Polydore Plasden
Encyclopedia
St Polydore Plasden, one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
. A native of London
, he studied for the priesthood at Rheims and Rome and was ordained in 1586 before being sent back to England soon after.
Saint Polydore was born in 1563, the son of a London horner. He was educated at Reims and at Rome
, where he was ordained priest on 7 December 1586. He remained at Rome for more than a year, and then was at Reims from 8 April till 2 September 1588, when he was sent on the mission. While at Rome he had signed a petition for the retention of the Jesuits as superiors of the English College, but in England he was considered to have suffered injury through their agency. He was captured on 8 Nov., 1591, in London, at Swithun Wells' house in Gray's Inn Fields, where St. Edmund Gennings
was celebrating Mass. At his execution he acknowledged Elizabeth as his lawful queen, whom he would defend to the best of his power against all her enemies, and he prayed for her and the whole realm, but said that he would rather forfeit a thousand lives than deny or fight against his religion. St. Polydore was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn
.
By the orders of Sir Walter Raleigh
, he was allowed to hang till he was dead, and the sentence was carried out upon his corpse.
He was beatified in 1929, and was canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679...
. A native of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he studied for the priesthood at Rheims and Rome and was ordained in 1586 before being sent back to England soon after.
Saint Polydore was born in 1563, the son of a London horner. He was educated at Reims and at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he was ordained priest on 7 December 1586. He remained at Rome for more than a year, and then was at Reims from 8 April till 2 September 1588, when he was sent on the mission. While at Rome he had signed a petition for the retention of the Jesuits as superiors of the English College, but in England he was considered to have suffered injury through their agency. He was captured on 8 Nov., 1591, in London, at Swithun Wells' house in Gray's Inn Fields, where St. Edmund Gennings
Edmund Gennings
Saint Edmund Gennings was an English martyr, who was executed during the English Reformation for being a Catholic priest. He came from Lichfield, Staffordshire. His name is sometimes spelled Jennings....
was celebrating Mass. At his execution he acknowledged Elizabeth as his lawful queen, whom he would defend to the best of his power against all her enemies, and he prayed for her and the whole realm, but said that he would rather forfeit a thousand lives than deny or fight against his religion. St. Polydore was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
.
By the orders of Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
, he was allowed to hang till he was dead, and the sentence was carried out upon his corpse.
He was beatified in 1929, and was canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.