"There may never be a clearer picture of the Isle
of Wight from space." Caption by astronaut Chris
Hadfield on board the International Space Station.
Bienheureux Robert
Anderton et Guillaume Marsden
Prêtres et martyrs en
Angleterre (+ 1586)
Nés en Angleterre, ils
font leurs études à Oxford. Robert se convertit à la religion catholique et
étudie à Reims où il est ordonné en 1585 comme Guillaume. L'année suivante, ils
ont été martyrisés, pour avoir refusé de prêter le serment d'allégeance à la
reine Élisabeth Ière, sur l'île de Wight. Ils ont été béatifiés en 1929.
Dans l’île de Wight en
Angleterre, l’an 1586, les bienheureux Robert Anderton et Guillaume Marsden,
prêtres et martyrs. Sous la reine Élisabeth Ière, ils furent condamnés à mort
pour être entrés en Angleterre, alors qu’ils étaient prêtres, même si c’était
seulement à la suite d’un naufrage, et allèrent au martyre avec un cœur ferme
et tranquille.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/11637/Bienheureux-Robert-Anderton-et-Guillaume-Marsden.html
Bienheureux Guillaume
Marsden et Robert Anderton, martyrs
Natifs du Lancashire, ils
furent élevés au collège Sainte-Marie à Oxford. Après des études sacerdotales à
Reims ils furent ordonnés en 1585. Un peu plus tard, ils furent exécutés dans
l'île de Wight en 1586.
Robert Anderton
1586
Il était né en Lancashire
(Angleterre) dans une honorable famille et fit ses études au Collège anglais de
Reims, où il s’acquit la réputation de vir doctissimus.
Une fois ordonné prêtre,
il repassa en Angleterre avec son Confrère, William Marsden. Mais le bateau
alla échouer sur l’Ile de Wight, où ils furent suspectés et appréhendés.
N’ayant pas renié leur sacerdoce, ils furent mis en prison.
Ils firent remarquer
qu’ils avaient accosté contre leur volonté, qu’ils n’avaient pas séjourné dans
le royaume plus longtemps que le permettait la loi, avant qu’on les ait
appréhendés, et que par conséquent ils n’étaient pas coupables de trahison, ni
condamnables. Ils étaient fort adroits ! Mais les jurés écartèrent cette
évidence et les condamnèrent à mort, pour haute trahison, étant des
prêtres, donc dépendants de l’autorité romaine, et décidés à entrer dans le
royaume.
Ils furent donc exécutés
tous deux sur l’Ile de Wight, le 25 avril 1586.
Ils furent béatifiés en
1929.
William Marsden
1586
Il était né à Goosnargh
(Lancashire, Angleterre) et fit ses études au Collège anglais de Reims.
Une fois ordonné prêtre,
il repassa en Angleterre avec son Confrère, Robert Anderton. Mais le bateau
alla échouer sur l’Ile de Wight, où ils furent suspectés et appréhendés.
N’ayant pas renié leur sacerdoce, ils furent mis en prison.
Ils firent remarquer
qu’ils avaient accosté contre leur volonté, qu’ils n’avaient pas séjourné dans
le royaume plus longtemps que le permettait la loi, avant qu’on les ait appréhendés,
et que par conséquent ils n’étaient pas coupables de trahison, ni condamnables.
Ils étaient fort adroits ! Mais les jurés écartèrent cette évidence et les
condamnèrent à mort, pour haute trahison, étant des prêtres, donc
dépendants de l’autorité romaine, et décidés à entrer dans le royaume.
Ils furent donc exécutés
tous deux sur l’Ile de Wight, le 25 avril 1586.
Ils furent béatifiés en
1929.
