Venerable English College, Rome
Encyclopedia
The Venerable English College, commonly referred to as the English College, is a Roman Catholic
seminary
in Rome
, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English College, Douai
.
offered by Pope Clement VI
, had exposed the notorious shortcomings of accommodation in the Eternal City. English pilgrims had paid extortionate prices to stay in damp and filthy hostels far from St Peter's and the Holy Door through which they had come to pass. Innkeepers gave rooms designed to accommodate four people to groups of eight or more and often treated the pilgrims with violence and extortion. Many had drowned in the Tiber after the collapse of a temporary bridge and others died from the disease endemic to their rat-infested lodgings. The foundation of the Hospice was in direct response to this situation, with the stated aim of caring for "poor, infirm, needy and wretched persons from England".
The Hospice of St Thomas grew into the major centre for English visitors and residents in Rome. In 1376 a Chapel was erected on the site of the present College Church, and remnants of the impressive structure still remain in the College Garden. The new Chapel attracted royal patronage, and by the reign of King Henry VII the institution had become known as "The King's Hospice", with a Warden appointed by the Crown. Evidence of this early royal connection may be seen in the present day building, which contains a corbel of fumed oak and a stone shield, both bearing the arms of the Plantagenet Kings.
Wardens included Thomas Linacre
, founder of the Royal College of Physicians, and Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge
, Archbishop of York and Papal Legate, who was poisoned by one of his chaplains at the Hospice on 7 July 1514 and whose magnificent marble tomb remains in the College Church to this day.
During the 237 years of its existence the English Hospice received many thousands of pilgrims, one of the most famous being the saintly mystic, Margery Kempe
, who visited in 1416. In 1481, 218 pilgrims stayed here, and during the plague of 1482 the Hospice cared for 96 sick pilgrims. However, two events in the early sixteenth century led to a radical decline in the fortunes of the Hospice.
During the Sack of Rome
in 1527 troops of the Holy Roman Emperor broke into the Hospice and carried away the greater part of its gold and silver ware, its moveable property and its extensive archive of papers and manuscripts. At the same time, King Henry VIII
made his fateful decision to break with Rome, and almost entirely impeded the flow of English pilgrims to the See of Peter. In response to this moment of crisis, Pope Paul III
took over the Hospice in the year 1538 and placed it in the hands of Cardinal Reginald Pole, himself cousin to King Henry VIII. When Cardinal Pole returned to England as Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Mary, it seemed that the Hospice would revive as a pilgrim institution, but the accession of Elizabeth I brought darker days. Acting as little more than a refuge for a few decrepit chaplains and exiles, the Hospice spent less than a tenth of its income on welcoming guests. The future seemed bleak indeed.
), and had drawn to it 240 students, many from his former University. In 1576, with the aid and encouragement of the reigning Pontiff, Gregory XIII, he converted the moribund Hospice into a seminary, known as the Collegium Anglorum or English College. Its first students arrived there from Douai in 1577 and Gregory XIII issued the Bull of Foundation in 1579. The Pope gave the new English College a yearly grant and property, including the Abbey of San Savino at Piacenza. Moreover, the tradition of hospitality continued, and the College received several eminent guests, including the physician, William Harvey
(1636), the poets John Milton
(1638) and Richard Crashaw
(1646), and the diarist, John Evelyn
(1644).
Division and disorder overhung the first years of the English College. A Welshman, Morus Clynnog, was made perpetual warden in 1578, an appointment unpopular with both the students and the Hospice chaplains, whom he had just expelled. The students accused Clynnog of undue partiality to the Welsh
students, but deeper issues were at stake.
Clynnog, together with Owen Lewis
, an influential curial official, saw the new College as a home for exiles, rather like the Hospice, which would wait for the restoration of the old order. In fact, the students were encouraged to learn Italian so that they could take up posts in Italy while they waited for England's conversion. However, many of the students shared the missionary ideals of the Jesuits
, equating the jungles of heathen South America with the woods of Protestant England. What they wanted was a house of studies preparing ordinands for immediate mission. For over a year the two factions circulated petitions and memorials, including one that called the Welsh barbarous savages who dwelt in a remote mountainous corner of Britain. Students even waylaid the Pope to ask for his assistance, and the future Martyr, St Ralph Sherwin, famously drew his sword in the Refectory (the kitchen of the present-day building). Finally Clynnog was dismissed and replaced by a Jesuit, Alfonso Agazzari. The Jesuits
would be in charge until 1773.
and other Jesuit priests. Nevertheless, his account provides an invaluable picture of the daily routine at the College. Here, for example, he describes a typical dinner at the College of the martyrs:
“Every man has his own trencher, his manchet, knife, spoon and fork laid by it, and then a fair white napkin covering it, with his glass and pot of wine set by him. And the first mess, or antepast (as they call it)….is some fine meat to urge them to have an appetite….The fourth is roasted meat, of the daintiest provision that they can get, and sometimes stewed and baked meat....The first and last is sometimes cheese, sometimes preserved conceits, sometimes figs, almonds and raisins, a lemon and sugar, a pomegranate, or some such sweet gear; for they know that Englishmen loveth sweetmeats.”
The College's Protomartyr was St Ralph Sherwin
. He was born in Roddesley, Derbyshire, around 1550 and educated at Eton College
and at Exeter College
, Oxford, before leaving for Douai and then Rome, where he studied like every subsequent generation of seminarists at the Pontifical Gregorian University. His name stands first in the famous Liber Ruber (a list of students who took the missionary oath in Rome before returning to England), where he is recorded as saying that he was ready, "today rather than tomorrow, at a sign from his superiors to go into England for the helping of souls".
His time soon came, and within four months of landing he was captured, imprisoned, tortured and finally hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 1 December 1581. Many others followed - including St Robert Southwell, the Jesuit poet (1595) and St Henry Morse
, the "Priest of the Plague" (1645). The last College martydoms were in 1679 during the anti-Roman Catholic hysteria following the "Popish Plot", when Saint David Lewis, St John Wall and Anthony Turner
suffered.
