Nicholas Pieck: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Dutch Roman Catholic saint}}
{{Infobox saint
{{Infobox saint
|name=Saint Nicholas Pieck, O.F.M.
|name=[[Canonization|Saint]]<br>Nicholas Pieck<br>[[Order of Friars Minor|O.F.M.]]
|birth_date=29 August 1534
|birth_date=29 August 1534
|death_date=9 July 1572
|death_date={{death date and age|df=y|1572|07|09|1534|08|29}}
|feast_day=[[9 July]]
|feast_day=[[9 July]]
|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholic Church]]<br>([[Franciscans|Order of Friars Minor]])
|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholic Church]]<br>([[Franciscans|Order of Friars Minor]])
|image=Martyrs_of_Gorkum.jpg
|image=Nicolaas Pieck (1534-1572).jpg
|imagesize=200px
|imagesize=260px
|caption=
|caption=
|birth_place=[[Gorinchem|Gorkum]], [[Netherlands]], [[Spanish Empire]]
|birth_place=[[Gorinchem|Gorkum]], [[County of Holland]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|death_place=[[Brielle]], Southern Netherlands, Spanish Empire
|death_place=[[Brielle]], [[County of Holland]]
|titles=Religious, priest and martyr
|titles=Religious, priest and martyr
|beatified_date=24 November 1675
|beatified_date=24 November 1675
|beatified_place=[[Rome]], [[Papal States]],
|beatified_place=[[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
|beatified_by=[[Pope Clement X]]
|beatified_by=[[Pope Clement X]]
|canonized_date=29 June 1867
|canonized_date=29 June 1867
|canonized_place=Rome, Papal States,
|canonized_place=Rome, Papal States
|canonized_by= [[Pope Pius IX]]
|canonized_by= [[Pope Pius IX]]
|attributes=
|attributes=[[Religious habit|Franciscan habit]]
|patronage=
|patronage=
|major_shrine=Brielle, [[South Holland]], Netherlands
|major_shrine=Brielle, [[South Holland]], Netherlands
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|issues=
|issues=
}}
}}
'''Nicholas Pieck, O.F.M.''', was a [[Franciscan]] [[friar]] who one of a group of Catholic clergy and [[lay brothers]] who were executed for refusal to renounce their faith in 1579.
'''Nicholas Pieck, O.F.M.''', "Nicolaas" or "Claes Pieck" in Dutch, was a [[Franciscan]] [[friar]] who was one of a group of Catholic clergy and [[lay brothers]], the [[Martyrs of Gorkum]], who were executed for refusal to renounce their faith in 1572.


==Life==
He was born in the town of Gorkum (now [[Gorinchem]]), the son of Jan Pieck and Henriea Clavia, devout Catholics. He was sent to college at [['s-Hertogenbosch]], and as soon as he had completed his classical studies he received the habit of the Friars Minor at the [[friary]] in that town. Nicholas was ordained a priest in 1558, devoting himself to the apostolic ministry. He was appointed [[custos (Franciscans)|Guardian]] of the friary in [[Gorinchem|Gorkum]], his native town.
He was born in the town of Gorkum (now [[Gorinchem]]), the son of Jan Pieck and Henriea Clavia, devout Catholics. He was sent to college at [['s-Hertogenbosch]], and as soon as he had completed his classical studies he received the habit of the Friars Minor at the [[friary]] in that town. Nicholas was ordained a priest in 1558, devoting himself to the apostolic ministry. He was appointed [[custos (Franciscans)|Guardian]] of the friary in [[Gorinchem|Gorkum]], his native town.<ref name=heckmann>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11065b.htm Heckmann, Ferdinand. "St. Nicholas Pieck." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 29 May 2013]</ref>