SOURCE : http://www.samuelephrem.eu/article-04-25-116073809.html
29
October as one of the Martyrs
of Douai
1
December as one of the Martyrs
of Oxford University
Profile
Graduated from
Brasenose College, Oxford in 1578,
and continued his studies abroad. Converted to Catholicism,
and entered the English
College at Rheims, France in 1580. Ordained at Rheims with
his friend and co-worker Blessed William
Marsden. Sailed for England as
a home missioner, but their ship was
driven off course, and wrecked on the Isle of Wight. Arrested soon
after, they were charged with being priests on English soil.
They argued that they had been shipwrecked, and had no choice about being
there; due to the appeal, they were sent to London for
further interrogation. There they acknowledged Elizabeth as
their lawful queen in
temporal matters, but would not not in matters spiritual. Martyred.
Born
hanged,
drawn, and quartered on 25 April 1586 on
the beach of the Isle of Wight, England
8
December 1929 by Pope Pius XI (decree
of martyrdom)
15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
‘Blessed Robert
Anderton‘. CatholicSaints.Info. 10 November 2023. Web. 31 March 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-robert-anderton/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-robert-anderton/
Ven. Robert Anderton
English priest and martyr,
b. in the Isle of Wight about 1560; d. 25 April, 1586. He matriculated in
Brasenose College, Oxford,
in 1578. He afterwards went abroad, was converted,
and then entered the college at Reims in
1580. It was there that he and Marsden began that companionship which was not
broken even in death. Having completed their course, they set sail for England,
but were overwhelmed in a storm. They prayed that
they might die on land rather than on sea, and their prayer was
granted. Driven ashore, they were at once seized and shortly after tried and
condemned. They now pleaded that they had not transgressed the statute, as they
had been cast on shore perforce. This led to their being summoned to London,
where they were examined upon the celebrated "bloody question",
whether they would fight against the Pope,
even if the quarrel were for purely religious causes. Though they
acknowledged Elizabeth as their lawful queen in all
temporal matters, they would not consent to
the required test. The sentence was
then confirmed, and a proclamation was published, explaining their guilt.
They were taken back and executed near the place where they had been
cast ashore, being hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Sources
CHALLONER, Memoirs;
POLLEN, Acts of English Martyrs (1891), 66-82.
Ryan, Patrick W.F.
"Ven. Robert Anderton." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 25 Apr. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01467c.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by John Orr.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01467c.htm
Bl. Robert Anderton
Feastday: April 25
Birth: 1560
Death: 1586
English priest and
martyr, b. in the Isle of Wight about 1560; d. 25 April, 1586. He matriculated
in Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1578. He afterwards went abroad, was
converted, and then entered the college at Reims in 1580. It was there that he
and Marsden began that companionship which was not broken even in death. Having
completed their course, they set sail for England, but were overwhelmed in a
storm. They prayed that they might die on land rather than on sea, and their
prayer was granted. Driven ashore, they were at once seized and shortly after
tried and condemned. They now pleaded that they had not transgressed the
statute, as they had been cast on shore perforce. This led to their being
summoned to London, where they were examined upon the celebrated "bloody
question", whether they would fight against the Pope, even if the quarrel
were for purely religious causes. Though they acknowledged Elizabeth as their
lawful queen in all temporal matters, they would not consent to the required
test. The sentence was then confirmed, and a proclamation was published,
explaining their guilt. They were taken back and executed near the place where
they had been cast ashore, being hanged, drawn, and quartered.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4534
29
October as one of the Martyrs
of Douai
Profile
Convert to Catholicism;
entered the English College at Rheims, France in 1580. Ordained at Rheims with
his friend and co-worker Blessed Robert
Anderton. Sailed for England as
a home missioner, but their ship was
driven off course, and wrecked on the Isle of Wight. Arrested soon
after, they were charged with being priests on English soil.
They argued that they had been shipwrecked, and had no choice about being
there; due to the appeal, they were sent to London for
further interrogation. There they acknowledged Elizabeth as
their lawful queen in
temporal matters, but would not not in matters spiritual. Martyred.
