mardi 10 décembre 2019

Saint JOHN ROBERTS, prêtre bénédictin et martyr

Saint John Roberts


Prêtre et martyr en Angleterre (✝ 1610)

Nombreux furent les martyrs de la fidélité à l'Église catholique romaine, particulièrement en Angleterre et dans le Pays de Galles au XVIIe siècle, comme ce fut le cas pour les prêtres réfractaires en France cent ans plus tard. 

 John Roberts était originaire de Trawfynydd au nord du Pays de Galles. Sa foi le rendait plus proche de Rome que de la Communion anglicane. C'est pour cela que l'étudiant en droit à Oxford, profitant d'un séjour à Paris, s'en vint à Notre-Dame de Paris pour y être reçu dans l'Église catholique en 1598. Il fit ensuite profession religieuse chez les bénédictins de Compostelle et y fut ordonné prêtre. Il retourna en Angleterre en 1602, à l'abbaye de Downside et, durant la peste de Londres en 1603, il fut d'une admirable charité. Il fut emprisonné plusieurs fois. En 1610, alors qu'il célébrait l'Eucharistie, il fut arrêté et refusa de reconnaître le roi Jacques I comme chef de l'Église. Prisonnier dans la Tour de Londres, il fut exécuté comme beaucoup d'autres martyrs de cette époque à Tyburn. 

 Il fait partie des Quarante martyrs d'Angleterre et du Pays de Galles qui ont été canonisés en 1970.

À Tyburn, en 1610, saint Jean Roberts, bénédictin, et le bienheureux Thomas Somers, prêtres et martyrs. Condamnés à mort à cause de leur sacerdoce sous le roi Jacques Ier, ils furent pendus au même gibet en compagnie de seize voleurs.
Martyrologe romain

Saint John Roberts


Profile

Son of John and Anna Roberts; his ancestors were princes in Wales. Raised Protestant, John always felt an affinity for Catholicism. He studied at Saint John’s College, Oxfordfrom 1595 to 1597, but left without a degree. He then studied law at the Inns of Court at age 21. In 1598, while travelling in France, he joined the Church of Rome at Notre Dame in Paris.

Entered the English College at Valladolid, Spain on 18 October 1598. He left the College in 1599 to join theAbbey of Saint Benedict in Valladolid. Benedictine novice at the Abbey of Saint Martin in Compostela, Spainin 1600. Ordained there.

Father John returned to England as a missioner, leaving on 26 December 1602, and entering the country in April 1603. Arrested in May 1603, and exiled. Returned to England in 1604, and worked with plague victimsin London; arrested and banished again. Returned to England in 1605. During a search for suspects involved in the Gunpowder Plot, John was found in the home of Mrs Thomas Percy, and was arrested again. Though he had no connection to the Plot, he spent seven months in prison, and was exiled again in July 1606.

While in exile he founded a house in Douai for exiled English Benedictines; this house became the monasteryof Saint Gregory. Responsible for the conversion of Blessed Maurus Scott. Returned to England in October1607, was arrested in December, and sent to Gatehouse prison. He escaped, and spent a year working inLondon, but was again arrested. His execution was scheduled for May 1609, but the intercession of theFrench ambassador led to a reduction in sentence; he was exiled yet again.
Returned to England a few months later, he was arrested while celebrating Mass on 2 December 1610. Convicted on 5 December 1610 of the crime of priesthood. Martyred with Blessed Thomas Somers. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Born
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-john-roberts/