The College soon gained a reputation as a nursery of Martyrs. A custom arose of a student preaching before the Pope every St Stephen's Day on the theme of Martyrdom. Blessed John Cornelius
called the College the "Pontifical Seminary of Martyrs" in his St Stephen's sermon of 1581. St Philip Neri
, the "Second Apostle of Rome", who lived opposite the College at S. Girolamo della Carità, used to greet the students with the words «Salvete Flores Martyrum» (Hail! flowers of the Martyrs), and the great Oratorian
historian, Cardinal Cesare Baronio, paid tribute to the English martyrs in his 1585 revision of the martyrology
. In the College church Niccolò Circignani
painted a series of frescoes of English saints and martyrs which began with St Joseph of Arimathea's supposed visit to England and ended with the College martyrs, their sufferings shown in graphic detail. Copies of these frescoes can be seen in the tribune, and afforded important evidence of contemporary veneration of the martyrs during the process of their beatification and canonisation.
“The Martyrs’ Picture” is the first thing one notices upon entering the College church. It was painted by Durante Alberti
in 1580, just after the foundation of the College, and depicts the Blessed Trinity with two English martyrs: St Thomas of Canterbury on the left hand side and St Edmund, King of East Anglia, on the right. Blood from Christ’s wounds is shown falling onto a map of the British Isles, and from this blood fire is springing up. This ties in with the College motto, held by a cherub: Ignem veni mittere in terram (I have come to bring fire to the earth). According to tradition, students gathered around this picture to sing a Te Deum whenever news reached Rome of a martyrdom of a former student. This custom continues today when the Te Deum is sung in front of the painting on 1 December, “Martyrs’ Day”, and the relics of the Martyrs, preserved beneath the Altar, are venerated by the students.
designed the fresco of the Assumption in the domestic chapel, for which, as College documents attest, he was paid 22 scudi. Between 1682 and 1694 part of the College site was rebuilt as a Palazzo by the Cardinal Protector of Great Britain, Philip Howard
, third son of the Earl of Arundel
. Of particular note is the fresco of St George slaying the dragon on the ceiling of the College Refectory.
During the eighteenth century the College attached itself to the Jacobite cause, praying for a restored Stuart monarchy which would be sympathetic to the Roman Catholic faith. The Stuart pretenders, who lived nearby at the Palazzo Muti
, were occasional visitors to the College. This, however, could be dangerous. Shortly after the death of the "Old Pretender" in 1766, "Bonnie Prince Charlie" was received by the Rector and attended Mass here.
A rumour spread around Rome that the Prince had been crowned during the service and proclaimed as King Charles III. The Pope, who had recently withdrawn his support for the Stuart cause, was furious and dismissed the unfortunate Rector forthwith. However, Jacobite sympathies lingered on in the College until the death of the last Pretender, Henry, Cardinal Duke of York, in 1807. Even today, some English College seminarians maintain an annual St George's Day
tradition of laying white roses on the tomb of the Stuart monarchs at St Peter's and praying for the souls of these exiled pretenders to the throne of Great Britain. In 2005 Cardinal Francesco Marchesane, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, instructed the security personnel not to apply the usual rules excluding flowers from the building.
More serious trouble followed in 1773 when Clement XIV was persuaded to suppress the Society of Jesus
, which until then had run the affairs of the College. The General of the Jesuits
, Lorenzo Ricci
, was actually imprisoned in the College for a month before being removed to Castel Sant'Angelo
. The College passed into the hands of Italian secular priests.
In 1796, Napoleon invaded Italy and in 1798 General Berthier entered Rome. The Pope, Pius VI, fled to Siena and the students of the English College left for home. The College buildings were sacked, turned into a barracks and finally a police station. The church roof was used as a supply of timber and the lead coffins were taken up from the crypt and melted down to make bullets. Mass obligations were farmed out to neighbouring churches. The second great crisis in the history of the College had arrived.
, was appointed and started the life of the College anew with a small group of students, including Nicholas Wiseman, who subsequently became rector at the age of 27 (1828) and the first Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
(1850).
Wiseman succeeded in making the College a centre of intellectual and social life. He became a professor of Syriac at the University of Rome
and received many distinguished visitors to the College, such as Newman, Macaulay, Gladstone
, Manning
, Lamennais and Lacordaire
. One of his students was Ignatius Spencer
, who later joined the Passionists and died in the odour of sanctity. His great-nephew was Winston Churchill
and his great-great-great-niece Diana, Princess of Wales
.
In 1866 Pope Pius IX laid the Foundation Stone of a new College Church, designed by Count Virginio Vespignani, the old Hospice church having been unusable for decades. This was completed in 1888. In the meantime, Papal Rome had fallen and the Kingdom of Italy
founded. During the occupation of Rome in 1870 the College was slightly damaged by cannon fire, as it had been in 1849, and students sheltered in the cellar, where they were provided with hot wine. To this day, the recently restored Clock Tower of the College bears the marks of this unfortunate chapter of European history.
(1917-29) and William Godfrey (1929-39), who both later became Cardinal Archbishops of Westminster. They encouraged a highly Anglicised type of Romanitas
in which a consciousness of Imperial superiority was tempered by a deep affection for Italy and all things Italian. Students put on concerts, plays and Gilbert and Sullivan
operas, organised debates and societies, and ran a successful in-house journal, The Venerabile, as well as the famous periodical "Chi Lo Sa?" (Who Knows?), in which the Superiors of the College were mercilessly satirised. Edward VII
visited the College in 1903, and King George V
sent a signed photograph to the students during his visit to Rome exactly twenty years later. The products of this healthy regime, including Cardinals Griffin
and Heenan, were to lead English Roman Catholics into the 1970s.
