Bienheureux Pierre Higgins, prêtre et martyr
Peadar Ó Huiggin, né près de
Dublin, est ordonné prêtre dominicain en 1627 en Espagne où il avait étudié la
théologie. De retour en Irlande en 1630 il devient prieur du monastère de Naas.
En 1641, lors de la rébellion contre les Britanniques, il accueille les
sans-abris, essaye de calmer la violence et de sauver des vies. Arrêté en 1642,
il est emmené à Dublin et comme il refusait de renier sa foi il est pendu sans
jugement le 23 mars 1642.
Bienheureux Pierre Higgins
dominicain martyr
en Irlande (✝ 1642)
Peadar Ó Huiggin, né près
de Dublin, ordonné prêtre dominicain en 1627 en Espagne où il avait étudié la
théologie. De retour en Irlande en 1630 il devient prieur du monastère de Naas.
En 1641, lors de la rébellion contre les britanniques, il accueille les
sans-abris, essaye de calmer la violence et de sauver des vies. Arrêté en 1642,
il est emmené à Dublin et comme il refusait de renier sa foi il est tué le 23
mars.
Au bourg de Naas près de Dublin, en 1642, le bienheureux Pierre Higgins,
prêtre de l’Ordre des Prêcheurs et martyr. Sous le roi Charles Ier, à cause de
sa fidélité à l’Église romaine, il fut pendu sans jugement.
Martyrologe romain
Bx Peter Higgins
Prêtre o.p. et martyr
(† 1642)
Peter Higgins (Peadar Ó
Huiggin), naît près de Dublin vers 1600.
Il fut ordonné en 1627 en
Espagne où il avait étudié la théologie. De retour en Irlande, en 1630, il
devient prieur du couvent de Naas près de Dublin.
En 1641, lors de la rébellion
contre les Britanniques, il accueille les sans-abri, essaye de calmer la
violence et de sauver des vies.
Arrêté en février 1642, sous le roi Charles Ier, il est emmené à Dublin et pendu, le 23 mars 1642, sans jugement, à St Stephen's Grenn, à cause de sa fidélité à l’Église romaine.
La liberté lui fut offerte à condition qu’il renie sa foi, mais il dit : « Je meurs catholique et prêtre dominicain ».
Peter Higgins a été béatifié
le 27 septembre 1992, à Rome, avec d’autres martyrs irlandais, par Saint
Jean-Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła, 1978-2005).
Source principale : docteurangelique.forumactif.com/(« Rév. x gpm »).
Blessed Peter Higgins
Also known as
- Peadar Ó Huiggin
Profile
Joined the Dominicans
in 1622.
Priest.
Prior
of the Dominican
house at Naas. He was ordered to acknowledge the English
king
as head of the Church;
he declined. Martyr.
Born
- 27
September 1992
by Pope
John
Paul II in Rome,
Italy
Blessed Peter O'Higgins, O.P.
The Dominican Peter O'Higgins, of the Priory of Yeomanstown between Newbridge
and Naas, on the banks of the River Liffey, was beatified with 16 other Irish
Martyrs on 27th September, 1991. Today is their collective feast day.
In his Historical Sketch of the Persecutions Suffered by the Catholics of
Ireland Under the Rule of Cromwell and the Puritans, Rev. Dr. Patrick
Francis Moran as he then was, Vice Rector of the Irish College in Rome and
later Cardinal Archbishop of Sidney, gives the following account of the
martyrdom of Blessed Peter O'Higgins:
F. Peter O'Higgins belonged to the order of St Dominick and in 1641 he was
led to the scaffold for the Catholic faith in the court yard of Dublin Castle.
We will allow father Dominick O'Daly to describe the scene of his suffering:-
"This pious and eloquent man," thus writes O'Daly, in 1655, "was
arrested and brought before the lords Justices of Ireland on a charge of
endeavouring to seduce the Protestants from their religion. When his accusers
failed to sustain any capital charge against him, the men in power sent to
inform him that if he abandoned his faith he might expect many and great
privileges; but all depended on his embracing the Protestant religion. From the
first he knew well that they had resolved on his death; but it was on the
morning of the day fixed for his execution that the messenger came to him with
the above terms."
"O'Higgins in reply desired to have those proposals made to him under
the signature of the Justices, and requested, moreover, that it should be handed
to him in sight of the gibbet. The lords Justices hearing this, together with
the order for his execution, sent the written document for pardon on the
aforesaid condition. Now when the intrepid martyr had ascended the first step
of the ladder leading to the gibbet the executioner placed the paper in his
hand. He bowed courteously on receiving it, and loud was the exultation of the
heretical mob who thought he was about to renounce the Catholic faith; but he
standing on the scaffold, exposed to the view of God and man, exhibited to all
about him the document he had received, and commenting with warmth on it,
convicted his impious judges of their own avowed iniquity."
