We remember, today, the great feast of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Of course, there were many, many more martyrs during this period of intense Catholic persecution but the Forty Martyrs feast day provides a focal point for what it meant to die a most terrible and unnatural death with more than an echo of Calvary about it.
The litany of the martyrs contains well known illustrious names such as Edmund Campion, Nicholas Owen, Robert Southwell, Cuthbert Mayne, Anne Line and Margaret Clitherow but, today, I plan to focus on just one famous but not so well known Welsh Martyr (as a tribute to Fr Jason Jones).
ST PHILIP EVANS SJ
St Philip Evans was born in Monmouth in 1645 and educated at St Omer. He joined the Jesuits on 7th September 1665 and was eventually ordained at Liege in Belgium.
Arriving in South Wales in 1675, he ministered the Sacraments to his flock, scattered as they were, over many hundreds of square miles. On 4th December 1678 he was captured and arrested at Sker, the Glamorganshire home of Christopher Turberville.
Thrown into Cardiff Castle, he shared his imprisonment with St John Lloyd where he remained until his day of execution the following year.
He gained his martyrs crown at Gallows Field in Cardiff on July 22nd 1679.
In the absence of any image of St Philip, here is an illustration of St Edmund Campion's execution that, very graphically, depicts the savagery of being hanged, drawn and quartered.
There is a Catholic Church dedicated to St Philip in Cardiff but, sadly, their website does not mention their patron saint - appalling!
St Philip and the remainder of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales - Ora pro nobis!
Hello Richard
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog, Last Welsh Martyr. I am pleased to find another Welsh blog and even more pleased to find one that promotes our wonderful and, in my opinion, undervalued martyrs. You say you don't have an image of St Philip Evans. In the Catholic Church at Tenby there is a beautiful stained glass window depicting St Stephen, the first martyr, and three Welsh Martyrs, David Lewis, John Lloyd and Philip Evans. My husband took a picture of this window several years ago and I have posted it on my blog. You will find it at
http://lastwelshmartyr.blogspot.com/2010/01/stained-glass-windows.html and if you wish, you are welcome to use this photo.
It was a great day at Usk on Sunday. We are doing all we can to make our martyrs better known. St David Lewis is our special interest because he was born, lived and died right here in our area. We do our best and leave the rest to God and the intercession of St David Lewis and the other martyrs.
God bless you, Richard.