Hinsley did a great deal of restructuring work, including the buying of a new villa at Palazzola. This former Franciscan Friary replaced the cramped summer house at Monte Porzio which students had used since the seventeenth century and which they had come affectionately to call "dear old Monty P". Eager to move into the new property, seminarians helped with their own hands to dig the swimming pool and surface the tennis court. A cricket pitch was also set out, known to this day as The Whiggery, and an annual cricket match played with the staff of the British Embassy. In 1926, with the help of front page support from The Times
, Hinsley saved the College from a scheme of the Roman city planners to destroy some of the buildings to make room for a covered market.
The Second World War resulted in a second period of exile for the College. Dressed in civilian clothes, courtesy of the stage man, the house left Rome on 16 May 1940 and narrowly secured places on the last boat for England from Le Havre
, which was about to fall. The College buildings were used as a hospital organised by the Knights of Malta from 1941 to 1944. Students continued classes and seminary life first at Ambleside
in the Lake District
and then at the Jesuit school of Stonyhurst
, returning to Rome in the autumn of 1946.
stayed at the College during the Second Vatican Council
(1962-65), as they had done during the First Vatican Council
(1869-70). As a measure of their gratitude, the Bishops undertook to repanel the Refectory of the College in a contemporary style, also installing a new pulpit in anticipation of continued reading during silent meals. The Refectory had previously been lined and furnished with seventeenth century walnut. Frescoes that previously adorned the walls of the hall were whitewashed in the 1950s by the incumbent Rector, Monsignor
Jock Tickle, who later became Bishop-in-Ordinary to Her Majesty's Forces
.
was re-positioned, and old pews were replaced with new seating. The Baldachino which had hung over the previous High Altar for almost a hundred years was sent to a local antique shop, where it could still be seen awaiting a buyer into the 1990s. Other changes at this time included the change in the College dress code, which had not changed since the time of the Martyrs, and the relaxation of most of the old seminary Rule.
In 1979, on the occasion of its Fourth Centenary, the College was honoured by a visit from John Paul II who celebrated Mass in the Church and joined the students for a festive banquet in the refectory.
. The official icon of the Pope's Apostolic Authority, the Triple Tiara
, is used in conjunction with the silver key (symbolising the power of St Peter's successor to bind and loose on earth) and the golden key (symbolising the power of St Peter's successor to bind and loose in heaven). Cardinal Allen and Pope Gregory XVI, who co-founded the College, donate from their personal arms the dragon rampant and the three hares, whilst the two Lions Rampant come from the Arms of King Edward III. This represents the patronage bestowed on the College by every English King between the fourteenth century and the Protestant Reformation. During this period the Warden of the College was often England's Ambassador to the Holy See. The shell at the bottom of the arms is the traditional emblem of the pilgrim and recalls the origins of the present institution as a hospice for English visitors to Rome. The motto "Ignem Veni Mittere In Terram" (Luke 12:49) is taken from the Martyrs' Picture, which hangs behind the Altar in the College Church, and may be translated as "I have come to bring fire to the earth"; it reflects the apostolic zeal with which the first Martyrs returned to almost certain death in Protestant England and Wales.
On Sunday, Solemn Mass is celebrated in the College Church at 10.00am, and Solemn Vespers at 7.00pm. The College Church is due to undergo extensive restoration in the near future; recently, the Martyrs' Chapel, Refectory, Library and Archives have all been restored.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in 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...
, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English College, Douai
English College, Douai
The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary associated with the University of Douai . It was established in about 1561, and was suppressed in 1793...
.
St Thomas' Hospice (1362-1579)
The English Hospice of the Most Holy Trinity and St Thomas was founded in 1362 when the English community in Rome purchased a house from the rosary sellers John and Alice Shephard. The Jubilee Year of 1350, which had seen the influx of over a million pilgrims anxious to gain the Plenary IndulgenceIndulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...
offered by Pope Clement VI
Pope Clement VI
Pope Clement VI , bornPierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was pope from May 1342 until his death in December of 1352...
, had exposed the notorious shortcomings of accommodation in the Eternal City. English pilgrims had paid extortionate prices to stay in damp and filthy hostels far from St Peter's and the Holy Door through which they had come to pass. Innkeepers gave rooms designed to accommodate four people to groups of eight or more and often treated the pilgrims with violence and extortion. Many had drowned in the Tiber after the collapse of a temporary bridge and others died from the disease endemic to their rat-infested lodgings. The foundation of the Hospice was in direct response to this situation, with the stated aim of caring for "poor, infirm, needy and wretched persons from England".
The Hospice of St Thomas grew into the major centre for English visitors and residents in Rome. In 1376 a Chapel was erected on the site of the present College Church, and remnants of the impressive structure still remain in the College Garden. The new Chapel attracted royal patronage, and by the reign of King Henry VII the institution had become known as "The King's Hospice", with a Warden appointed by the Crown. Evidence of this early royal connection may be seen in the present day building, which contains a corbel of fumed oak and a stone shield, both bearing the arms of the Plantagenet Kings.
Wardens included Thomas Linacre
Thomas Linacre
Thomas Linacre was a humanist scholar and physician, after whom Linacre College, Oxford and Linacre House The King's School, Canterbury are named....
, founder of the Royal College of Physicians, and Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge
Christopher Bainbridge
Christopher Bainbridge was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of York from 1508 until his death.-Early life:...
, Archbishop of York and Papal Legate, who was poisoned by one of his chaplains at the Hospice on 7 July 1514 and whose magnificent marble tomb remains in the College Church to this day.
During the 237 years of its existence the English Hospice received many thousands of pilgrims, one of the most famous being the saintly mystic, Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe is known for dictating The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. This book chronicles, to some extent, her extensive pilgrimages to various holy sites in Europe and Asia, as well as her mystical conversations with God...
, who visited in 1416. In 1481, 218 pilgrims stayed here, and during the plague of 1482 the Hospice cared for 96 sick pilgrims. However, two events in the early sixteenth century led to a radical decline in the fortunes of the Hospice.
