Bienheureux Thomas
Pickering
Martyr en
Angleterre (+ 1665)
Frère bénédictin de
Downside en Angleterre, il resta fidèle à ses vœux religieux et à sa foi en
l'Église catholique romaine jusqu'à la mort sanglante.
À Londres, en 1679, le
bienheureux Thomas Pickering, moine bénédictin et martyr. Homme d’une vraie
simplicité et innocence de vie, il fut faussement accusé de complot contre le
roi Charles II et, d’un cœur tranquille, alla à la potence de Tyburn.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/6889/Bienheureux-Thomas-Pickering.html
Thomas Pickering
1621-1679
Né en Westmorland
(Angleterre nord-ouest) vers 1621, il entra chez les Bénédictins de Douai (qui
se sont maintenant transférés à Downside, Somerset), et fit les vœux religieux
comme Frère convers en 1660.
En 1665, il fut envoyé à
Londres, comme économe des moines bénédictins de la chapelle de la reine
Catherine de Braganza, l’épouse catholique du roi Charles II.
Quand le roi ordonna
l’expulsion des moines bénédictins (1675), il y eut une exception pour ce Frère
Thomas, sans doute parce qu’il n’était pas prêtre.
Lors du complot de Titus
Oate, qui prétendait que les Catholiques conspiraient contre la vie du roi,
Thomas fut personnellement accusé de faire partie de la conspiration. La reine,
qui le connaissait bien, plaida pour lui. Mais les juges maintinrent
l’accusation, et le condamnèrent à mort avec deux autres.
Le roi hésitait beaucoup
: il connaissait l’innocence de Thomas, mais il craignait l’opinion publique
qui réclamait l’exécution des «victimes» de Titus Oate. Deux fois de suite dans
le même mois, l’exécution fut ordonnée, puis commuée. Finalement, le roi
ordonna l’exécution des deux autres, mais «plus tard», espérant pour le moment
préserver le sort de Thomas. Mais le 26 avril 1679, la Chambre des Communes
réclama l’exécution de Thomas et le roi céda.
Thomas Pickering fut,
selon la formule rituelle, hanged, drawn and quartered (pendu,
éviscéré et écartelé) à Tyburn le 9 mai 1679, avec trois autres. Parmi ces
derniers se serait trouvé le bienheureux George Gervase, qui cependant est
commémoré le 11 avril.
Frère Thomas Pickering a
été béatifié en 1929.
SOURCE : http://www.samuelephrem.eu/article-thomas-pickering-117031505.html
Le
bienheureux Thomas Pickering
Voici un bienheureux,
fêté aujourd'hui, au sujet duquel les sites spécialisés (nominis, eaq, etc) ne
nous disent pas grand chose.
Ce frère bénédictin
anglais, accusé injustement de comploter contre le roi Charles II, fut condamné
à mort en même temps que d'autres religieux catholiques, dans un contexte de
persécution par le pouvoir anglican dans l'Angleterre du 17e siècle.
Dans un ouvrage intitulé
"la persécution des catholiques en Angleterre", nous trouvons
rapportées les circonstances de son exécution :
Quoi qu'il en soit,
Pickering demeura en prison jusqu'au 9 mai (1665), jour où il fut traîné à
Tyburn pour y mourir. La paix rayonnante de son visage impressionna vivement
les spectateurs, non moins que ses protestations de fidélité envers le
souverain pour lequel son père était tombé au champ d'honneur. Comme on lui
reprochait d'être prêtre : « Oh non, dit il humblement », je ne suis qu'un
pauvre frère convers » , il pria pour ses ennemis, puis monta avec tranquillité
sur la fatale charrette. Là, on lui mit au cou la corde qui était attachée au
gibet et on lui couvrit la figure d'un bonnet. Au moment même où la charrette
se dérobait sous ses pieds, un des spectateurs lui cria qu'à cette heure
solennelle il devait bien avouer son crime. Avec une présence d'esprit
admirable dans un pareil moment, le martyr retira vivement le bonnet qui
cachait ses traits et avec un bon sourire : « Regardez-moi », dit-il, «ai-je,
la figure d'unhomme capable de commettre un si grand crime »? Il mourut ainsi «
en souriant », ajoute Challoner, terminant une vie obscure et laborieuse
(Challoner, vol. II, p. 193. PERSÉCUTION DES CATHOLIQUES EN ANGLETERRE) par un
trépas glorieux; beaucoup le regrettèrent, dit-il encore ; ils savaient que cet
homme doux et bon, incapable de faire de la peine à qui que ce soit, était
innocent du forfait pour lequel on l'avait condamné.
Blessed Thomas Pickering,
OSB M (AC)
Born in Westmoreland,
England; died at Tyburn, England, 1679; beatified in 1929. Thomas made his vows
as a Benedictine lay- brother at Saint Gregory's Abbey in Douai, France, in
1660. Thereafter, he was sent to England to serve with a small community of
Benedictines who served the royal chapel. In such a prominent spot, he became
an easy victim to the "Popish Plot," was falsely accused, and hanged
(Benedictines).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0509.shtml
Ven. Thomas Pickering
Lay
brother and martyr,
a member of an old Westmoreland family,
b. c. 1621; executed at Tyburn, 9 May, 1679. He was sent to the Benedictine monastery of St.
