John Lowe (1553–1586) was an English Catholic priest and martyr.
Blessed John Lowe | |
|---|---|
| Born | ca. 1553 |
| Died | 8 October 1586 (aged 32–33) Tyburn, London, England |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church (England) |
| Beatified | 22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II |
Life
editJohn Lowe was born the youngest son of Simon Lowe and Margaret Lacy of London in 1553. His father was likely the Simon Low, a merchant-tailor and citizen of London. They were parishioners of St Magnus the Martyr.[1]
John was for some time a Protestant minister. After his conversion, he studied at Douai.[2] He was a servant at Anchin Abbey for 1578–1579. He entered the English College, Rome, arriving on 19 November 1581, and was ordained a deacon there on 19 August 1582, but there is no record of where and when he was ordained a priest. Leaving Rome in September 1583, he was recorded as leaving Rheims for the mission in England on 20 December 1583. Records show that his absence abroad had been noted by the English government.[3]
By this time his father had died, and his mother Margaret was living on London Bridge. Walking with her one evening nearby in May 1586, he talked too unguardedly about his aspirations to martyrdom and was overheard and denounced to the authorities. He used to frequent the house of a Mr. Tremayne in Clerkenwell, where he was subsequently arrested.[4] He was taken to the Clink on the 11 May of that year. He was executed by hanging, drawing and quartering at Tyburn on 8 October 1586. He was executed along with two fellow priests, John Adams and Robert Dibdale.[5]
All three priests were beatified (the last stage prior to canonisation) by Pope John Paul II on 22 November 1987.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1509–1558, Bindoff, S.T. (ed), 1982
- ^ A Menology of England and Wales Stanton, Richard, ..480, Burns & Oates, London, 1892
- ^ "15th and 16th centuries", St Magnus the Martyr
- ^ Lives of the English Martyrs, (Edwin Hubert Burton, John Hungerford Pollen. eds.) Longmans, Green, 1914, p. 226
- ^ "Beati Giovanni Adams, Roberto Dibdale e Giovanni Lowe", Santi e Beati, 18 September 2000
Sources
edit- The most reliable compact source is Godfrey Anstruther, Seminary Priests, St Edmund's College, Ware, vol. 1, 1968, pp. 214–215.