Pieck preached against [[Calvinism]]. In particular, he preached the dogma of the [[Real Presence]]. In June 1572, the citadel of Gorkum was taken by the [[Les Gueux|Watergeuzen]]. Pieck and eight other Franciscan friars were captured and tortured. Other priests were captured, bringing the total to 19. They were marched to [[Brielle]] (Den Briel) in July. The commander of the Watergeuzen, [[William II de la Marck]], promised them freedom if they would renounce the authority of the pope and belief in the [[Real Presence]]. None did. Despite instructions from Prince [[William the Silent]] to spare them, the members of the group were hanged on 9 July 1572, and became known as the [[Martyrs of Gorkum]].
Pieck preached against [[Calvinism]]. In particular, he preached the dogma of the [[Real Presence]]. In June 1572, the citadel of Gorkum was taken by the [[Les Gueux|Watergeuzen]], who retained 19 of the clergy as prisoners although they had promised to let the inhabitants depart from the town without being molested.<ref name=habig>[http://franciscan-sfo.org/sts/S0709nich.htm Habig O.F.M., Marion. ''The Franciscan Book of Saints'', Franciscan Herald Press, 1959]</ref> For reprisals, because of the city's determined defense, they gathered all the members of the clergy in Gorkum into one prison and took out their grievances against the Spanish crown on the priests and religious.<ref name=schaeffer>[http://www.franciscan-ofs.net/cant/canticle0307.htm Schaeffer, Fred. ''Holiness in Holland'', 2001] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130703054355/http://www.franciscan-ofs.net/cant/canticle0307.htm |date=2013-07-03 }}</ref>


Pieck and eight other Franciscan friars were confined in a dark and foul dungeon<ref name=heckmann/> where they were tortured. Taking the cord which Pieck wore around his waist and putting it around his neck, they first suspended him from a beam and then let him fall heavily to the ground. This torture was continued until the cord broke, and Father Nicholas fell to the ground unconscious.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11065b.htm Heckmann, Ferdinand. "St. Nicholas Pieck." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 1 April 2016]</ref> Pieck's two brothers tried to obtain his release, but the guardian would not leave the others.<ref name=habig/> Other priests were captured, bringing the total to 19.
The members of the group were [[canonized]] in 1867.


On 6 July they were thrown half-naked into the hold of a ship and removed to Brielle.<ref name=schaeffer/> Stopping at Dordrecht they were exhibited for money to the curious. At Brielle the commander of the Watergeuzen, [[William II de la Marck]], promised them freedom if they would renounce the authority of the pope and belief in the [[Real Presence]]. None did. Despite instructions from Prince [[William the Silent]] to spare them, and protests from the magistrates of Gorkum,<ref name=schaeffer/> the members of the group were hanged on 9 July 1572 in an old barn at the deserted Ruggen Monastery on the outskirts of Briel. The execution was clumsily handled; it took two hours for some of them to strangle.<ref name=foley>[http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1439 Foley O.F.M., Leonard. ''Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and Feast'', (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706213325/http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1439 |date=2013-07-06 }} {{ISBN|978-0-86716-887-7}}</ref> They became known as the [[Martyrs of Gorkum]].
{{Catholic|wstitle=St. Nicholas Pieck}}


==Veneration==
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
[[File:Martelaren van Gorcumkerk (Amsterdam) Interieur Glas-in-lood 1.jpg|thumb|left|Stained glass windows at the {{ill|Hofkerk (Amsterdam)|nl}} with {{ill|Nicolaas Poppel|nl}} and Nicholas Pieck (right)]]
| NAME = Pieck, Nicholas

| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
Nicholas and his companions were beatified by [[Clement X]], 24 November 1675, and canonized by [[Pius IX]], 29 June 1867.<ref name=heckmann/> For many years the place of their martyrdom in Brielle has been the scene of numerous pilgrimages and processions.<ref name=albers>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06651c.htm Albers, Petrus Henricus. "The Martyrs of Gorkum." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 29 May 2013]</ref>
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Dutch Franciscan friar and martyr
{{clearleft}}
| DATE OF BIRTH = 29 August 1534

| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Gorkum]], [[Southern Netherlands]], [[Spanish Empire]]
==References==
| DATE OF DEATH = 9 July 1572
{{Reflist}}
| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Brielle]], Southern Netherlands, Spanish Empire

}}
{{Subject bar |portal1=Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Catholicism |portal4= Netherlands}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieck, Nicholas}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieck, Nicholas}}
[[Category:1534 births]]
[[Category:1534 births]]
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[[Category:People from Gorinchem]]
[[Category:People from Gorinchem]]
[[Category:Dutch Friars Minor]]
[[Category:Dutch Friars Minor]]
[[Category:16th-century Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:16th-century Dutch Roman Catholic priests]]
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[[Category:Dutch Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:People executed by the Netherlands by hanging]]
[[Category:People executed by the Netherlands by hanging]]
[[Category:Burials in South Holland]]
[[Category:Burials in South Holland]]
[[Category:Dutch people executed by hanging]]
[[Category:Executed Dutch people]]
[[Category:Martyred Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:Martyred Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:Dutch Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:Dutch Roman Catholic saints]]
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[[Category:Franciscan martyrs]]
[[Category:Franciscan martyrs]]
[[Category:Franciscan saints]]
[[Category:Franciscan saints]]
[[Category:Beatifications by Pope Clement X]]
[[Category:Canonizations by Pope Pius IX]]