St. John Roberts

First Prior of St. Gregory's, Douai (now Downside Abbey), b. 1575-6; martyred 10 December, 1610. He was the son of John and Anna Roberts of Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, N. Wales. He matriculated at St. John's College, Oxford, in February, 1595-6, but left after two years without taking a degree and entered as a law student at one of the Inns of Court. In 1598 he travelled on the continent and in Paris, through the influence of a Catholic fellow- countryman, was converted. By the advice of John Cecil, anEnglish priest who afterwards became a Government spy, he decided to enter the English College at Valladolid, where he was admitted 18 October, 1598. The following year, however, he left the college for the Abbey of St. Benedict, Valladolid; whence, after some months, he was sent to make his novitiate in the great Abbey of St. Martin at Compostella where he made his profession towards the end of 1600. His studies completed he was ordained, and set out for England 26 December, 1602. Although observed by a Government spy, Roberts and his companions succeeded in entering the country in April, 1603; but, his arrival being known, he was arrested and banished on 13 May following. He reached Douai on 24 May and soon managed to return to England where he laboured zealously among the plague-stricken people in London. In 1604, while embarking for Spain with four postulants, he was again arrested, but not being recognized as a priest was soon released and banished, but returned again at once. On 5 November, 1605, while Justice Grange was searching the house of Mrs. Percy, first wife of Thomas Percy, who was involved in the Gunpowder Plot, he found Roberts there and arrested him. Though acquitted of any complicity in the plot itself, Roberts was imprisoned in the Gatehouse at Westminster for seven months and then exiled anew in July, 1606.
This time he was absent for some fourteen months, nearly all of which he spent at Douai where he founded a house for the EnglishBenedictine monks who had entered various Spanish monasteries. This was the beginning of the monastery of St. Gregory at Douaiwhich still exists as Downside Abbey, near Bath, England. In October, 1607, Roberts returned to England, was again arrested in December and placed in the Gatehouse, from which he contrived to escape after some months. He now lived for about a year inLondon and was again taken some time before May, 1609, in which month he was taken to Newgate and would have been executed but for the intercession of de la Broderie, the French ambassador, whose petition reduced the sentence to banishment. Roberts again visited Spain and Douai, but returned to England within a year, knowing that his death was certain if he were again captured. This event took place on 2 December, 1610; the pursuivants arriving just as he was concluding Mass, took him to Newgate in his vestments. On 5 December he was tried and found guilty under the Act forbidding priests to minister in England, and on 10 December was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn. The body of Roberts was recovered and taken to St. Gregory's, Douai, but disappeared during the French Revolution. Two fingers are still preserved at Downside and Erdington Abbeys respectively and a few minor relics exist. At Erdington also is a unique contemporary engraving of the martyrdom which has been reproduced in the "Downside Review" (XXIV, 286). The introduction of the cause of beatification was approved by Leo XIII in his Decree of 4 December, 1886.
[Note: In 1970, John Roberts was canonized by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, whose joint feastday is kept on 25 October.]

Sources

The earlier accounts given by CHALLONER, DOD (DODD), PLOWDEN, and FOLEY are misleading, as they confound John Roberts the Benedictine with an earlier priest of the same name. This has been shown conclusively by CAMM, whose work is the best on the subject. YEPES, Coronica general de la Orden de San Benito, IV (Valladolid, 1613), folios 58-63; POLLEN, Acts of English Martyrs (London, 1891), 143-70; CAMM, A Benedictine Martyr in England, Being the Life . . . of Dom John Roberts, O.S.B. (London, 1897); IDEM, The Martyrdom of V. John Roberts in Downside Review, XXIV, 286; BISHOP, The Beginning of Douai Convent and The First Prior of St. Gregory's in Downside Review, XVI, 21; XXV, 52; FULLERTON, Life of Luisa de Carvajal (London, 1873).
Huddleston, Gilbert. "St. John Roberts." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company,1912. 9 Dec. 2019 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13098c.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Herman F. Holbrook. O Saint John, and all ye holy Martyrs, pray for us.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Saint John Roberts