Born
hanged,
drawn, and quartered on 25 April 1586 on
the beach of the Isle of Wight, England
8
December 1929 by Pope Pius XI (decree
of martyrdom)
15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
‘Blessed William
Marsden‘. CatholicSaints.Info. 10 November 2023. Web. 31 March 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-william-marsden/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-william-marsden/
Blessed William Marsden
A convert to Catholicism,
William Marsden was born at Chipping, the son of a recusant yeoman named
Richard Marsden. As a young man he went to France to be trained as a priest.
After being ordained he set sail for England with another priest named Robert
Anderton, who is thought to have come either from the Isle of Man or from
Euxton Hall near Chorley. Whilst crossing the English Channel, a violent storm
arose during which the two priests knelt and asked that they be saved so that
they could suffer martyrdom. Their prayers were answered. On arriving at the
Isle of Wight they were recognised almost immediately and sent to prison. At
their trial the Anglican Bishop of Winchester taunted them with the “Pope Joan:
myth and repeatedly mocked them for serving a woman in the Church. Anderton
quickly replied that whether it was “Pope Joan” or Queen Elizabeth I, the
Bishop approved of having a woman as “Head of the Church” and he was therefore
in no position to criticise them on that account. Both were executed on the
Isle of Wight on April 25th 1586.
SOURCE : http://www.salforddiocese.net/#!martyrs-of-the-diocese/cgol
Blessed Robert Anderton
and William Marsden MM (AC)
Born in Lincolnshire, England; died 1586; beatified in 1929. Both Robert
Anderton and William Marsden were educated at Oxford (Robert at Brasenose College,
William at Saint Mary Hall). After Robert's conversion to Catholicism he
studied for the priesthood at Rheims and was ordained in 1585, as did William.
The following year they were martyred on the Isle of Wight (Benedictines).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0425.shtml
Martyrs on the Isle of
Wight
The Catholic Church of
St. Mary's, Ride, on the Isle of Wight notes that 2004 "mark[ed] the
75th anniversary of the Beatification of the 136 English and Welsh martyrs [by
Pope Pius XI in 1929] who gave their lives so heroically at the time of the
Reformation and in the subsequent penal days. Two of the martyrs are
particularly remembered on the Isle of Wight where they were executed in 1586.
Blessed Robert Anderton and Blessed William Marsden had never intended to set
foot on the Island. It was only by a freak storm at sea that their ship took
shelter at Cowes. They were betrayed when they were heard praying, "O Lord
thy Will be done! But if we are to die, suffer us to die for Thy cause in our
own country. Let us not be remembered as the first seminarians who have
perished in the waters". Of all the iniquitous laws against Catholics, Statute
"27 Elizabeth" was the most ferocious as it made it high treason for
a priest ordained abroad to set foot in England. There was generous financial
reward for reporting papists so it was no surprise when on disembarking at
Cowes they were immediately arrested and sent to Winchester for trial at the
Spring Assizes.
Their story however
starts when they first met at Rivington Grammer School near Chorley in
Lancashire. The two young men immediately became friends. They became almost
inseparable. They were to pray, study, travel and ultimate die together as
martyrs for Christ. From Lancashire they went to Oxford to continue their
education and were enrolled at Brasenose College in 1578. It is recorded that
both were "unassuming but full of life and spirits and they were
remarkable for their piety, devotion and zeal for all things sacred."
(Pollen, Acts 82) They set off together in July 1580 for Douai College near
Rheims and offered themselves to Almighty God in the Holy Priesthood. This
seminary in France was the venue for many young Englishmen (such as Robert
Anderton and William Marsden) who wished to study for the priesthood and return
to offer Mass and spread the Faith in their native homeland. It was founded in
1568 by Cardinal William Allen. English Catholics liked to think of Douai as an
"Oxford over the water" until happier days should return to the Dowry
of Mary. . . .Read the rest here.
Note that there is
an Ordinariate group
based at St. Mary's Ride, with a former Anglican minister, now an ordained
Catholic priest!
