THE
P RTAL
November 2011
The 85
Martyrs
Page 6
A Recusant
Martyr
by Joanna Bogle
On November
22nd 1987 Pope John Paul beatified 85 English, Welsh, Irish
and Scottish martyrs. They were priests and laymen executed from the 1580s to 1680s,
for affirming their loyalty to the Catholic Church and the successor of St Peter in Rome.
These were years of complex political situations in
Britain. From the start, the reign of Elizabeth I was
mired in controversy, and there were undoubtedly
plots against her. But the tragedy for English Catholics
was that most did not want to engage in politics and
all had an instinctive loyalty to the Crown. The conflict
for them came when it seemed that they must place
loyalty to Elizabeth and the Tudor dynasty before
their loyalty to the Church – and when laws made the
practice of their Faith a treasonable act. for which they were giving their
lives. The date was July 1588.
Father George Beesley of Goosnargh ‘the unity of the flock of Christ’
Among those who lost their lives were priests such as
Father George Beesley of Goosnargh, a Lancashire man
who ministered secretly as a priest in the Lancashire
countryside, where his memory is still venerated and
honoured. He came from a staunchly Catholic family
and was ordained abroad, returning to what he knew
could be martyrdom. He was still only in his twenties
when he was arrested, and he was brutally tortured by
the notorious Topliffe, before being sentenced to death.
He was executed in London’s Fleet Street in July 1591. At the Beatification of the Martyrs in November 1987
Pope John Paul spoke about the witness they gave and
its significance for our days: “These martyrs gave their
lives for their loyalty to the authority of the Successor
of Peter, who alone is Pastor of the whole flock. They
also gave their lives for the unity of the Church, since
they shared the Church’s faith, unaltered down the
ages, that the Successor of Peter has been given the
task of serving and ensuring ‘the unity of the flock of
Christ’. He has been given by Christ the particular role
of confirming the faith of his brethren.
Father Nicholas Garlick
Father Nicholas Garlick (born c.1555) worked as a
schoolmaster for some years before going abroad to be
ordained. He made two trips back to England to work as
a priest – the first began in 1583 and lasted for two years
until he was detected and banished in 1585. He stayed
in Rheims for just two days before catching a boat back
to England. He ministered for a further two years but
was finally captured again –at Padley, home of a notable
recusant family, the Fitzherberts. This time there was to
be no banishment – he was condemned to death.
laymen, scholars
and craftsmen
But not all the martyrs were
priests: there were also laymen,
scholars and craftsmen. And
the age range was wide – some of the martyrs were in
their 80s, some only in their 20s.
work of renewal
“The martyrs grasped the importance of that
Petrine ministry. They gave their lives rather than
deny this truth of their faith. Over the centuries the
Church in England, Wales and Scotland has drawn
inspiration from these martyrs and continues in love
of the Mass and in faithful adherence to the Bishop of
Rome. The same loyalty and faithfulness to the Pope
is demonstrated today whenever the work of renewal
in the Church is carried out in accordance with the
teachings of the Second Vatican Council and in
Witness accounts of the martyrdom testify that he communion with the universal Church.
preached to the crowds while the executioner prepared
the grisly tools for hanging, drawing and quartering, and
Central to this renewal, to which the Holy Spirit calls
that he showed no fear, and encouraged the other priests the Church, is work for that unity among Christians
who were to suffer alongside him. All showed great for which Christ himself prayed. We must all rejoice
bravery at their deaths, and no terror or even sadness, that the hostilities between Christians, which so
speaking instead of their readiness to die for Christ and shaped the age of these martyrs, are over, replaced by
the Church and their conviction of the truth of the Faith fraternal love and mutual esteem.”