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 ...
convert and activist, a founder of the Catholic Association in England, and on his deathbed admitted to the
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
.
Life
He was born in
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
about 1559, and at an early age succeeded on his father's death to extensive landed estates. While travelling on the continent, he was converted to Catholicism by Robert Parsons at Rome in 1579. On his return to London, he, in conjunction with
Thomas Pounde
Thomas Pounde (29 May 1539 – 5 March 1614) was an English Jesuit lay brother.
Life
Pounde was born at Belmont (Beaumond), Farlington, Hampshire. He was the eldest son of William Pounde and Helen/Anne, the sister or half-sister to Thomas Wrio ...
of Belmont, formed a Catholic Association, consisting of unmarried young men of birth and property. They promised to live on the bare necessities of their state, and to give the rest of their incomes for the good of the Catholic cause. The association was blessed by
Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...
on 14 April 1580.
Members lodged together in the house of Norris, the chief pursuivant, in
Fetter Lane
Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London, England. It forms part of the A4 road (England), A4 road and runs between Fleet Street at its southern end and Holborn.
History
The street was originally called F ...
or
Chancery Lane
Chancery Lane is a one-way street that forms part of the City of London#Boundary, western boundary of the City of London. The east side of the street is entirely within the City,John Aylmer, bishop of London, and was liberally paid by Gilbert. At Fulham, the bishop's son-in-law, Dr. Adam Squire, was in Gilbert's pay. Through the connivance of these men, the members of the association were able to receive priests and to have masses celebrated daily in their house until, after the arrival of the Jesuits Parsons and
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 ...
in England, persecution of Catholics grew more severe.
In 1581, Gilbert deemed it prudent to withdraw to the English College at
Reims
Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
, where he was welcomed by William Allen; he then entered the
English College, 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 Colleg ...
, as a pensioner. While preparing to go to France on a papal mission, Gilbert contracted a fever and died on 6 October 1583. Gilbert had seen to the covering of the walls of the English College at Rome with
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es of the English martyrs. He left the superintendence of this work to William Good, who had the pictures engraved and published, under the title of ''Ecclesiae Anglicanae Trophaea'', Rome, 1584.