Alexander Briant (17 August 1556 – 1 December 1581) was an English Jesuit and martyr, executed at

Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern O ...

Life

He was born in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, and entered Hart Hall, Oxford (now

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

), at an early age. While there, he became a pupil of Robert Parsons, and he completed his studies with him at

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, which, along with his association with Richard Holtby, led to his conversion. After leaving university, he entered the English College at Reims then went to the

English College, Douai The English College (''College des Grands Anglais'') was a Catholic seminary in Douai, France (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), associated with the University of Douai. It was established in 1568, and was suppressed in 1793. ...

, and was ordained priest on 29 March 1578. Assigned to the English mission in August of the following year, he laboured with zeal in his own county of

.Saxton, Eugene. "Blessed Alexander Briant." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 1 February 2019 A party of the persecution, searching for Parsons, placed Alexander Briant under arrest on 28 April 1581. Arrested along with Briant was Gilbert Bodey, brother of

John Bodey John Bodey (15492 November 1583) was an English Roman Catholic academic jurist and lay theologian. He was martyred in 1583, and beatified in 1929. Life John Bodey was born in Wells, Somerset, in 1549. His father was a wealthy merchant. He stud ...

. Gilbert Bodey was scourged at

Bridewell Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of corre ...

and afterwards confined to Counter Prison. He was released on bond, and when not called to appear, escaped to Rheims.

Trial and Execution

In the hope of extorting information, Briant was sent to the Counter. After fruitless attempts to this end, he was taken to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

where he was subjected to torture. It was during this confinement that Briant penned his letter to the Jesuit Fathers in England requesting admission into the Society, which was granted. He was arraigned with six other priests on 16 November 1581, in Queen's Bench, Westminster, on the charge of high treason, and condemned to death. In his letter to the Jesuit Fathers, he says that he felt no pain during the various tortures he underwent, and adds: ''"Whether this that I say be miraculous or no, God knoweth."'' He was twenty-five years old when he was executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered on 1 December 1581. Through either malice or carelessness of the executioner, he was put to needless suffering.

Edmund Campion Edmund Campion, SJ (25 January 15401 December 1581) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Anglican England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was h ...

and

Ralph Sherwin Sherwin (25 October 1550 – 1 December 1581) was an English Roman Catholic priest, executed in 1581. He is a Catholic martyr and saint. Early years and education Sherwin was born at Rodsley, Derbyshire to John and Constance Sherwin and ...

were also executed with him.

Veneration and relic

Alexander Briant was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

on 29 December 1886 by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. Alexander Briant was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

in 1970 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales with a common feast day of 25 October. His individual feast day is celebrated on 1 December, the day of his martyrdom. A relic, a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

, which is housed in the

English College in Rome The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English College, ...

, has the names of five priests. Briant is one of those names stitched in the cloth.

References

External links

Patron Saints Index: ''Saint Alexander Briant''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briant, Alexander Jesuit saints 1556 births 1581 deaths Catholic saints who converted from Protestantism Executed people from Somerset Forty Martyrs of England and Wales Alumni of Hart Hall, Oxford English College, Reims alumni English Roman Catholic saints Converts to Roman Catholicism 16th-century Christian saints 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 16th-century English Jesuits People executed under the Tudors for treason against England People executed under Elizabeth I People executed at Tyburn