During the Sack of Rome
Sack of Rome (1527)
The Sack of Rome on 6 May 1527 was a military event carried out by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, then part of the Papal States...
in 1527 troops of the Holy Roman Emperor broke into the Hospice and carried away the greater part of its gold and silver ware, its moveable property and its extensive archive of papers and manuscripts. At the same time, King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
made his fateful decision to break with Rome, and almost entirely impeded the flow of English pilgrims to the See of Peter. In response to this moment of crisis, Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
took over the Hospice in the year 1538 and placed it in the hands of Cardinal Reginald Pole, himself cousin to King Henry VIII. When Cardinal Pole returned to England as Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Mary, it seemed that the Hospice would revive as a pilgrim institution, but the accession of Elizabeth I brought darker days. Acting as little more than a refuge for a few decrepit chaplains and exiles, the Hospice spent less than a tenth of its income on welcoming guests. The future seemed bleak indeed.
Foundation of the college (1579)
The arrival of William Allen in Rome in the high summer of 1576 heralded a new and more glorious chapter in the history of the English Hospice. Allen, who, like Cardinal Newman three centuries later, had resigned a Fellowship at Oriel College, Oxford, had already founded a seminary at Douai (France) in 1568 (English College, DouaiEnglish College, Douai
The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary associated with the University of Douai . It was established in about 1561, and was suppressed in 1793...
), and had drawn to it 240 students, many from his former University. In 1576, with the aid and encouragement of the reigning Pontiff, Gregory XIII, he converted the moribund Hospice into a seminary, known as the Collegium Anglorum or English College. Its first students arrived there from Douai in 1577 and Gregory XIII issued the Bull of Foundation in 1579. The Pope gave the new English College a yearly grant and property, including the Abbey of San Savino at Piacenza. Moreover, the tradition of hospitality continued, and the College received several eminent guests, including the physician, William Harvey
William Harvey
William Harvey was an English physician who was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart...
(1636), the poets John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
(1638) and Richard Crashaw
Richard Crashaw
Richard Crashaw , English poet, styled "the divine," was part of the Seventeenth-century Metaphysical School of poets.-Life:...
(1646), and the diarist, John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
(1644).
Division and disorder overhung the first years of the English College. A Welshman, Morus Clynnog, was made perpetual warden in 1578, an appointment unpopular with both the students and the Hospice chaplains, whom he had just expelled. The students accused Clynnog of undue partiality to the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
students, but deeper issues were at stake.
Clynnog, together with Owen Lewis
Owen Lewis (bishop)
Owen Lewis, also known as Lewis Owen was a Welsh Roman Catholic priest, jurist, administrator and diplomat, who became bishop of Cassano.-Early life:...
, an influential curial official, saw the new College as a home for exiles, rather like the Hospice, which would wait for the restoration of the old order. In fact, the students were encouraged to learn Italian so that they could take up posts in Italy while they waited for England's conversion. However, many of the students shared the missionary ideals of the Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, equating the jungles of heathen South America with the woods of Protestant England. What they wanted was a house of studies preparing ordinands for immediate mission. For over a year the two factions circulated petitions and memorials, including one that called the Welsh barbarous savages who dwelt in a remote mountainous corner of Britain. Students even waylaid the Pope to ask for his assistance, and the future Martyr, St Ralph Sherwin, famously drew his sword in the Refectory (the kitchen of the present-day building). Finally Clynnog was dismissed and replaced by a Jesuit, Alfonso Agazzari. The Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
would be in charge until 1773.
The English Romayne Life and Anthony Munday
One of the most interesting descriptions of life in the early days of the seminary comes from the pen of Anthony Munday, poet, storyteller and spy. Coming to Rome in 1578 with a friend, Thomas Nowell, he stayed at the College and later published his impressions in The English Romayne Life (1582). On returning to England, he turned anti-Catholic informer and helped to betray St Edmund CampionEdmund Campion
Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
and other Jesuit priests. Nevertheless, his account provides an invaluable picture of the daily routine at the College. Here, for example, he describes a typical dinner at the College of the martyrs:
“Every man has his own trencher, his manchet, knife, spoon and fork laid by it, and then a fair white napkin covering it, with his glass and pot of wine set by him. And the first mess, or antepast (as they call it)….is some fine meat to urge them to have an appetite….The fourth is roasted meat, of the daintiest provision that they can get, and sometimes stewed and baked meat....The first and last is sometimes cheese, sometimes preserved conceits, sometimes figs, almonds and raisins, a lemon and sugar, a pomegranate, or some such sweet gear; for they know that Englishmen loveth sweetmeats.”
The age of the martyrs (1581-1679)
The College has been known as the "Venerable English College" since 1818 because of the 44 students who were martyred for the Roman Catholic faith between 1581 and 1679, as well as the 130 who suffered imprisonment and exile. 41 of these have since been canonised or beatified by the Church.The College's Protomartyr was St Ralph Sherwin
Ralph Sherwin
Saint Ralph Sherwin was an English Roman Catholic martyr and saint. He was born at Rodsley, Derbyshire, and was educated at Eton College...
. He was born in Roddesley, Derbyshire, around 1550 and educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and at Exeter College
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, Oxford, before leaving for Douai and then Rome, where he studied like every subsequent generation of seminarists at the Pontifical Gregorian University. His name stands first in the famous Liber Ruber (a list of students who took the missionary oath in Rome before returning to England), where he is recorded as saying that he was ready, "today rather than tomorrow, at a sign from his superiors to go into England for the helping of souls".
His time soon came, and within four months of landing he was captured, imprisoned, tortured and finally hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 1 December 1581. Many others followed - including St Robert Southwell, the Jesuit poet (1595) and St Henry Morse
Henry Morse
Saint Henry Morse was one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Biography:Born a Protestant in 1595 at Brome, Suffolk, England, Morse converted to Roman Catholicism at Douai, 5 June, 1614, after various journeys was ordained at Rome, and left for the mission, 19 June, 1624...