"Knowing well that there were Catholics in the crowd, he said
addressing them:- 'My brethren, God hath so willed that I shonld fall into the
hands of our relentless persecutors. They have not been able, however, to
convict me of any crime against the laws of the realm; but my religion is an
abomination in their sight, and I am here to-day to protest, in the sight of
God and man, that I am condemned for my faith. For some time, I was in doubt as
to the charge on which they would ground my condemnation; but, thanks to
Heaven! it is no longer so, and I am about to suffer for my attachment to the
Catholic faith. See you here the condition on which I might save my life.
Apostacy is all they require but, before high Heaven I spurn their offers and,
with my last breath, will glorify God for the honour He has done me in allowing
me thus to suffer for His Name.' Then, turning to the executioner, after having
cast the Justices autograph to the crowd, he told him to perform his office,
and the by-standers heard him returning thanks to God, even with his latest
breath. Thus did iniqnity lie unto itself - thus did the martyr's constancy
triumph." (From History of the Geraldines by Dominick de Rosario O'Daly,
O.P., originally written in Latin, and printed at Lisbon in 1655; translated by
Rev. C.P. Meehan, and printed in Dublin in 1847. See also De Burgh's Hib. Dom.,
page 561.)
In the aforementioned The Geraldines, Earls of Desmond, and the Persecution
of the Irish Catholics, translated from the original latin, with notes and
illustrations, by Rev. C. P. Meehan, in the footnote to page 251, where the
martyrdom of another Dominican in 1651 in Clonmel is recounted, we read:
Thomas O Higgins was put to death in the year 1651. In the Hib. Dom. p 561
there is mention made of Peter O Higgins, who was slain for no other crime than
that of being a Dominican Friar. His death took place in the year 1641,
immediately after the rising of the Catholics. The mortal remains of this
victim were denied sepulture in the city of Dublin; and as the friends of the
murdered priest were carrying him to a burial place outside the walls, the
partisans of the Lords Justices shattered the lifeless head with their muskets.
Acta Capituli Generalissimi. Romae, 1644. p. 119.
Blessed Peter O'Higgins, pray for us!
SOURCE : http://catholicheritage.blogspot.ca/2009/06/blessed-peter-ohiggins-op.html
Blessed Peter O’ Higgins OP
Thirty-two friars of the Priory of Derry, and individual friars who died throughout the island of Ireland which include, Ambrose A Eneas O’Cahill, Bernard O’Kelly, Clement O’Callaghan, Cormac MacEgan, Daniel MacDonnel, David Fox, David Roche, Dominic MacEgan, Donald O’Meaghten, Donatus Niger, Edmund O’Beirne, Felix MacDonnel, Felix O’Connor, Gerald Fitzgerald, Hugh MacGoill, James Moran, James O’Reilly, James Woulf, John Keating , John O’Cullen John O’Flaverty, John O’Luin, Myler McGrath, P. MacFerge and his companions, Peter Costello, Raymond Keogh, Raymond O’Moore, Stephen Petit, Thomas O’Higgins, Vincent Gerard Dillon, William Lynch, William MacGollen, William O’Connor.
Con altri quindici compagni che ricevettero il medesimo martirio tra il 1579 e il 1654, furono solennemente beatificati il 27 settembre 1992 da Papa Giovanni Paolo II.
Autore: Franco Mariani
Blessed Peter O’ Higgins OP
Today Irish Dominicans keep the memory of one of their own brothers,
Blessed Peter O’ Higgins, OP, Prior and refounder of the Post Reformation
Dominican Priory at Naas Co. Kildare, who was martyred for his faith on this
day the 23rd March 1642 at St. Stephens Green, Dublin. The soldiers hacked his
body to pieces so that it could not be given an honourable burial.
Blessed Peter’s last words, “So here the condition on which I am granted
my life. They want me to deny my religion. I spurn their offer. I die a
Catholic and a Dominican priest. I forgive from my heart all who have conspired
to bring about my death.”
May he pray for his beloved Ireland and all who suffer for the faith
throughout the world.
We humbly beseech the mercy of your majesty, almighty and merciful God,
that, as you have poured the knowledge of your Only Begotten Son into the
hearts of the peoples by the preaching of the blessed Martyr Peter O’Higgins,
so, through his intercession, we may be made steadfast in the faith. Through
Christ our Lord
The Dominican Martyrs of Ireland who died for their faith:
Thirty-two friars of the Priory of Derry, and individual friars who died throughout the island of Ireland which include, Ambrose A Eneas O’Cahill, Bernard O’Kelly, Clement O’Callaghan, Cormac MacEgan, Daniel MacDonnel, David Fox, David Roche, Dominic MacEgan, Donald O’Meaghten, Donatus Niger, Edmund O’Beirne, Felix MacDonnel, Felix O’Connor, Gerald Fitzgerald, Hugh MacGoill, James Moran, James O’Reilly, James Woulf, John Keating , John O’Cullen John O’Flaverty, John O’Luin, Myler McGrath, P. MacFerge and his companions, Peter Costello, Raymond Keogh, Raymond O’Moore, Stephen Petit, Thomas O’Higgins, Vincent Gerard Dillon, William Lynch, William MacGollen, William O’Connor.