·         Century: 16th & 17th Century

·         Patronage: -

·         Feast Day: October 25th

St. John Roberts was born in northern Wales, to John and Anna Roberts.  He studied at St. John’s College at Oxford.  He however, left without earning a degree and entered as a law student at one of the Inns of Court.  He traveled throughout the continent and more so, Paris, and through the influence of a Catholic fellow traveler, he was converted to Catholicism.  By the advice of John Cecil, an English Priest, he decided to enter the English College, Douai in 1598.  
He left College the following year for the Abbey of St. Benedict, and was sent to make his novitiate at San Martin Pinario, Santiago de Compostela.  He made his profession towards the end of 1600.  He was ordained and set out for England in December 1602.  Although a Government spy observed him, Roberts and his companions succeeded in entering the country in April 1603, but he was arrested and banished in May.   He soon managed to return to England, and worked among the plague victims in London.  In 1604 while preparing to leave for Spain with four postulants, he was arrested again. Not recognized as a Priest, he was released and again banished but he returned to England, once again.  
In 1605, he was found at the house of Mr. And Mrs. Thomas Percy, who was involved in the Gunpowder Plot.  Although he was not found guilty of being involved, he again was imprisoned in the Gatehouse Prison at Westminster for seven months and then exiled again, in July 1606.  This time he was gone for fourteen months, nearly all of which he spent at Douai where he founded and became the first Prior of a house for English Benedictine Monks, who had entered through Spanish Monasteries.  This was the beginning of the Monastery of St. Gregory at Douai.  
In October 1607, Roberts returned to England.  In December, he was again arrested and placed in the Gatehouse at Westminster.  After several months, he escaped.  He lived in London for about a year, and in May 1609 he was taken to Newgate Prison.  He would have been executed, but the French Ambassador interceded on his behalf, and his sentence was reduced to banishment.  He visited Spain and Douai, but returned to England within the year.  He was captured again on December 2nd, 1610, just as he was concluding Mass.  They took him to Newgate in his Vestments.  On December 5th, he was tried and found guilty under the Act forbidding Priests to minister in England.  On December 10th, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered along with Thomas Somers at Tyburn, London.  His body was recovered and taken to St. Gregory’s at Douai.  He was Beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886, and Canonized by Pope Paul VI as one of the representative “Forty Martyrs of England and Wales”.  
Practical Take Away
St. John Roberts was a Priest that founded the Monastery of St. Gregory at Douai.  He spent his 35 years on this earth, serving the Church, and for the promotion of the faith.  He traveled extensively to England, assisting the Catholics with Sacramental needs, but was arrested many times, and deported.  Finally, he was captured after concluding a Mass for the people of England, and imprisoned.  He was found guilty and martyred for his faith.  England, at the time, did not allow Priests to minister to the people of England, and he continually provided the Sacraments, always hiding and avoiding being arrested.  His heroic virtue of ministering to God’s people in England cost him his life.  How far are we willing to go to bring our faith, and the love of God to those in need around us?  Are we willing to risk our lives for it?  We venerate him today, seeking his intercession in bringing the faith to those in need.  
SOURCE ` http://www.newmanconnection.com/faith/saint/saint-john-roberts

Life of Trawsfynydd Catholic martyr Saint John Roberts

John Roberts may seem an unlikely name for a saint, but this farmer's son from Trawsfynydd was one of the most recent Catholic martyrs in British history.

On 10 December a bi-annual mass is held in his memory at Gellilydan Catholic Church. The 2009 service will see the start of a year-long calendar of events to celebrate his life, 400 years after his death.

John Roberts was born in 1577, the eldest son of Robert and Anna of Rhiw Goch Farm, Trawsfynydd.

Despite being raised a Protestant, it's believed he received his early education from a former monk who had been forced to leave nearby Cymer Abbey after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.
He attended St John's College, Oxford, in 1595 before leaving to study law at Furnival's Inn, London.
But during his travels in Europe, he left behind both the law and his former faith as he converted to Catholicism on a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

He moved on to Spain and joined St Benedict's monastery, Valladolid, where he became an official member of their community in 1598 and changed his name to Juan de Mervinia in honour of his birthplace, Meirionnydd.

After his ordination in 1602, he succeeded in secretly landing back in England, despite the government spies on his tail.

He worked with sufferers of the Black Death in London for a while, but was captured several times by the Protestant authorities and sentenced to prison and repeatedly deported.

He founded an English priory of Benedictine monks in Douai, northern France, which led to the establishment of St Gregory's monastery. This community of monks still exists in Downside Abbey, Bath, the main Benedictine centre in Britain.

