THE
P RTAL
August 2016
He had been born in the Strand, in London on 28
June 1557 the only child of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk,
and Lady Mary FitzAlan, daughter of Henry, Earl of
Arundel. His baptism was in Whitehall Palace with the
Royal Family in attendance, and he was named after his
godfather, Philip II, King of Spain. His birth occurred
in the middle of the trauma of the Reformation. From
the age of seven he lived in a former Carthusian
monastery. At fourteen years, he was married to his
stepsister, Anne Dacre.
Nevertheless, he graduated at St John’s College,
Cambridge in 1574 and was about eighteen when he
attended Queen Elizabeth’s Court. His life had been a
frivolous one both at Cambridge and at Court. Maybe
because of this, he was a favourite of the Queen.
On 1 October 1569, Philip Howard’s father, the Duke
of Norfolk, was arrested for intrigues against Queen
Elizabeth I, and executed in 1572. Saint Philip Howard
succeeded to his mother’s inheritance upon the death
of his grandfather, becoming Earl of Arundel in 1580.
He was present in 1581, at a debate in the Tower of
London between, Fr Edmund Campion, Jesuit, and Fr
Ralph Sherwin on one side, and a group of Protestant
theologians on the other. This was a turning point in
his life. Campion and Sherwin so impressed Howard
that he experienced a conversion moment. This led
him to renounce his previous, frivolous life and was
reconciled with his wife after their estrangement.
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saeculo, tanto plus gloriae cum Christo in futuro” – ‘the
more affliction we endure for Christ in this world, the
more glory we shall obtain with Christ in the next’.
As Philip lay dying of dysentery, he petitioned the
Queen to allow him to see his wife and also his son,
who had been born after his imprisonment. The
Queen responded that “if he will but once attend the
Protestant Service, he shall not only see his wife and
children, but be restored to his honours and estates
with every mark of my royal favour.”
To this, Philip is supposed to have replied, “Tell Her
Majesty that if my religion be the cause for which I
suffer, sorry I am that I have but one life to lose.”
He remained in the Tower, never seeing his wife or
daughter again, and his son he never saw. He died
totally alone on Sunday, 19 October 1595. He was
Many of the Howard family remained Catholic immediately acclaimed as a Catholic Martyr.
recusants during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. They
He was buried without ceremony beneath the floor
also attempted to leave England without permission.
While some might have been able to do this unobserved, of the church of St Peter ad Vincula, inside the walls of
Howard was second cousin (once removed) to the the Tower. Twenty nine years later, his widow and son
Queen. He was betrayed by a servant and arrested obtained permission from King James I of England to
not long after his ship set sail from Littlehampton. move the body to the FitzAlan Chapel located on the
Howard was committed to the Tower of London on 25 western grounds of Arundel Castle. Some of his bones are
April 1585. While charges of high treason were never also to be found within his shrine at Arundel Cathedral.
proved, he spent ten years in the Tower.
Though Saint Philip Howard had been attainted in
Queen Elizabeth never signed the death warrant, 1589, his son Thomas was eventually restored in blood
but Philip was never told of this. He was kept in and succeeded as Earl of Arundel, and to the lesser
constant fear of execution. He was comforted by the titles of his grandfather.
companionship of a dog, which served as go-between
Saint Philip Howard is one of the patron saints of the
with Philip and other prisoners. Most notable among
these was the priest Robert Southwell. Although the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, as well as Arundel
two great men never met, Philip’s dog helped them to Cathedral. The Cathedral was originally known as the
deepen their friendship and exchange encouragement Church of St Philip Neri. It had been commissioned
in each other’s plight. Philip loved his pet, who is by the 15th Duke of Norfolk in 1868. It was created
remembered along with him in a statue in Arundel a Cathedral in 1965 and its dedication was changed
to Our Lady and St Philip Howard in October 1970.
Cathedral.
His tomb was moved to the Cathedral in 1971 and
One day Philip scratched into a wall of his cell these remains a site of pilgrimage for all Catholics. Saint
words: “Quanto plus afflictiones pro Christo in hoc Philip Howard’s Feastday is 19th October.