, the "Priest of the Plague" (1645). The last College martydoms were in 1679 during the anti-Roman Catholic hysteria following the "Popish Plot", when Saint David Lewis, St John Wall and Anthony Turner
Anthony Turner
Anthony Turner was a noted English actor in the Caroline era. For most of his career he worked with Queen Henrietta's Men, one of the leading theatre companies of the time....
suffered.
The College soon gained a reputation as a nursery of Martyrs. A custom arose of a student preaching before the Pope every St Stephen's Day on the theme of Martyrdom. Blessed John Cornelius
John Cornelius
Blessed John Cornelius was an English Catholic priest and Jesuit. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929.-Life:Sir John Arundell took an interest in the boy and sent him to the University of Oxford...
called the College the "Pontifical Seminary of Martyrs" in his St Stephen's sermon of 1581. St Philip Neri
Philip Neri
Saint Philip Romolo Neri , also known as Apostle of Rome, was an Italian priest, noted for founding a society of secular priests called the "Congregation of the Oratory".-Early life:...
, the "Second Apostle of Rome", who lived opposite the College at S. Girolamo della Carità, used to greet the students with the words «Salvete Flores Martyrum» (Hail! flowers of the Martyrs), and the great Oratorian
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
historian, Cardinal Cesare Baronio, paid tribute to the English martyrs in his 1585 revision of the martyrology
Martyrology
A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs , arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by names borrowed from neighbouring churches...
. In the College church Niccolò Circignani
Niccolò Circignani
Niccolò Circignani was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period.Born in Pomarance, he is one of three Italian painters called Pomarancio. His first works are documented from the 1560s, where he painted frescos on the Old Testament stories for the Vatican Belvedere, where he...
painted a series of frescoes of English saints and martyrs which began with St Joseph of Arimathea's supposed visit to England and ended with the College martyrs, their sufferings shown in graphic detail. Copies of these frescoes can be seen in the tribune, and afforded important evidence of contemporary veneration of the martyrs during the process of their beatification and canonisation.
“The Martyrs’ Picture” is the first thing one notices upon entering the College church. It was painted by Durante Alberti
Durante Alberti
Durante Alberti was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period.He was born in Borgo San Sepolcro. He was active mainly in his native town and Rome, where he arrived during the papacy of Gregory XIII. He was also called Durante del Nero. His father was Romano Alberti. His son Pierfrancesco...
in 1580, just after the foundation of the College, and depicts the Blessed Trinity with two English martyrs: St Thomas of Canterbury on the left hand side and St Edmund, King of East Anglia, on the right. Blood from Christ’s wounds is shown falling onto a map of the British Isles, and from this blood fire is springing up. This ties in with the College motto, held by a cherub: Ignem veni mittere in terram (I have come to bring fire to the earth). According to tradition, students gathered around this picture to sing a Te Deum whenever news reached Rome of a martyrdom of a former student. This custom continues today when the Te Deum is sung in front of the painting on 1 December, “Martyrs’ Day”, and the relics of the Martyrs, preserved beneath the Altar, are venerated by the students.
Cardinal Howard & The King Over the Water
The last College martyr suffered in 1679. Two years later most of the College was rebuilt, although plans to build a new oval church with a double dome never materialised. The great Jesuit brother and artist Andrea PozzoAndrea Pozzo
Andrea Pozzo was an Italian Jesuit Brother, Baroque painter and architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. He was best known for his grandiose frescoes using illusionistic technique called quadratura, in which architecture and fancy are intermixed...
designed the fresco of the Assumption in the domestic chapel, for which, as College documents attest, he was paid 22 scudi. Between 1682 and 1694 part of the College site was rebuilt as a Palazzo by the Cardinal Protector of Great Britain, Philip Howard
Philip Howard (Cardinal)
Hon. Philip Howard was an English Roman Catholic cardinal. Born the third son of Henry Frederick Howard and his wife, Elizabeth Stuart , Howard was a member of the premier Catholic family in England...
, third son of the Earl of Arundel
Earl of Arundel
The title Earl of Arundel is the oldest extant Earldom and perhaps the oldest extant title in the Peerage of England. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. It was created in 1138 for the Norman baron Sir William d'Aubigny...
. Of particular note is the fresco of St George slaying the dragon on the ceiling of the College Refectory.
During the eighteenth century the College attached itself to the Jacobite cause, praying for a restored Stuart monarchy which would be sympathetic to the Roman Catholic faith. The Stuart pretenders, who lived nearby at the Palazzo Muti
Palazzo Muti
The Palazzo Muti should not be confused with the Palazzo Muti Papazzurri in the Piazza della Pilotta which was designed by Mattia de' Rossi in 1660....
, were occasional visitors to the College. This, however, could be dangerous. Shortly after the death of the "Old Pretender" in 1766, "Bonnie Prince Charlie" was received by the Rector and attended Mass here.
A rumour spread around Rome that the Prince had been crowned during the service and proclaimed as King Charles III. The Pope, who had recently withdrawn his support for the Stuart cause, was furious and dismissed the unfortunate Rector forthwith. However, Jacobite sympathies lingered on in the College until the death of the last Pretender, Henry, Cardinal Duke of York, in 1807. Even today, some English College seminarians maintain an annual St George's Day
St George's Day
St George's Day is celebrated by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint. St George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in AD 303...
tradition of laying white roses on the tomb of the Stuart monarchs at St Peter's and praying for the souls of these exiled pretenders to the throne of Great Britain. In 2005 Cardinal Francesco Marchesane, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, instructed the security personnel not to apply the usual rules excluding flowers from the building.
More serious trouble followed in 1773 when Clement XIV was persuaded to suppress the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, which until then had run the affairs of the College. The General of the Jesuits
Superior General of the Society of Jesus
The Superior General of the Society of Jesus is the official title of the leader of the Society of Jesus—the Roman Catholic religious order, also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position carries the nickname of Black Pope, after his simple black priest's...