But John was intent on returning home, even though he knew he would almost certainly be killed if he did so. One day, as he was conducting mass, he was arrested, dragged to Newgate prison, accused of high treason and sentenced to death.

Execution

He was hung, drawn and quartered on 10 December, 1610, at 33 years old. It was usual for the prisoner's innards to be drawn when still alive, but the large crowd which gathered at his execution would not allow this. He was very popular among the poor of London because of the kindness he'd shown them during the plague.

After his death, monks took his body back to Douai. Even though his leg was lost to the enemy, other parts were taken to St Gregory's. His arm was found in the possession of the Spanish Royal family before being returned to Santiago de Compostela, where he served as a novice.

One of his fingers is kept in the Sacred Cross Church, Gellilydan, while another is at the Tyburn convent and one more in Taunton.

John Roberts was made a saint by Pope Paul VI on 25 October, 1970.

His life is commemorated in Trawsfynydd's heritage centre, Llys Ednowain. There is an information board about him outside the centre, one of six posted along a walk past significant locations in his life.

Saint John Roberts

He's believed to be a descendant of the Welsh princes, including Maelgwn Gwynedd, Hywel Dda and Llewelyn the Great

He was arrested as part of the Guy Fawkes plot to bomb Parliament, but was found not guilty and deported

SOURCE : http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/northwestwales/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8391000/8391401.stm

San Giovanni Roberts Sacerdote e martire

Trawsfynedd, Galles, 1577 - Tyburn, Inghilterra, 10 dicembre 1610

Martirologio Romano: Sempre a Tyburn, diciannove anni dopo, san Giovanni Roberts, dell’Ordine di San Benedetto, e beato Tommaso Somers, sacerdoti e martiri, che, condannati sotto il re Giacomo I per il loro sacerdozio, furono appesi allo stesso patibolo insieme a sedici malfattori. 


John Roberts nacque nel 1577 a Trawsfynedd, nel Galles centrale. Le notizie sulla sua famiglia sono incerte. Intraprese gli studi con l’aiuto di un anziano sacerdote e, sebbene fu educato come un protestante, era però sempre cattolico nel cuore, come egli stesso ebbe ad affermare. All’età di diciannove anni entrò nel collegio di Saint-John in Oxford, ove ancora risiedeva William Laud, e divise l’alloggio con John Jones di Llanfrynach, in seguito noto come Padre Leandro di San Martino. Il Roberts era evidentemente alla ricerca della sua vocazione: non concluse gli studi ad Oxford, probabilmente per non dover pronunziare il giuramento di supremazia, disconoscendo così l’autorità papale sulla Chiesa inglese. Trascorse allora qualche settimana a Furnivall’s Inn dove studiò diritto, poi insegnò in una scuola letteraria, indirizzando gli studenti a Douai, che anch’egli raggiunse poi nel 1598.


Nel giugno di quell’anno fu ufficialmente accolto in seno alla Chiesa cattolica nel corso di una cerimonia officiata dal canonico Luigi Godeberto a Notre-Dame-de-Paris. S’iscrisse poi al collegio inglese di Valladolid, in Spagna, e sempre in tale città entrò nel monastero reale di San Benito, ove ricevette l’abito benedettino assumendo il nome religioso di Fratel Giovanni di Merioneth. Qui presto lo raggiunse anche il vecchio amico John Jones ed insieme pronunciarono i voti nel 1560 nel monastero di San Martino a Compostella.

I benedettini spagnoli erano tenuti alla clausura perpetua e pare perciò improbabile che abbiano preso parte alla missione in Inghilterra. Tuttavia è un dato di fatto che il 27 febbraio 1601 il Beato Marco Barkworth, fondatore e capo del movimento benedettino tra gli studenti inglesi di Valladolid, fu martirizzato a Tyburn, presso Londra. In seguito ad alcune petizioni, nel 1602 papa Clemente VIII permise ai benedettini di Valladolid e Montecassino di partecipare alla missione in terra inglese. Agli inizi dell’anno seguente John Roberts partì per l’isola con Padre Agostino Bradshaw. I due impiegarono tre mesi per raggiungere Londra e, nonostante i travestimenti con cappelli piumati, giubbetti e spade, ben presto furono arrestati e deportati.


