George Beesley (or Bisley) (born c. 1562 at The Hill in

Goosnargh Goosnargh ( ) is a village and civil parish in the City of Preston district of Lancashire, England. The village lies between Broughton and Longridge, and mostly lies in the civil parish of Whittingham, although the ancient centre lies in ...

parish,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England; died 2 July 1591) was an English

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

diocesan priest. He is a Catholic martyr,

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "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 name. ''Beati'' is the ...

in 1987 as one of the

Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales The Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales, also known as George Haydock and Eighty-four Companion Martyrs, are a group of men who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1584 and 1679. Of the e ...

Life

Blessed George Beesley was born into a Catholic family in a farmhouse that is now the presbytery for St. Francis, Hill Chapel. With the church taken over by the newly established religion, the area Catholics held services in private homes. The Beesleys were frequently fined for not attending the official church."History of the Parish", St. Francis, Hill Chapel
/ref> George was ordained at the English College,

Rheims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, France for the diocese of Lancaster on 14 March 1587. On November 1, 1588, he went back to England.Camm, Bede. "Ven. George Beesley." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907 His younger brother, Richard, also became a priest. In late 1590 he was captured and imprisoned for the crime of being a Roman Catholic priest. A man of singular courage, young, strong, and robust, his torture by Topcliffe left reduced to a skeleton. He was repeatedly tortured in order to give up the names of the other Catholics, but could not be induced to betray anyone. He was hanged, drawn and quartered in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

along with

Montford Scott Blessed Montford Scott (b. in Hawstead, Suffolk, England; executed at Fleet Street, London, on 1 July 1591) was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1987 as one of the Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales ...

under the statute of 27 Eliz. ( Jesuits, etc. Act 1584 ). His last words were "Good people, I beseech God to send all felicity". George Beesley was beatified on 22 November 1987 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

.Odden, Per Einar. "Den salige George Beesley (~1563-1591)", Den katolske kirke
/ref> His feast day is 1 July.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beesley, George 1591 deaths 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests English beatified people 16th-century venerated Christians People from Goosnargh Year of birth unknown 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs People executed under Elizabeth I English torture victims Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales

Life

See also

References