Latest revision as of 05:01, 4 April 2024

Saint
Nicholas Pieck
O.F.M.
Religious, priest and martyr
Born29 August 1534
Gorkum, County of Holland, Holy Roman Empire
Died9 July 1572(1572-07-09) (aged 37)
Brielle, County of Holland
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
(Order of Friars Minor)
Beatified24 November 1675, Rome, Papal States by Pope Clement X
Canonized29 June 1867, Rome, Papal States by Pope Pius IX
Major shrineBrielle, South Holland, Netherlands
Feast9 July
AttributesFranciscan habit

Nicholas Pieck, O.F.M., "Nicolaas" or "Claes Pieck" in Dutch, was a Franciscan friar who was one of a group of Catholic clergy and lay brothers, the Martyrs of Gorkum, who were executed for refusal to renounce their faith in 1572.

Life[edit]

He was born in the town of Gorkum (now Gorinchem), the son of Jan Pieck and Henriea Clavia, devout Catholics. He was sent to college at 's-Hertogenbosch, and as soon as he had completed his classical studies he received the habit of the Friars Minor at the friary in that town. Nicholas was ordained a priest in 1558, devoting himself to the apostolic ministry. He was appointed Guardian of the friary in Gorkum, his native town.[1]

Pieck preached against Calvinism. In particular, he preached the dogma of the Real Presence. In June 1572, the citadel of Gorkum was taken by the Watergeuzen, who retained 19 of the clergy as prisoners although they had promised to let the inhabitants depart from the town without being molested.[2] For reprisals, because of the city's determined defense, they gathered all the members of the clergy in Gorkum into one prison and took out their grievances against the Spanish crown on the priests and religious.[3]

Pieck and eight other Franciscan friars were confined in a dark and foul dungeon[1] where they were tortured. Taking the cord which Pieck wore around his waist and putting it around his neck, they first suspended him from a beam and then let him fall heavily to the ground. This torture was continued until the cord broke, and Father Nicholas fell to the ground unconscious.[4] Pieck's two brothers tried to obtain his release, but the guardian would not leave the others.[2] Other priests were captured, bringing the total to 19.

On 6 July they were thrown half-naked into the hold of a ship and removed to Brielle.[3] Stopping at Dordrecht they were exhibited for money to the curious. At Brielle the commander of the Watergeuzen, William II de la Marck, promised them freedom if they would renounce the authority of the pope and belief in the Real Presence. None did. Despite instructions from Prince William the Silent to spare them, and protests from the magistrates of Gorkum,[3] the members of the group were hanged on 9 July 1572 in an old barn at the deserted Ruggen Monastery on the outskirts of Briel. The execution was clumsily handled; it took two hours for some of them to strangle.[5] They became known as the Martyrs of Gorkum.

Veneration[edit]

Stained glass windows at the Hofkerk (Amsterdam) [nl] with Nicolaas Poppel [nl] and Nicholas Pieck (right)

Nicholas and his companions were beatified by Clement X, 24 November 1675, and canonized by Pius IX, 29 June 1867.[1] For many years the place of their martyrdom in Brielle has been the scene of numerous pilgrimages and processions.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Heckmann, Ferdinand. "St. Nicholas Pieck." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 29 May 2013
  2. ^ a b Habig O.F.M., Marion. The Franciscan Book of Saints, Franciscan Herald Press, 1959
  3. ^ a b c Schaeffer, Fred. Holiness in Holland, 2001 Archived 2013-07-03 at archive.today
  4. ^ Heckmann, Ferdinand. "St. Nicholas Pieck." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 1 April 2016]
  5. ^ Foley O.F.M., Leonard. Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and Feast, (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media Archived 2013-07-06 at the Wayback Machine ISBN 978-0-86716-887-7
  6. ^ Albers, Petrus Henricus. "The Martyrs of Gorkum." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 29 May 2013
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nicholas_Pieck&oldid=1217158185"