, Lorenzo Ricci
Lorenzo Ricci
Lorenzo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit, elected the 18th Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was also the last before the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773.-Early Life and career:Ricci was born in Florence, Italy...
, was actually imprisoned in the College for a month before being removed to Castel Sant'Angelo
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...
. The College passed into the hands of Italian secular priests.
In 1796, Napoleon invaded Italy and in 1798 General Berthier entered Rome. The Pope, Pius VI, fled to Siena and the students of the English College left for home. The College buildings were sacked, turned into a barracks and finally a police station. The church roof was used as a supply of timber and the lead coffins were taken up from the crypt and melted down to make bullets. Mass obligations were farmed out to neighbouring churches. The second great crisis in the history of the College had arrived.
Wiseman and the golden age
The College, without staff or students, survived the Napoleonic period: account books and legal meetings continued throughout the period, largely due to the support of the Cardinal Protector, Romualdo Braschi, nephew of Pius VI. In 1818 an English rector, Robert GradwellRobert Gradwell
-Life:Gradwell was born at Clifton-in-the Fylde, Lancashire.He went to the English College, Douai in 1791. The college being suppressed by the French revolutionists, he was confined for some time, and was not allowed to return to England till 1795...
, was appointed and started the life of the College anew with a small group of students, including Nicholas Wiseman, who subsequently became rector at the age of 27 (1828) and the first Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
Archbishop of Westminster
The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman...
(1850).
Wiseman succeeded in making the College a centre of intellectual and social life. He became a professor of Syriac at the University of Rome
University of Rome La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome, officially Sapienza – Università di Roma, formerly known as Università degli studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a coeducational, autonomous state university in Rome, Italy...
and received many distinguished visitors to the College, such as Newman, Macaulay, Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, Manning
Manning
-Origin and meaning:Ó Mannin is the name of a Galway family who were formerly chiefs of Soghain , a district nearly co-extensive with the barony of Tiaquin...
, Lamennais and Lacordaire
Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire
Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire , often styled Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, was a French ecclesiastic, preacher, journalist and political activist...
. One of his students was Ignatius Spencer
Ignatius Spencer
Father Ignatius of St Paul , born as Hon. George Spencer, was a son of the 2nd Earl Spencer. He converted from Anglicanism to the Roman Catholic Church and entered the Passionist Order in 1841 and spent his life working for the conversion of England to the Catholic faith.-Birth and Education:George...
, who later joined the Passionists and died in the odour of sanctity. His great-nephew was Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and his great-great-great-niece Diana, Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
.
In 1866 Pope Pius IX laid the Foundation Stone of a new College Church, designed by Count Virginio Vespignani, the old Hospice church having been unusable for decades. This was completed in 1888. In the meantime, Papal Rome had fallen and the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
founded. During the occupation of Rome in 1870 the College was slightly damaged by cannon fire, as it had been in 1849, and students sheltered in the cellar, where they were provided with hot wine. To this day, the recently restored Clock Tower of the College bears the marks of this unfortunate chapter of European history.
The World Wars
The inter-war period saw the rectorships of Arthur HinsleyArthur Hinsley
Arthur Hinsley was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1935 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1937.-Biography:...
(1917-29) and William Godfrey (1929-39), who both later became Cardinal Archbishops of Westminster. They encouraged a highly Anglicised type of Romanitas
Romanitas
Romanità also termed Romanitas in English referring to "Roman-ness" or the Roman ideal the refers to an immiscibly Latin culture of the Roman Empire. Cicero contributed much to the notion....
in which a consciousness of Imperial superiority was tempered by a deep affection for Italy and all things Italian. Students put on concerts, plays and Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas, organised debates and societies, and ran a successful in-house journal, The Venerabile, as well as the famous periodical "Chi Lo Sa?" (Who Knows?), in which the Superiors of the College were mercilessly satirised. Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
visited the College in 1903, and King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
sent a signed photograph to the students during his visit to Rome exactly twenty years later. The products of this healthy regime, including Cardinals Griffin
Bernard Griffin
Bernard William Griffin was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1943 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.-Biography:...
and Heenan, were to lead English Roman Catholics into the 1970s.
Hinsley did a great deal of restructuring work, including the buying of a new villa at Palazzola. This former Franciscan Friary replaced the cramped summer house at Monte Porzio which students had used since the seventeenth century and which they had come affectionately to call "dear old Monty P". Eager to move into the new property, seminarians helped with their own hands to dig the swimming pool and surface the tennis court. A cricket pitch was also set out, known to this day as The Whiggery, and an annual cricket match played with the staff of the British Embassy. In 1926, with the help of front page support from The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Hinsley saved the College from a scheme of the Roman city planners to destroy some of the buildings to make room for a covered market.
The Second World War resulted in a second period of exile for the College. Dressed in civilian clothes, courtesy of the stage man, the house left Rome on 16 May 1940 and narrowly secured places on the last boat for England from Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, which was about to fall. The College buildings were used as a hospital organised by the Knights of Malta from 1941 to 1944. Students continued classes and seminary life first at Ambleside
Ambleside
Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England.Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake...
in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
and then at the Jesuit school of Stonyhurst
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
, returning to Rome in the autumn of 1946.
The Second Vatican Council
The English and Welsh bishopsCatholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.-About:...
stayed at the College during the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
(1962-65), as they had done during the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
(1869-70). As a measure of their gratitude, the Bishops undertook to repanel the Refectory of the College in a contemporary style, also installing a new pulpit in anticipation of continued reading during silent meals. The Refectory had previously been lined and furnished with seventeenth century walnut. Frescoes that previously adorned the walls of the hall were whitewashed in the 1950s by the incumbent Rector, Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
Jock Tickle, who later became Bishop-in-Ordinary to Her Majesty's Forces
Bishopric of the Forces
The Bishopric of the Forces is the Latin-rite Catholic military ordinariate which provides chaplains to the British Armed Forces across the United Kingdom and overseas. The chaplains are drawn from the dioceses of England, Wales and Scotland, and from some religious orders...