SOURCE : http://supremacyandsurvival.blogspot.ca/2012/04/martyrs-on-isle-of-wight.html
Beati Roberto
Anderton e Guglielmo Marsden Sacerdoti e martiri
Festa: 25 aprile
>>> Visualizza la
Scheda del Gruppo cui appartiene
† Isola di Wight,
Inghilterra, 25 aprile 1586
Nel contesto del regno di
Elisabetta I, notoriamente ostile al cattolicesimo, il testo narra il martirio
dei sacerdoti Robert Anderton e William Marsden, avvenuto il 25 aprile 1586
sull'Isola di Wight. La loro vicenda si inserisce nel complesso scenario religioso
dell'epoca, in cui la regina, pur non potendo imporre apertamente la sua Chiesa
anglicana, perseguitava i cattolici con sottili stratagemmi, negando l'evidenza
di persecuzioni religiose e accusandoli di tradimento politico. I due
sacerdoti, giunti sull'isola per cause di forza maggiore, vennero arrestati e
condannati a morte per il loro status religioso. Riconoscendo Elisabetta come
regina ma ribadendo la supremazia del Papa, Anderton e Marsden subirono torture
e interrogatori, mostrando incrollabile fede e serenità dinnanzi alla morte. La
loro fermezza ispirò i cattolici presenti e suscitò stupore nei persecutori.
Beatificati nel 1929 da Papa Pio XI, i loro nomi sono ricordati nel
Martirologio Romano.
Martirologio
Romano: Nell’isola di Wight in Inghilterra, beati Roberto Anderton e
Guglielmo Marsden, sacerdoti e martiri, che, condannati a morte sotto la regina
Elisabetta I per essere entrati, sia pure solo per naufragio, come sacerdoti in
Inghilterra, affrontarono con animo fermo e sereno il martirio.
L’Isola inglese di Wight fu teatro il 25 aprile 1586 del martirio dei sacerdoti Robert Anderton e William Marsden, condannati a morte sotto la regina Elisabetta I. La nascita al Cielo di questi martiri si colloca nel pieno del suo regno, che si colloca tra il 1558 ed il 1603. Elisabetta I, che era figlia di quell’Enrico VIII che fu padre dello scisma anglicano, non avrebbe potuto imporre da subito con la forza la sua Chiesa artificiale in quanto avrebbe rischiato di perdere il trono. Nella sua prudenza iniziò dunque in punta di piedi e si disse di lei che fu tollerante. Secondo alcuni libri di testo non propriamente attendibili, addirittura la regina avrebbe concesso la libertà religiosa. In realtà, lungi da lei e da tutti i sovrani del tempo un’idea del genere.
Fu sostanzialmente un gioco di astuzia, quello di Elisabetta I, poiché il governo rifiutò sempre la parte dell’aggressore e negò sempre l’evidenza: in Inghilterra, continuò a sostenere William Cecil–Lord Burghley strenuamente, nessuno era mai stato perseguitato per motivi religiosi ma esclusivamente per dissidenza politica, ovvero per alto tradimento. Il dato che tutti i cattolici fossero traditori era dato per scontato e sottolineato il meno possibile. In tutto ciò, il governo prendeva tempo: indirizzata con pazienza, la gente si sarebbe a poco a poco allineata ad un sistema che, in fondo, richiedeva una mera presenza formale alla liturgia domenicale.
I cattolici inglesi, dal loro canto, impiegarono qualche tempo per capire precisamente come comportarsi: nei primi anni alcuni sacerdoti sostennero addirittura che i fedeli potessero senza problemi presentarsi al servizio religioso di stato purché poi presenziassero anche alla Messa cattolica. Persino Roma non brillò per rapidità nel pronunciarsi in proposito, essendo la situazione particolarmente confusa. Il Papa proibì ufficialmente di frequentare il servizio anglicano nel 1566, ribadendo il giudizio del Santo Uffizio di due anni prima. Finalmente i due schieramenti si delinearono allora come radicalmente incompatibili.
