's Gospel: "Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him Whom You have sent, Jesus Christ. I have given you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Do you now, Father, give me glory at your side". Closing the book, he observed: "There is enough learning in that to last me the rest of my life."
June 23
Saint Ethelreda (Audrey), 679 A.D. Around 640, there was an English princess named Ethelreda, but she was known as Audrey. She married once, but was widowed after three years, and it was said that the marriage was never consummated. She had taken a perpetual vow of virginity, but married again, this time for reasons of state. Her young husband soon grew tired of living as brother and sister and began to make advances on her. She continually refused. He eventually attempted to bribe the local bishop, Saint Wilfrid of York, to release Audrey from her vows.
Saint Wilfrid refused, and helped Audrey escape. She fled south, with her husband following. They reached a promontory known as Colbert's Head, where a heaven sent seven day high tide separated the two. Eventually, Audrey's husband left and married someone more willing, while Audrey took the veil, and founded the great abbey of Ely, where she lived an austere life. She eventually died of an enormous and unsightly tumor on her neck, which she gratefully accepted as Divine retribution for all the necklaces she had worn in her early years. Throughout the Middle Ages, a festival, "St. Audrey's Fair", was held at Ely on her feast day. The exceptional shodiness of the merchandise, especially the neckerchiefs, contributed to the English language the word "tawdry", a corruption of "Saint Audrey."
St. Thomas Garnet, 1608 A.D. English Jesuit martyr. A nephew of the Jesuit Henry Garnet, he was born in Southwark, England, and studied for the priesthood at St. Omer, France, and Valladolid, Spain. Initially ordained as a secular priest, he joined the Jesuits in 1604 and worked to advance the Catholic cause in Warwick until his arrest in 1606. He was exiled after months of torture but returned in 1607 and was soon arrested. He was hanged at Tyburn. Beatified in 1929, he was canonized in 1970 and is included among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
St. Moelray, 493 A.D. Abbot of Nendrum Monastery, installed by St. Patrick. A native of Ireland, Moelray, also called Moeliai, instructed Sts. Finian and Colman.
St. Peter of Juilly, 1136 A.D. Benedictine monk and preacher. Originally from England, he became a friend of St. Stephen Harding and was his companion at Molesme. Later, he was named confessor and chaplain to the nuns of Juilly les Nonnais who were under the care of St. Humbeline, sister of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Peter also possessed a reputation for being a brilliant preacher and a miracle worker.
June 24
St. Bartholomew of Fame, 1193 A.D. A Benedictine hermit and miracle worker associated with Durham, England. He was born in Whitby, in Northumbria, England, and was called Tostig. After going to Norway, Bartholomew was ordained and returned to Durham, where he entered the Benedictine Order. He became a hermit on the island of Fame, on the coast of Northumbria, remaining there for forty-two years. Bartholomew was noted as a miracle worker.
St. Germoc, 6th century. Confessor of the faith, an Irish chieftain. He was the brother of St. Breaca. Germoc settled in Cornwall, England.
June 25
St. Adalbert, 740 A.D. A missionary in Ireland whose tomb became a center for pilgrims. Adalbert was born in Northumbria, England, and was educated at Rathmelgisi Monastery. Accompanying St. Willibrord and others to Friesland, he gained many converts in an area called Egmont. Adalbert was also a companion of St. Egbert to Ireland. It is believed that he became St. Willibrord's successor as the abbot of Epternach. Adalbert's shrine was noted for miracles after his death.
St. Selyf, 6th century. Hermit in Cornwall. He is perhaps to be identified with St. Solomon, who has the same feast day.
St. Moloc, 572 A.D. Scottish bishop and missionary, sometimes called Lugaidh, Molvanus, Molluog, or Murlach. The son of a Scottish noble, he was educated in Ireland under St. Brendan the Elder and evangelized the Hebrides region of Scotland. He died at Rossmarkie, Scotland. His shrine was at Martlach, and he is venerated in Argyll.
St. Molonachus, 7th century. Bishop of Lismore, in Argyl, Scotland. He was a disciple of St. Brendan.
June 26
St. Corbican, 8th century. An Irish recluse in the Low Countries, now Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. He gave his life to educating the local peasants.
St. Govan, 6th century. Hermit who lived on a cliff at St. Govan’s Head, Dyfed, Wales. He was a disciple of St. Ailbhe and in some lists is called Cofen or Gonen.
Bl. Anthony Turner, 1679 A.D. Martyr of England. The son of a Protestant minister, he was born in Leicestershire and educated at Cambridge. A convert to Catholicism, Anthony went to Rome and joined the Jesuits in Flanders and was ordained in 1661. He returned to England and labored in Worcester until he was arrested in the so-called Titus Oates affair. Convicted on perjured evidence, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on June 20. Anthony was beatified in 1929.
