The Feast of St. John Southworth

5876563202_f4dbaf46c3_oToday, I am celebrating this feast that is very important to me because I am distantly related to this saint. The following account and the image of the icon by Father Lawrence Lew, OP appears for sharing on Flickr –

St John Southworth came from a Lancashire family that chose to pay heavy fines rather than give up the Catholic faith. He studied at the English College in Douai, and was ordained priest before he returned to England where he ministered for a number of years in and around London. In 1627 he was imprisoned and sentenced to death for professing the Catholic faith, but was later reprieved and imprisoned in Lancaster Castle. After three years in prison he was with a number of other priests deported. Once more he returned to England and lived for a considerable time in Clerkenwell in London where he tended the sick during an epidemic of the plague. He was arrested again in Westminster (partly because king and Parliament were in the conflict that led ultimately to the king’s execution), was tried at the Old Bailey, pleaded guilty to exercising the priesthood and was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. At his execution at Tyburn, on 27 June 1654, he was hanged but spared the drawing and quartering. The Spanish ambassador returned his body to Douai for burial. Following the French Revolution, his body was buried in an unmarked grave which was discovered in 1927, his relics being then returned to England. They are now in the Chapel of St George and the English Martyrs in Westminster Cathedral in London.

As I explained in an earlier post, I look forward to visiting the Southworth ancestral home at Samlesbury and also the crypt of St John Southworth at Westminster Cathedral in London next month. I look on this saint is a special spiritual guardian.

4 thoughts on “The Feast of St. John Southworth

  1. Thank you, Peggy, for sharing this history. I am so happy that you are able to have this wonderful trip–and that we’ll get to be with you for a few days of it.

  2. I was led to your site this morning after trying to locate a good picture of St. John Southworth for my meditation table. I too have started to use him as a special spiritual guardian in my morning meditation and prayer. I too am distantly related to him. I am from California but trace my grandfather’s roots to Texas. I was touched by your work and found that they spoke to me- enough that I had to write to you this morning. I hope this message finds you safe and healthy,

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