Edmund Arrowsmith

Edmund Arrowsmith (* 1585 in Haydock ; † August 28, 1628 ), also known as Brian Arrowsmith , was a Jesuit priest and one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

Life

Edmund Arrowsmith was born to the farmer Robert Arrowsmith and his wife Margery Arrowsmith. He was baptized Brian, but his life preferred the name Edmund, which he received at Confirmation . His parents, who rebelled against state oppression, fought for their faith and hosted Catholic priests in their home. In the meantime they were sent to prison for this and had to leave their children in the care of their neighbors. His grandfather Nicholas Gerard rejected the Anglican Church and his other grandfather died as a confessor in prison. Even as a boy, Edmund is said to have come into the care of an old priest who wanted to relieve his mother, who was now widowed.

In 1605 he left England to complete his theological training in Douai . For health reasons, however, he was forced to interrupt this shortly afterwards and return to England. As early as 1607 he continued his education there, was ordained a priest in 1612 and one year later began his work as a pastor in his home county, Lancashire . Due to the proclamation against Jesuits of 1591 and the fear of Catholic spies, Edmund was imprisoned for the first time around 1622 and brought before the Bishop of Chester, who now questioned him. Surprisingly, he regained his freedom, by decree of King James I in 1623/24 he joined the Jesuit order and resumed his duties as a pastor.

Judgment and death

In the summer of 1628 he was betrayed, arrested again after a brief escape on horseback and charged as a Jesuit priest for violating the Supreme Treason. On August 28, 1628 the death sentence was carried out. Before that, his fellow inmate, St. John Southworth (another of the 40 martyrs), can still grant him absolution. The last words of St. Edmund Arrowsmith are said to have been Bone of Jesus .

The Holy Hand

One believer managed to sever his right hand immediately after the execution. It is now kept and venerated as a relic in St. Oswald's Church, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire, England.

canonization

The beatification took place in 1929 and in 1970 the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by Pope Paul VI. the canonization given. Her feast day is October 25th.

literature

Joseph Spillmann : History of the persecution of Catholics in England from 1535 to 1681 , Volume 4, pp. 212-223, Herder Verlag, Freiburg, 1905

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Arrowsmith, Edmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Arrowsmith, Brian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Jesuit priest
DATE OF BIRTH	1585
PLACE OF BIRTH	Haydock
DATE OF DEATH	August 28, 1628