.
The 1970s
The 1970s were a period of change in the history of the College, as for much of the Roman Catholic Church in the West. During a reordering of the College Church, a new Altar was consecrated on 1 December 1980; the side altars of the College Church were removed, the TabernacleChurch tabernacle
A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry....
was re-positioned, and old pews were replaced with new seating. The Baldachino which had hung over the previous High Altar for almost a hundred years was sent to a local antique shop, where it could still be seen awaiting a buyer into the 1990s. Other changes at this time included the change in the College dress code, which had not changed since the time of the Martyrs, and the relaxation of most of the old seminary Rule.
In 1979, on the occasion of its Fourth Centenary, the College was honoured by a visit from John Paul II who celebrated Mass in the Church and joined the students for a festive banquet in the refectory.
The College Coat of Arms
The Coat of Arms of the Venerable English College derives its legitimacy from the Holy SeeHoly See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. The official icon of the Pope's Apostolic Authority, the Triple Tiara
Papal Tiara
The Papal Tiara, also known incorrectly as the Triple Tiara, or in Latin as the Triregnum, in Italian as the Triregno and as the Trirègne in French, is the three-tiered jewelled papal crown, supposedly of Byzantine and Persian origin, that is a prominent symbol of the papacy...
, is used in conjunction with the silver key (symbolising the power of St Peter's successor to bind and loose on earth) and the golden key (symbolising the power of St Peter's successor to bind and loose in heaven). Cardinal Allen and Pope Gregory XVI, who co-founded the College, donate from their personal arms the dragon rampant and the three hares, whilst the two Lions Rampant come from the Arms of King Edward III. This represents the patronage bestowed on the College by every English King between the fourteenth century and the Protestant Reformation. During this period the Warden of the College was often England's Ambassador to the Holy See. The shell at the bottom of the arms is the traditional emblem of the pilgrim and recalls the origins of the present institution as a hospice for English visitors to Rome. The motto "Ignem Veni Mittere In Terram" (Luke 12:49) is taken from the Martyrs' Picture, which hangs behind the Altar in the College Church, and may be translated as "I have come to bring fire to the earth"; it reflects the apostolic zeal with which the first Martyrs returned to almost certain death in Protestant England and Wales.
The College garden
Although located in central Rome, the College possesses an extensive garden (laid out substantially as it was in the days of the Martyrs) and a swimming pool, recently refurbished with the aid of the Friends of the Venerabile. As swimming pools were for many years prohibited for reasons of water conservation, it was once classified as a water storage facility, and a remnant of this former association survives in the College slang term for the pool, The Tank. The garden contains a number of Roman columns and other pieces of classical stonework, as well as pillars and window frames from the 14th century Chapel.The weekday College timetable in 2006
- 6.45 Morning Prayer & Mass in the College Church
- 7.30 Breakfast in the Refectory
- 8.30-12.15 Lectures in the pontifical universities
- 12.45 Rosary in the Martyrs' Chapel
- 13.00 Lunch in the Refectory
- 13.45 Visit to the Blessed Sacrament
- 17.00-18.00 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Benediction
- 19.15 Evening Prayer
- 19.30 Dinner in the Refectory
On Sunday, Solemn Mass is celebrated in the College Church at 10.00am, and Solemn Vespers at 7.00pm. The College Church is due to undergo extensive restoration in the near future; recently, the Martyrs' Chapel, Refectory, Library and Archives have all been restored.
The College martyrs
- St Ralph SherwinRalph SherwinSaint Ralph Sherwin was an English Roman Catholic martyr and saint. He was born at Rodsley, Derbyshire, and was educated at Eton College...
, 1581 - BlBeatificationBeatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Thomas CottamThomas CottamBlessed Thomas Cottam was an English Catholic priest and martyr from Lancashire, who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I.-Life:...
, 1582 - St Luke KirbyLuke KirbySaint Luke Kirby was an English Catholic priest and martyr from the North of England, executed during the reign of Elizabeth I....
, 1582 - Bl. John ShertJohn ShertBlessed John Shert was an English Catholic priest and martyr, who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I.He was born at Shert Hall near Macclesfield, Cheshire, and received his degree from Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1566...
, 1582 - Bl. William LaceyWilliam LaceyWilliam Lacey is a British conductor. He studied at King's College, Cambridge and privately with Alfred Brendel and György Kurtág. He began his career in 1995, conducting modern operas in London, at Almeida Opera and elsewhere...
, 1582 - Bl. William HartWilliam Hart (priest)William Hart was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1886.-Life:...
, 1583 - Bl. John Munden, 1584
- Bl. Thomas Hemerford, 1584
- Bl. George HaydockGeorge HaydockGeorge Haydock was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1987.-Life:...
, 1584 - Bl. John LoweJohn LoweJohn Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
, 1586 - Bl. Christopher BuxtonChristopher BuxtonChristopher Buxton was an English Catholic priest and martyr.He was a scholar of Nicholas Garlick at the Grammar School, Tideswell, in the Peak District, studied for the priesthood at Reims and Rome, and was ordained in 1586...
, 1588 - Bl. Edward JamesEdward James (martyr)Blessed Edward James Blessed Edward James Blessed Edward James (born at Barton, Breaston, near Long Eaton, Derbyshire, c. 1557, executed at Chichester, Sussex, 1 October 1588, was an English Catholic priest and martyr.-Education:...
, 1588 - Bl. Richard LeighRichard LeighRichard Leigh is the name of:*Richard Leigh , Catholic martyr*Richard Leigh *Richard Leigh , co-author of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail...
, 1588 - Bl. Robert Morton, 1588
- Bl. Edmund Duke, 1590
- Bl. Christopher BalesChristopher BalesThe Venerable Christopher Bales, also spelled Christopher Bayles, alias Christopher Evers , was an English Catholic priest and martyr.-Biography:Christopher was born at Coniscliffe near Darlington, County Durham, England, about 1564...
