THE
P RTAL
May 2011
The English
Martyrs 4 May
th
Page 7
A Recusant
Martyr
Last year, 2010,
the Church approved four new specific feast-days for Catholics in England and
Wales. Well, the saints’ days they approved were hardly new – they had been celebrated for years and in some
cases for centuries. But the Church, at the request of the English Bishops, elevated these saints’ days to the
status of national feasts. These feasts commemorate St Gregory the Great on September 3, St Thomas Becket
on December 29, the English Martyrs on May 4, and St Augustine of Canterbury on May 27.
The English Martyrs
The English Martyrs’ feast-day on
May 4 th honours the martyrs who
died during the years following
Henry VIII’s break with Rome in
the 16 th century.
given their lives centuries before.
This Vigil produced perhaps the
most unforgettable moments of
the whole visit: thousands and
thousands of people kneeling in
prayer in absolute silence before
the Blessed Sacrament.
They were canonised by Pope
Mutual forgiveness and
Paul VI in 1970, and include St
reconciliation
Margaret Clitheroe, “the pearl of
Catholics and Protestants alike
York”, St Nicholas Owen, designer
suffered during the Reformation
of many priests’ hiding-places, who
and appropriate recognition has
died under torture, St Edmund
Campion, the famous Jesuit who was tortured in the now been given to this fact. It is right to emphasise
Tower of London and died at Tyburn, and St Philip mutual forgiveness and reconciliation between all
Christians.
Howard, who died of jail fever in the Tower.
Stamping out Catholic devotion
There are now a number of churches and Catholic
schools in England and Wales named after some of
the English martyrs, and their stories are becoming
better known as historians review the Tudor period
and especially the religious tensions in the reign of
Elizabeth I. Today, the need is for deep and sincere Christian
faith and witness: two World Wars, a long-running
Cold War and the new challenges of the 21 st century
have put a distance between us and the events of the
16 th and 17 th centuries. Who knows what the future
holds? The message of courage that comes down to us
from the martyrs of the past is a gift to be cherished.
Most serious historians would now recognise that
ignoring the reality of the oppression of Catholics
during her reign is inconsistent with the tragic truth. Joanna Bogle
A network of spies and informers was used to track
down Catholics, and especially priests, to stamp
out Catholic devotion and practices and to ensure
compliance with a political order which saw the
Catholic Church as an enemy to be routed.
Pope Benedict XVI
The canonisation of the English Martyrs in 1970
came at a time when new ecumenical initiatives
– and much ecumenical goodwill at a local level –
were beginning to emerge in the wake of the Second
Vatican Council. When Pope Benedict XVI made his
state visit to Britain last year, he was able to address a
vast crowd of young people in a prayer vigil at Hyde
Park next to the site at Tyburn where martyrs had
Join Mgr Keith Newton on a
Thanksgiving
Pilgrimage
to Rome
for the Personal Ordinariate
of Our Lady of Walsingham
sponsord by The Portal Magazine
19th-25th February 2012 £519 per person (6 nights)
Price based on half-board (breakfast and dinner) ~ flights by Ryanair or easyJet
To secure your place on this wonderful Pilgrimage send you name
and address together with a deposit of £52 (payable to Pax Travel) to:
The Portal, 293 Ordnance Road, Enfield Lock, Middlesex EN3 6HB
Places will be on a first come, first served basis - SO HURRY!!!