Alexander Briant

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Alexander Briant

Alexander Briant (* around 1556 in Somerset , † December 1, 1581 in Tyburn ) was an English Jesuit , martyr and Catholic saint .

Life

All that is known about Alexander Briant's family and childhood is that he may have come from the lower nobility and was born in Somerset around 1556. In 1576 he moved to the University of Oxford . There he befriended Robert Parsons , and because of him Briant moved to Balliol College and also accepted the Catholic denomination. However, because Parsons soon had to leave the university because of his Catholic faith, Briant only stayed a short time in Oxford. Finally he moved to the English College in 1577 , like many other Catholics who had studied or taught at the University of Oxford. In March 1578 he received in Cambrai the priesthood and was sent on 3 August 1579 to Somerset to acquire the priest place. Shortly afterwards he moved to London and met Robert Parsons again, whose father had since converted to Catholicism.

Briant lived in the Parsons house. This published very controversial works and was therefore in great danger; among other things, he moved the printing house several times. The henchmen of the state power pursued him, but he was able to escape. In March 1581 they broke into his house, but only Briant was in it. He was captured and imprisoned in a small prison in central London. He was repeatedly interrogated about Parson's whereabouts and his activities. After the interrogation remained inconclusive, Briant was taken to the Tower of London , where he was interrogated under torture for the first time on March 27th. As of April 6, he was held in an underground cell for eight days. The interrogations that followed did not produce any results. Nevertheless, he was charged with high treason and sentenced to death on November 21, 1581.

Shortly before his execution, he wrote a letter to the Jesuits. He asked for admission to the Order and reported that he hardly felt any suffering during the torture, because he thought of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Eventually he was accepted into the Jesuit order. Together with Edmund Campion , who was also connected with Parsons, and Ralph Sherwin , Alexander Briant was hanged on December 1, 1581 in Tyburn and then eccentric and quartered .

In 1886 Pope Leo XIII spoke . Briant blessed and in 1970 Pope Paul VI. holy . Briants Memorial Day takes place on December 1st. He is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales who were executed for disregarding the Supreme Act . The feast day of all forty martyrs is celebrated on October 25th.

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