A great Bishop and a great Irishman to boot; St Oliver Plunkett, the last martyr to receive his crown on Tyburn tree. Born of a noble Irish family (we are all descended from Kings!) he travelled to Rome to spend some years with the priests of San Girolamo della Carita before entering Holy Orders.
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When sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered he replied: "Deo gratias"
He was finally appointed, by Pope Clement IX, as Archbishop to the See of Armagh back in his native land. Taking up his appointment he found things in a state of disarray; priests causing scandal, laity doing as they pleased and religious orders running loose, literally. St Oliver came down on them like a ton of bricks and, of course, a wave of resentment entered his episcopal affairs.
In England and Wales the Oates plot was still claiming victims to the lies and subterfuges of Protestant activists and the Irish malcontents denounced Archbishop Plunkett under the umbrella of this foul lie. He was accused of aiding the raising of 70,000 Irishmen to fight against England in alliance with the French - quite an emotive and potent lie. The holy man claimed honestly, in his defence, that he lived in a humble thatched hovel and had never even countenanced such a move.
He was, of course, condemned to death and then languished in Newgate Jail in London, far from his friends and relations as the song goes. He prayed and meditated continuously and fasted for four or five days of the week, no mean feat in prison where the rations were meagre to begin with. Outwardly, the Archbishop was serene and calm, living the life of Christ.
Then, on 1st July 1681, he went to the scaffold to be first hanged until semi conscious, then cut down and his body cavity sliced into and his organs removed and then divided into four parts whilst still conscious.
The last Catholic to die for the faith in England.
His head is in St Peter's Church, Drogheda while most of the remainder of his body is preserved at Downside Abbey in Somerset.
ST OLIVER PLUNKETT - INSPIRE OUR BISHOPS - ORA PRO NOBIS!
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When sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered he replied: "Deo gratias"
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| Inspire our Bishops! |
He was finally appointed, by Pope Clement IX, as Archbishop to the See of Armagh back in his native land. Taking up his appointment he found things in a state of disarray; priests causing scandal, laity doing as they pleased and religious orders running loose, literally. St Oliver came down on them like a ton of bricks and, of course, a wave of resentment entered his episcopal affairs.
In England and Wales the Oates plot was still claiming victims to the lies and subterfuges of Protestant activists and the Irish malcontents denounced Archbishop Plunkett under the umbrella of this foul lie. He was accused of aiding the raising of 70,000 Irishmen to fight against England in alliance with the French - quite an emotive and potent lie. The holy man claimed honestly, in his defence, that he lived in a humble thatched hovel and had never even countenanced such a move.
He was, of course, condemned to death and then languished in Newgate Jail in London, far from his friends and relations as the song goes. He prayed and meditated continuously and fasted for four or five days of the week, no mean feat in prison where the rations were meagre to begin with. Outwardly, the Archbishop was serene and calm, living the life of Christ.
Then, on 1st July 1681, he went to the scaffold to be first hanged until semi conscious, then cut down and his body cavity sliced into and his organs removed and then divided into four parts whilst still conscious.
The last Catholic to die for the faith in England.
His head is in St Peter's Church, Drogheda while most of the remainder of his body is preserved at Downside Abbey in Somerset.
ST OLIVER PLUNKETT - INSPIRE OUR BISHOPS - ORA PRO NOBIS!
Ora pro nobis - amen!
ReplyDeleteThank God they didn't know how to 'nuance' in those days.
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God bless, and a happy summer.