Bl. William Harcourt, 1679 A.D. Jesuit martyr of England, also called William Barrows. Born in Lancashire in 1609, he studied at St. Omer, France, where in 1632 he became a Jesuit. Returning to England in 1645, he labored in London on behalf of the Catholic mission for more than thirty years. Condemned falsely for complicity in the so-called Popish Plot, he was executed at Tyburn with five other Jesuits, He was beatified in 1929.
Bl. Thomas Whitbread, 1679 A.D. English Jesuit and martyr. A native of Essex, England, he studied at St. Omer, France, and entered the Jesuits in 1635. Back in England and using the alias Thomas Harcourt, he served as provincial of the Jesuit mission until his arrest on the entirely false charges of complicity in the Popish Plot. Thomas was tried for sheltering the plotters and was convicted of the charge of attempting to murder the king. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn.
Bls. John Fenwick and John Gavan, 1679 A.D. Jesuit Martyrs of England. John Fenwick was born in Durham and educated at Saint-Omer. He became a Jesuit in 1656. John Gavan was born in London and entered the Jesuits in 1660. They were involved in the Titus Oates Plot hysteria, falsely charged with complicity, and put to death at Tyburn with three Jesuit companions.
June 21
St. John Rigby, 1600 A.D. Martyr of England, a layman executed at Southwark. He was born near Wigan, England, and was reconciled to the Church. Admitting that he was a Catholic, he was arrested and placed in Newgate Prison. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Southwark on June 21. John is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales and was canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
St. Corbmac, 6th century. An abbot and disciple of St. Columba, who made him the superior of Durrow Monastery.
St. Maine. Founder of Saint-Meon in Brittany, France. He was a disciple of St. Samson. Maine, who also is listed as Meen, Mevenus, Mavenus, or Mewan, was either Welsh or Cornish.
June 22
St. Aaron. Aaron was a native of Britain. He went to Brittany, where he became a hermit on Cesabre (St. Malo) island. He attracted numerous disciples, among them St. Malo of Wales, and became their Abbot.
St. Alban. St. Alban was the first martyr of England, his own country (homeland). During a persecution of Christians, Alban, though a pagan, hid a priest in his house. The priest made such a great impression on him that Alban received instructions and became a Christian himself. In the meantime, the governor had been told that the priest was hiding in Alban's house, and he sent his soldiers to capture him. But Alban changed clothes with his guest, and gave himself up in his stead. The judge was furious when he found out that the priest had escaped and he said to Alban, "You shall get the punishment he was to get unless you worship the gods." The Saint answered that he would never worship those false gods again. "To what family do you belong?" demanded the judge. "That does not concern you," said Alban. "If you want to know my religion, I am a Christian." Angrily the judge commanded him again to sacrifice to the gods at once. "Your sacrifices are offered to devils," answered the Saint. "They cannot help you or answer your requests. The reward for such sacrifices is the everlasting punishment of Hell." Since he was getting nowhere, the judge had Alban whipped. Then he commanded him to be beheaded. On the way to the place of execution, the soldier who was to kill the Saint was converted himself, and he too, became a martyr.
St. Thomas More, 1535 A.D. St. Thomas More, Martyr (Patron of Lawyers) St. Thomas More was born at London in 1478. After a thorough grounding in religion and the classics, he entered Oxford to study law. Upon leaving the university he embarked on a legal career which took him to Parliament. In 1505, he married his beloved Jane Colt who bore him four children, and when she died at a young age, he married a widow, Alice Middleton, to be a mother for his young children. A wit and a reformer, this learned man numbered Bishops and scholars among his friends and by 1516 wrote his world-famous book "Utopia". He attracted the attention of Henry VIII who appointed him to a succession of high posts and missions, and finally made him Lord Chancellor in 1529. However, he resigned in 1532, at the height of his career and reputation, when Henry persisted in holding his own opinions regarding marriage and the supremacy of the Pope. The rest of his life was spent in writing mostly in defense of the Church. In 1534, with his close friend, St. John Fisher, he refused to render allegiance to the King as the Head of the Church of England and was confined to the Tower. Fifteen months later, and nine days after St. John Fisher's execution, he was tried and convicted of treason. He told the court that he could not go against his conscience and wished his judges that "we may yet hereafter in heaven merrily all meet together to everlasting salvation." And on the scaffold, he told the crowd of spectators that he was dying as "the King's good servant-but God's first." He was beheaded on July 6, 1535.