, 1590 - St Polydore PlasdenPolydore PlasdenSt 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....
, 1591 - St Eustace WhiteEustace WhiteSt Eustace White, one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Born in Louth, Lincolnshire in 1559, he was a convert to Catholicism who travelled to Europe to study for the priesthood. He was ordained, probably at the Venerable English College, Rome in 1588, and returned to England for...
, 1591 - Bl. Joseph LambtonJoseph LambtonJoseph Lambton was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1987.-Life:...
, 1592 - Bl. Thomas PormortThomas PormortThomas Pormort was an English Roman Catholic priest. He was beatified in 1987.-Life:He was probably related to the family of Pormort of Great Grimsby and Saltfletby, Lincolnshire...
, 1592 - Bl. John CorneliusJohn CorneliusBlessed John Cornelius was an English Catholic priest and Jesuit. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929.-Life:Sir John Arundell took an interest in the boy and sent him to the University of Oxford...
S.J., 1594 - Bl. John Ingram, 1594
- Bl. Edward Thwing, 1594
- St Robert Southwell S.J., 1595
- St Henry WalpoleHenry Walpole-Early life:He was born at Docking, Norfolk, in 1558, the eldest son of Christopher Walpole, by Margery, heiress of Richard Beckham of Narford, and was educated at Norwich School, Peterhouse, Cambridge, and Gray's Inn. Converted to Roman Catholicism by the death of Saint Edmund Campion, he went by...
S.J., 1595 - Bl. Robert Middleton, 1601
- Ven.VenerableThe Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.-Roman Catholic:...
Thomas TichborneThomas TichborneThomas Tichborne was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1987.-Life:...
, 1602 - Bl. Robert Watkinson, 1602
- Bl. Edward OldcorneEdward OldcorneBlessed Edward Oldcorne or Oldcorn alias Hall was an English Jesuit priest. He was known to people who knew of the Gunpowder Plot to destroy the Parliament of England and kill King James I, and, although his involvement is unclear, he was caught up in the subsequent investigation...
, 1606 - St John AlmondJohn AlmondJohn Almond was a Cistercian monk. He is commemorated as a Confessor of the Faith in the Roman Catholic Church, and his name has been included in the supplementary process of the English Martyrs....
, 1612 - Bl. Richard SmithRichard SmithRichard Smith may refer to:* Richard Smyth , also written Richard Smith, English Catholic scholar* Richard Smith , English Catholic Bishop, titular of Chalcedon in Asia Minor...
, 1612 - Bl. John Thules, 1616
- Bl. John LockwoodJohn Lockwood (priest)John Lockwood was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929.-Life:...
, 1642 - Ven. Edward MorganEdward Morgan (priest)Edward Morgan was a Welsh Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr.-Life:...
, 1642 - Ven. Brian Tansfield S.J., 1643
- St Henry MorseHenry MorseSaint Henry Morse was one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Biography:Born a Protestant in 1595 at Brome, Suffolk, England, Morse converted to Roman Catholicism at Douai, 5 June, 1614, after various journeys was ordained at Rome, and left for the mission, 19 June, 1624...
S.J., 1645 - Bl. John WoodcockJohn Woodcock (martyr)John Woodcock was born in Leyland, Lancashire, in England. His parents, Thomas and Dorothy Woodcock, the latter a Catholic, were of the middle class...
O.F.M., 1646 - Ven. Edward Mico S.J., 1678
- Bl.Anthony Turner (martyr)Anthony Turner (martyr)Blessed Anthony Turner was an English Jesuit and victim of the Popish Plot, executed for conspiracy to murder Charles II. He was beatified in 1929.- LIfe :...
S.J., 1679 - St David Lewis S.J., 1679
- St John Wall O.F.M., 1679
Twentieth century
- Cardinal Gasquet
- Cardinal BourneFrancis BourneFrancis Alphonsus Bourne was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1903 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1911.-Early life:...
- Cardinal HinsleyArthur HinsleyArthur Hinsley was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1935 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1937.-Biography:...
- Cardinal Godfrey
- Cardinal Heard
- Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor
- Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of FawsleyNorman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of FawsleyNorman Anthony Francis St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, PC, FRSL , is a British politician, author, constitutional expert and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Leader of the House of Commons in the government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1981...
- Sir Anthony KennyAnthony KennySir Anthony John Patrick Kenny FBA is an English philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of Wittgenstein and the philosophy of religion...
- Paul GallagherPaul Gallagher (archbishop)The Most Reverend Paul Richard Gallagher, STL, JCD, is the Papal Nuncio to Guatemala.He was born in Liverpool and educated at St. Francis Xavier’s College in Woolton. Ordained by Archbishop Derek Worlock on 31 July 1977 for the Archdiocese of Liverpool, he served in Fazakerley, before taking...
, Apostolic Nuncio to Guatemala - Michael FitzgeraldMichael FitzgeraldMichael Louis Fitzgerald is a Roman Catholic archbishop. He is the papal nuncio to Egypt and delegate to the Arab League. He was previously the head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.-Early life and ordination:...
, Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt - Archbishop Patrick Altham KellyPatrick Altham KellyThe Most Reverend Patrick Altham Kelly, KC*HS is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Archbishop of Liverpool and was formerly Vice President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales....
- Archbishop Vincent Nichols
Burials
- Christopher BainbridgeChristopher BainbridgeChristopher Bainbridge was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of York from 1508 until his death.-Early life:...
, in the chapel of St Thomas of Canterbury at what was then called the English hospice in Rome
External links
- Venerable English College, Rome
- The College Villa, Palazzola
- The Holy See
- Sermon by Pope John Paul II on the Fourth Centenary of the College
- Letter from Pope John Paul II for the Fourth Centenary of the College
- College in the Jacobite Gazetteer
- Catholic Encyclopaedia Article
- The Old Roman Association
- National Archives College Details
- The Forty Four