Si susseguirono nei loro confronti ripetuti arresti, imprigionamenti, rilasci ed esili. Alcune settimana dopo fece ritorno a Londra, colpita d auna terribile epidemia, destando in tutti ammirazione per l’assistenza offerta agli ammalati. Divenne noto come il “parroco di Londra” e riuscì a convertire parecchie persone. Nella primavera del 1604 fu arrestato mentre stava per imbarcarsi alla volta del continente, ma agli occhi dei suoi persecutori parve più giovane e non pensandolo sacerdote lo rilasciarono. Continuò allora a svolgere il suo ministero sino al 5 novembre 1605, quanto dopo la scoperta della Congiura delle polveri vi fu una retata di cattolici. Padre John Roberts fu arrestato in casa della moglie del Beato Thomas Percy, uno dei cospiratori, e questa volta venne rinchiuso nella prigione di Gatehouse preso Westminster. Fu poi comunque trovato un compromesso grazie all’ambasciatore francese e Padre Roberts fu liberato ed esiliato.


Questa volta rimase all’estero per oltre un anno e fondò il convento di Douai per i monaci inglesi della congregazione di Valladolid, odierna abbazia di San Gregorio a Downside. Verso la fine del 1607 fece ritorno in Inghilterra, ove per la quarta volta “cadde nelle mani dei cacciatori di preti” e fu interrogato, ma rifiutò fermamente di pronunciare il giuramento dell’alleanza. Fuggito dalla prigione e poi di nuovo arrestato, sepre con l’aiuto dell’ambasciatore francese fu ancora esiliato. Si recò prima in Spagna e poi a Douai. In occasione di una seconda epidemia di peste che colpì l’Inghilterra, all’inizio del 1610 John Roberts tornò per l’ultima volta sull’isola per prestare soccorso.


Il 2 giugno di quell’anno fu però reso pubblico un proclama parlamentare che obbligava i cattolici a lasciare l’Inghilterra entro un mese. Su tale periodo non vi è molta certezza sulla sorte del Roberts, ma comunque nella prima domenica d’Avvento fu definivamente arrestato mentre stava terminando di celebrare l’Eucaristia in una abitazione privata con altri cinque sacerdoti. Gli ufficiali irruppero all’improvviso ed i sacerdoti allora smantellarono l’altare, spensero le luci e si nascosero in cantina. Furono però scoperti con ancora indisso i paramenti sacri e così trascinati per strada sino a Newgate.


Nel processo John Roberts fu imputato con un altro sacerdote, Thomas Somers, ed entrambi rifiutarono di sottomettersi alla nuova Chiesa inglese scismatica. Padre Roberts affermò di essere tornato in quel paese “per salvare le anime” e che avrebbe “continuato a farlo per tutta la vita”. Il vescovo anglicano di Londra lo definì un disturbatore e sobillatore del popolo, scatenando la reazione del sacerdote benedettino che replicò che se realmente egli avesse avuto ragione, “allora gli avi erano stati ingannati da Sant’Agostino, apostolo degli inglesi, inviato in Inghilterra dal papa di Roma, San Gregorio Magno. [...] Io sono stato inviato qui dalla stessa Sede apostolica che mandò lui in missione”. Ordinatogli di tacere, sferrò un attacco contro il clero che aveva accettato di sottoscrivere le decisioni della regina.

Entrambi furono ritenuti colpevoli e condannati a morte e la mattina seguente, 10 dicembre 1610, furono trasportati a Tyburn e qui impiccati. Le loro teste furono poi esposte sul Ponte di Londra, mentre i corpi furono seppelliti a Tyburn. In seguito però le sue reliquie andarono purtroppo perse. John Roberts è stato beatificato nel 1929 e poi canonizzato da Papa Paolo VI il 25 ottobre 1970 unitamente ai Quaranta Martiri d’Inghilterra e Galles.



Autore: Fabio Arduino

Publié par à