Il rifiuto di partecipare alle funzioni di stato divenne dunque per il governo un fenomeno preoccupante. Cecil e compagni, però, erano ottimisti, in quanto con il passare degli anni il papismo si sarebbe per forza di cose affievolito, soprattutto per via della naturale estinzione degli anziani sacerdoti cattolici. Avendo il governo impedito nuove ordinazioni, la fede cattolica si sarebbe semplicemente estinta ed il popolo non avrebbe potuto fare a meno di confluire nella Chiesa di Stato. Non solo l’età dei sacerdoti giocava a sfavore del cattolicesimo, ma anche il martirio di numerosi di essi.
Robert Anderton era nato nel 1560 nell’Isola di Man e compì i suoi studi nel Brasenose College di Oxford, presso il quali risultava essere iscritto nel 1578. Divenuto cattolico mentre era in viaggio in Europa, entrò nel 1580 nel seminario inglese di Reims in Francia, una realtà nata per sopperire all’impossibilità di formare nuovi sacerdoti in patria. In seminario lasciò un ottimo ricordo della sua dottrina ed ebbe modo di stringere amicizia con William Marsden, nativo di Goosenargh, nel Lancashire.
Ordinato sacerdote nel 1584, Robert Anderton venne successivamente inviato in Inghilterra insieme al suo amico, ma a causa di una violenta tempesta i due dovettero approdare sull’isola di Wight. Qui vennero immediatamente arrestati in quanto sacerdoti cattolici. Subito finirono a processo e non negarono il loro stato clericale, tentando però di difendersi affermando che non era loro intento infrangere la legge che vietava l’ingresso ai sacerdoti sul suolo inglese, ma solo per cause di forza maggiore erano stati costretti a tale soluzione di ripiego. Le ragioni da loro addotte non vennero però ritenute soddisfacenti ed i due vennero allora condannati alla pena capitale. Condotti a Londra, subirono nuovi interrogatori ed ulteriori torture. Davanti ai giudici londinesi, i due sacerdoti riconobbero Elisabetta quale loro regina, ma ribadirono che il Papa fosse il capo indiscusso della Chiesa , rifiutando quindi di prestare il giuramento di supremazia.
Al tribunale non restò che confermare dunque la sentenza di morte: fu eseguita il 25 aprile 1586 nell’isola di Wight, quasi nello stesso punto dove erano sbarcati in balia della tempesta. Impiccati e squartati, Robert Anderton e William Marsden si conformarono così ancora di più a Cristo, sommo ed eterno Sacerdote, al quale avevano consacrato la loro vita. La fermezza e la serenità che dimostrarono dinnanzi alla morte, costituirono un esempio edificante per i cattolici presenti alla loro esecuzione, suscitando al tempo stesso lo stupore da parte di color che avevano voluto giustiziarli in odio alla fede cattolica.
In onore ed a ricordo dei due martiri, uno sconosciuto sacerdote inglese loro contemporaneo, sotto lo pseudonimo di Mr. Malton compose un poemetto recentemente riportato alla luce e pubblicato da T.B.Trappes Lomax nel 1951. Papa Pio XI il 15 dicembre 1929 proclamò “Beati” Robert Anderton e William Marsden, insieme a numerosi altri martiri loro connazionali. Con la pubblicazione dell’ultima edizione del Martyrologium Romanum ad opera di Giovanni Paolo II, i loro nomi sono stati ricordati nel dies natalis, 25 aprile. «Voi siete quelli che avete perseverato con me nelle prove e io preparo per voi un regno perché mangiate e beviate alla mia mensa» (Lc 22, 28-30), dice il Signore, con buona pace della regina Elisabetta I.
Autore: Don Fabio Arduino
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/50770
Venerable Robert Anderton
and Venerable William Marsden : https://archive.org/details/actsofenglishmar00polluoft/page/66/mode/2up