Gregory at Douai,
where he took vows as
a lay
brother in 1660. In 1665 he was sent to London,
where, as steward or procurator to
the little community of Benedictines who
served the queen's chapel royal,
he became known personally to the queen and Charles II; and when in 1675, urged
by the parliament, Charles issued a proclamation ordering the Benedictines to
leave England within
a fixed time, Pickering was allowed to remain, probably on the ground that
he was not a priest.
In 1678 came the pretended revelations of Titus Oates, and
Pickering was accused of conspiring to murder the
king. No evidence except Oates's word was produced and Pickering's
innocence was so obvious that the queen publicly announced her belief in
him, but the jury found him guilty, and with two others he was condemned to be
hanged, drawn, and quartered. The king was divided between the wish
to save the innocent men and fear of the popular
clamour, which loudly demanded the death of Oates's victims, and
twice within a month the three prisoners were
ordered for execution and then reprieved. At
length Charles remitted the execution of the other
two, hoping that this would satisfy the people
and save Pickering from his fate. The contrary took place,
however, and 26 April, 1679, the House of Commons petitioned for
Pickering's execution. Charles yielded and the
long-deferred sentence was carried out on the ninth of May. A small
piece of cloth stained with his blood is preserved among the relics at Downside
Abbey.
Sources
The Tryals of William
Ireland, Thomas Pickering and John Grove for conspiring to murder the king … (London,
1678); An exact abridgment of all the Trials … relating to the popish and
pretended protestant plots in the reigns of Charles II and James II (London,
1690), 464; DODD, Church History of England, III (Brussels, 1742),
318; CHALLONER, Memoirs of Missionary Priests, II (London, 1742),
376; OLIVER, Collections illustrating the History of the Catholic Religion
in Cornwall, Devon, etc. (London, 1847), 500; CORKER, Remonstrance of
piety and innocence (London, 1683), 178; WELDON, Chronological Notes
on the English Congregation of the Order of St. Benedict, ed. DOLAN
(Worcester, 1881), 219; Downside Review, II (London, 1883), 52-60.
Huddleston, Gilbert.
"Ven. Thomas Pickering." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New
York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 9 May 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12075b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by WGKofron. With thanks to St.
Mary's Church, Akron, Ohio.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12075b.htm
Blessed Thomas Pickering
This English Benedictine
lay brother was a martyr of the Popish Plot.
He professed vows in
France in 1660 and was sent to London in 1665 as procurator of a small
community celebrating liturgies in the chapel of Queen Catherine of Braganza.
Though other monks were banished, he was allowed to stay. Because of the
fictitious plot, in which Titus Oates alleged that King Charles II would be
assassinated and the French king would re-establish Catholicism in England,
three Jesuits, Pickering, and a layman were found guilty of conspiracy.
SOURCE : http://www.cruxnow.com/people/blessed-thomas-pickering/
Profile
Benedictine lay
brother at the Saint Gregory Monastery in Douai, France in 1660.
Sent to London, England in 1665 to
serve as steward to the Benedictines in
the queen‘s
royal chapel.
He came to know Queen Catherine
of Braganza and King Charles
II, and in 1675 when
the all other Benedictines were exiled from England,
Thomas was allowed to stay. Falsely accused in 1678 of
being part of the Titus
Oates Plot to murder the king,
he was found guilty and executed. Martyr.
Born
c.1621 in
Westmorland, England
hanged,
drawn and quartered On 9
May 1679 in
Tyburn, London, England
some relics persevered
at Downside
Abbey
8
December 1929 by Pope Pius
XI (decree of martyrdom)
15
December 1929 by Pope Pius
XI
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/blessed-thomas-pickering/
Popish Plot Martyr:
Blessed Thomas Pickering, OSB
Blessed
Thomas Pickering was a Benedictine lay brother and martyr caught up in
Titus Oates' duplicitous plot; a member of an old Westmoreland family, b. c.
1621; executed at Tyburn, 9 May, 1679. He was sent to the Benedictine monastery
of St. Gregory at Douai, where he took vows as a lay brother in 1660. In 1665
he was sent to London, where, as steward or procurator to the little community
of Benedictines who served Queen Catherine of Braganza's chapel
royal, he became known personally to the queen and Charles II; and when in
1675, urged by the parliament, Charles issued a proclamation ordering the
Benedictines to leave England within a fixed time, Pickering was allowed to
remain, probably on the ground that he was not a priest.
In 1678 came the
pretended revelations of Titus Oates, and Pickering was accused of conspiring
to murder the king. No evidence except Oates's word was produced and
Pickering's innocence was so obvious that the queen publicly announced her
belief in him, but the jury found him guilty, and with two others he was
condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. The king was divided between the
wish to save the innocent men and fear of the popular clamour, which loudly
demanded the death of Oates's victims, and twice within a month the three
prisoners were ordered for execution and then reprieved. At length Charles
remitted the execution of the other two, hoping that this would satisfy the people
and save Pickering from his fate. The contrary took place, however, and 26
April, 1679, the House of Commons petitioned for Pickering's execution. Charles
yielded and the long-deferred sentence was carried out on the ninth of May. A
small piece of cloth stained with his blood is preserved among the relics at
Downside Abbey.