“The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Tertullian
Beato Pietro Higgins Sacerdote
domenicano, martire
1600 c. - 1642
Nato probabilmente vicino Dublino, divenne sacerdote domenicano nel
1627 in Spagna, dove aveva compiuto gli studi teologici. Nel 1630 ritornò in
patria, divenendo priore del convento di Naas. Nel 1641, durante la ribellione
contro gli invasori inglesi, si prodigò per ospitare i senzatetto e per frenare
l'ondata di violenza, salvando molte persone dai tumulti. Nel febbraio del 1642
fu arrestato e condotto a Dublino. Gli fu offerta la libertà a condizione del
rinnegamento della propria fede; ma egli disse: "io muoio da cattolico e
da sacerdote domenicano". Fu
ucciso a Dublino, in St Stephen's Grenn, il 23 marzo 1642.
Emblema: Palma
Martirologio
Romano: In località Naas vicino a Dublino in Irlanda, beato Pietro Higgins,
sacerdote dell’Ordine dei Predicatori e martire, che, sotto il regno di Carlo
I, fu impiccato senza processo per la sua fedeltà alla Chiesa Romana.
I beati Terenzio-Alberto O’Brien e Pietro Higgins nacquero entrambi in
Irlanda nel 1601, ed entrambi entrarono nell’Ordine Domenicano nel 1622.
Soffrirono il martirio per la costante fedeltà alla Chiesa di Cristo e al Papa.
Ricusarono
di riconoscere il Re d’Inghilterra come capo della Chiesa.
Terenzio Alberto O’Brian era un discendente diretto dell’antica e illustre stirpe dei Re d’Irlanda. Al suo nobile cuore brillò presto il fulgido ideale gusmano, e ancor giovane vestì il bianco Abito nel Convento di Limerik. Compiuti gli studi a Toledo, fu ordinato Presbitero nel 1627. Qui ricevette una più accurata formazione, sia nelle sacre scienze che nelle Leggi, oltre che nello spirito dell’Ordine. Tornato in Patria si distinse tanto nelle virtù e nel sapere, da essere più volte eletto Priore e Provinciale. Con tale titolo intervenne al Capitolo Generale di Roma nel 1644, dove ricevette il titolo di Maestro in Teologia. La fama del suo ardente zelo e della profonda dottrina giunse fino a Papa Urbano VIII il quale, ben sapendo quanto bisogno avessero quei popoli insidiati dall’eresia, di Pastori santi e coraggiosi, nel 1648 lo nominò Vescovo di Emly. Tornato in Patria il novello Vescovo non deluse le speranze del Pontefice e con indomito ardore si dedicò alla cura e alla difesa del suo gregge. Ma la prova non era lontana. L’empio eretico Ludovico Hirton cinse d’assedio la città episcopale, che però resistette eroicamente. Il crudele assalitore comprendendo allora che l’anima della resistenza era il Santo Vescovo Terenzio, e gli fece offrire in segreto una grossa somma di denaro, perché abbandonasse la città. Ne ebbe un nobile e sdegnoso rifiuto che costò la vita al povero prelato. Preso e condannato a morte, prima fece una calda esortazione al suo popolo, per poi, con animo lieto, offrirsi al carnefice. Dio, dopo la sua morte lo onorò con prodigi.
Terenzio Alberto O’Brian era un discendente diretto dell’antica e illustre stirpe dei Re d’Irlanda. Al suo nobile cuore brillò presto il fulgido ideale gusmano, e ancor giovane vestì il bianco Abito nel Convento di Limerik. Compiuti gli studi a Toledo, fu ordinato Presbitero nel 1627. Qui ricevette una più accurata formazione, sia nelle sacre scienze che nelle Leggi, oltre che nello spirito dell’Ordine. Tornato in Patria si distinse tanto nelle virtù e nel sapere, da essere più volte eletto Priore e Provinciale. Con tale titolo intervenne al Capitolo Generale di Roma nel 1644, dove ricevette il titolo di Maestro in Teologia. La fama del suo ardente zelo e della profonda dottrina giunse fino a Papa Urbano VIII il quale, ben sapendo quanto bisogno avessero quei popoli insidiati dall’eresia, di Pastori santi e coraggiosi, nel 1648 lo nominò Vescovo di Emly. Tornato in Patria il novello Vescovo non deluse le speranze del Pontefice e con indomito ardore si dedicò alla cura e alla difesa del suo gregge. Ma la prova non era lontana. L’empio eretico Ludovico Hirton cinse d’assedio la città episcopale, che però resistette eroicamente. Il crudele assalitore comprendendo allora che l’anima della resistenza era il Santo Vescovo Terenzio, e gli fece offrire in segreto una grossa somma di denaro, perché abbandonasse la città. Ne ebbe un nobile e sdegnoso rifiuto che costò la vita al povero prelato. Preso e condannato a morte, prima fece una calda esortazione al suo popolo, per poi, con animo lieto, offrirsi al carnefice. Dio, dopo la sua morte lo onorò con prodigi.
Con altri quindici compagni che ricevettero il medesimo martirio tra il 1579 e il 1654, furono solennemente beatificati il 27 settembre 1992 da Papa Giovanni Paolo II.
Autore: Franco Mariani