St. John Fisher. St. John Fisher was born in Beverly, Yorkshire, in 1459, and educated at Cambridge, from which he received his Master of Arts degree in 1491. He occupied the vicarage of Northallerton, 1491-1494; then he became proctor of Cambridge University. In 1497, he was appointed confessor to Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, and became closely associated in her endowments to Cambridge; he created scholarships, introduced Greek and Hebrew into the curriculum, and brought in the world-famous Erasmus as professor of Divinity and Greek. In 1504, he became Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge, in which capacity he also tutored Prince Henry who was to become Henry VIII. St. John was dedicated to the welfare of his diocese and his university. From 1527, this humble servant of God actively opposed the King's divorce proceedings against Catherine, his wife in the sight of God, and steadfastly resisted the encroachment of Henry on the Church. Unlike the other Bishops of the realm, St. John refused to take the oath of succession which acknowledged the issue of Henry and Anne as the legitimate heir to the throne, and he was imprisoned in the tower in April 1534. The next year he was made a Cardinal by Paul III and Henry retaliated by having him beheaded within a month. A half hour before his execution, this dedicated scholar and churchman opened his New Testament for the last time and his eyes fell on the following words from St. John's Gospel: "Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him Whom You have sent, Jesus Christ. I have given you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Do you now, Father, give me glory at your side". Closing the book, he observed: "There is enough learning in that to last me the rest of my life."
June 23
Saint Ethelreda (Audrey), 679 A.D. Around 640, there was an English princess named Ethelreda, but she was known as Audrey. She married once, but was widowed after three years, and it was said that the marriage was never consummated. She had taken a perpetual vow of virginity, but married again, this time for reasons of state. Her young husband soon grew tired of living as brother and sister and began to make advances on her. She continually refused. He eventually attempted to bribe the local bishop, Saint Wilfrid of York, to release Audrey from her vows.
Saint Wilfrid refused, and helped Audrey escape. She fled south, with her husband following. They reached a promontory known as Colbert's Head, where a heaven sent seven day high tide separated the two. Eventually, Audrey's husband left and married someone more willing, while Audrey took the veil, and founded the great abbey of Ely, where she lived an austere life. She eventually died of an enormous and unsightly tumor on her neck, which she gratefully accepted as Divine retribution for all the necklaces she had worn in her early years. Throughout the Middle Ages, a festival, "St. Audrey's Fair", was held at Ely on her feast day. The exceptional shodiness of the merchandise, especially the neckerchiefs, contributed to the English language the word "tawdry", a corruption of "Saint Audrey."
St. Thomas Garnet, 1608 A.D. English Jesuit martyr. A nephew of the Jesuit Henry Garnet, he was born in Southwark, England, and studied for the priesthood at St. Omer, France, and Valladolid, Spain. Initially ordained as a secular priest, he joined the Jesuits in 1604 and worked to advance the Catholic cause in Warwick until his arrest in 1606. He was exiled after months of torture but returned in 1607 and was soon arrested. He was hanged at Tyburn. Beatified in 1929, he was canonized in 1970 and is included among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
St. Moelray, 493 A.D. Abbot of Nendrum Monastery, installed by St. Patrick. A native of Ireland, Moelray, also called Moeliai, instructed Sts. Finian and Colman.
St. Peter of Juilly, 1136 A.D. Benedictine monk and preacher. Originally from England, he became a friend of St. Stephen Harding and was his companion at Molesme. Later, he was named confessor and chaplain to the nuns of Juilly les Nonnais who were under the care of St. Humbeline, sister of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Peter also possessed a reputation for being a brilliant preacher and a miracle worker.
June 24
St. Bartholomew of Fame, 1193 A.D. A Benedictine hermit and miracle worker associated with Durham, England. He was born in Whitby, in Northumbria, England, and was called Tostig. After going to Norway, Bartholomew was ordained and returned to Durham, where he entered the Benedictine Order. He became a hermit on the island of Fame, on the coast of Northumbria, remaining there for forty-two years. Bartholomew was noted as a miracle worker.
St. Germoc, 6th century. Confessor of the faith, an Irish chieftain. He was the brother of St. Breaca. Germoc settled in Cornwall, England.
June 25
St. Adalbert, 740 A.D. A missionary in Ireland whose tomb became a center for pilgrims. Adalbert was born in Northumbria, England, and was educated at Rathmelgisi Monastery. Accompanying St. Willibrord and others to Friesland, he gained many converts in an area called Egmont. Adalbert was also a companion of St. Egbert to Ireland. It is believed that he became St. Willibrord's successor as the abbot of Epternach. Adalbert's shrine was noted for miracles after his death.
St. Selyf, 6th century. Hermit in Cornwall. He is perhaps to be identified with St. Solomon, who has the same feast day.
St. Moloc, 572 A.D. Scottish bishop and missionary, sometimes called Lugaidh, Molvanus, Molluog, or Murlach. The son of a Scottish noble, he was educated in Ireland under St. Brendan the Elder and evangelized the Hebrides region of Scotland. He died at Rossmarkie, Scotland. His shrine was at Martlach, and he is venerated in Argyll.
St. Molonachus, 7th century. Bishop of Lismore, in Argyl, Scotland. He was a disciple of St. Brendan.
June 26
St. Corbican, 8th century. An Irish recluse in the Low Countries, now Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. He gave his life to educating the local peasants.
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