The British
Museum has a page dedicated to the deck of the Popish/Oates Plot playing
cards, one of which depicted Brother Thomas Pickering's fictitious attempt on
Charles II's life--and so does the V&A,
providing this background:
Object Type
These playing cards are
engravings. The images were made by cutting lines into the surface of a flat
piece of metal, inking the plate and then transferring the ink held in the
lines onto a sheet of paper. Francis Barlow's original drawings for the
engravings are in the British Museum, London.
Subject
The Popish Plot was a
fictitious Catholic conspiracy to kill Charles II that the Reverend Titus Oates
claimed to have uncovered in 1678.The pictures on these cards tell the story of
the plot and show the dire penalties meted out to alleged Roman Catholic
enemies of the state. Sets of playing cards depicting historical events were
very popular in the last quarter of the 17th century. There are other political
packs from the time of the Popish Plot depicting 'All the Popish Plots' and the
Rye House Plot, a conspiracy to assassinate Charles II and his brother, James,
Duke of York.
Historical Context
There was great fear in
Britain at the time of Catholic intrigue and a very real apprehension that on
the death of Charles his Roman Catholic brother, James, would be placed on the
throne. Prints were used to fuel public anxiety, and playing cards were another
ideal means of spreading political propaganda at a low cost. Many packs were
designed and engraved by leading artists of the day.
SOURCE : http://supremacyandsurvival.blogspot.ca/2012/04/popish-plot-martyr-blessed-thomas.html
Beato Tommaso Pickering Monaco
benedettino, martire
>>>
Visualizza la Scheda del Gruppo cui appartiene
Derby, Inghilterra, 1621
- Londra, Inghilterra, 9 maggio 1679
Martirologio Romano: A
Londra in Inghilterra, beato Tommaso Pickering, martire, monaco dell’Ordine di
San Benedetto, che fu uomo di sincera semplicità e innocentissima vita e,
falsamente accusato di aver congiurato contro il re Carlo II, salì con animo
sereno il patibolo di Tyburn per Cristo.
Figlio di un valoroso soldato che aveva perduto la vita combattendo per la causa del re durante la guerra civile, il Pickering nacque nella contea di Derby nel 1621 e fece la sua professione monastica nel monastero benedettino inglese di S. Gregorio a Donai nel 1660, senza tuttavia accedere mai agli ordini sacri. Nel 1665 venne mandato a Londra come procuratore od economo della piccola comunità benedettina addetta alla cappella privata della regina Caterina di Braganza, moglie di Carlo II, in Somerset House, dove il Pickering condusse sempre una vita esemplare, riuscendo di grande edificazione per la sua pietà ed umiltà non solo ai cattolici, ma anche agli stessi protestanti con cui si trovava in continuo contatto.
Rimasto al suo posto anche quando gli altri monaci furono banditi dall'Inghilterra nel 1675, perché egli era un semplice fratello laico, a nulla gli valsero l'alta stima e la protezione di cui godeva da parte del re e della regina, perché, quando nell'agosto del 1678 scoppiò la pretesa congiura papale (popish plot), frutto soltanto di una mera invenzione del famigerato avventuriero Titus Oates, il Pickering ne fu una delle prime sventurate vittime. Accusato, infatti, falsamente dallo stesso Oates e dal suo degno socio G. Bedloe di essere stato incaricato egli, che J. Warner definisce «vir... antiquae simplicitatis et innocentis-simae vitae», di sparare contro il re durante la sua passeggiata in St. James' Park, avendone ricevuto un cospicuo compenso, l'anziano laico benedettino venne arrestato nella notte del 29 settembre 1678, e rinchiuso nelle prigioni di Newgate, dove rimase quasi tre mesi prima di venir processato.
Nonostante la stravaganza dell'accusa e la mancanza assoluta di prove, il Pickering fu condannato alla pena capitale, il 17 dicembre 1678, insieme con il sacerdote Guglielmo Ireland ed il domestico di questi Giovanni Grove, venendo tuttavia l'esecuzione della sentenza ritardata di alcuni mesi, sia nell'attesa di ulteriori prove a suo carico, e sia per la titubanza del re a darne l'assenso. Il 9 maggio 1679, nondimeno, il Pickering fu condotto al Tyburn per esservi giustiziato, per cui il martire salì in quello stesso giorno il patibolo, felice di poter offrire a Dio l'olocausto della sua vita. Richiesto all'ultimo momento da qualcuno degli astanti di confessare il suo delitto, mostrando il suo volto sereno, egli rispose con un sorriso innocente: «È forse questa l'espressione di un uomo che muore sotto il peso di una grave colpa?».
Beatificato da Pio XI il 15 dicembre 1929, il Pickering viene commemorato il 9 maggio.
Autore: Niccolò del Re
