John Forest
John Forest OFM (* 1471 in the area of Oxford , † 22 May 1538 in London executed) was an English Franciscan minorite . He is venerated as a blessed and a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church . He was on December 9, 1886 by Leo XIII. beatified.
Life and death as martyrs
Forest belonged to the Franciscan Order of Strict Observance in Greenwich. After his ordination he became a royal court chaplain. In 1525 he was elected Superior Provincial of his order. In 1529 his order was revoked and Forest was arrested. Soon released, he preached in November 1532 at St Paul's Cross London, where he spoke out against what he believed was the destruction of ecclesiastical authority. In 1534 he was arrested again. Finally, on April 8, 1538, he was brought to Lambeth before Archbishop Thomas Cranmer , who asked him to revoke it. Cranmer and Hugh Latimer were spurred on by Thomas Cromwell to crack down on Forest. At the execution in London-Smithfield, where dignitaries like Cranmer and Cromwell were present, Latimer preached a bitter sermon against idolatry.
Web links
supporting documents
- Diarmuid MacCulloch , Thomas Cranmer . A Life, New Haven & London 1996
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Forest, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Franciscan minorite, martyr, blessed |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1471 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | at Oxford |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 22, 1538 |
| Place of death | London |