John Colleton (1548–1635) was an English

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

priest.

Life

He was son of Edmund Colleton of Milverton,

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 , lor ...

, where he was born. He was sent to the University of Oxford in 1565, and studied at Lincoln College. A convert to Catholicism when about twenty years of age, he went to

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. Th ...

with the intention of becoming a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has ...

monk, and entered the novitiate; but did not proceed further. He 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 179 ...

, where he was admitted 14 January 1576. Colleton was ordained priest at

Binche Binche (; wa, Bince; Dutch: ''Bing'') is a city and municipality from Wallonia, in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Since 1977, the municipality consists of Binche, Bray, Buvrinnes, Épinois, Leval-Trahegnies, Péronnes-lez-Binche, Ressaix, a ...

on 11 June 1576, and sent on the English mission on 19 July. He was a priest in England till 1581, when he was taken prisoner, arraigned and tried with

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 ...

and others for conspiring abroad against the queen and government. The indictment charged them with having concerted an invasion and compassed the queen's death by a conspiracy carried on at

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and at

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; but Colleton was acquitted. He was then kept a prisoner in 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 sepa ...

till 1584, when he was exiled with 71 other priests. Colleton arrived at the English College, then temporarily at Reims, on 3 March 1585, and left it on 24 April 1585. He remained abroad till 1587, when he returned to England on the mission, and lived for the most part in London and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Colleton sided with the secular clergy in the

Wisbech Stirs The Wisbech Stirs was a divisive quarrel between English Roman Catholic clergy held prisoner in Wisbech Castle in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, towards the end of the reign of Elizabeth I of England. It set some of the secular clergy (not membe ...

, the dispute involving the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Wisbech Castle Wisbech Castle was a stone to motte-and-bailey castle built to fortify Wisbech (historically in the Isle of Ely and now also in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England) on the orders of William I in 1072, it probably replaced an earlier ...

in 1595; and he was associated with John Mush in an attempt to unite the English Catholic clergy. He was one of the thirteen priests who signed the protestation of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth in 1602; and he opposed the appointment and the administration of the archpriest

George Blackwell Father George Blackwell (c. 1545 – 12 January 1613) was Roman Catholic Archpriest of England from 1597 to 1608. Biography Blackwell was born in Middlesex, England about 1545, perhaps the son of the pewterer Thomas Blackwell. He was admitte ...

. Later he was made archdeacon by George Birkhead, the next archpriest, and when he died filled the position until William Harrison was appointed. In 1610, when the gaols were filled with priests and laymen who had refused to take the oath of allegiance, Colleton was in

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prison in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, and petitioned for his liberty to the king. When William Bishop as bishop of Chalcedon came to England in 1623 and erected a chapter, Colleton was constituted dean of the English clergy and also the bishop's vicar-general. On 22 November 1624 he wrote to

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

, requesting a dispensation for the marriage of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

with

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

. Since his health was poor, George Musket, archdeacon of Surrey and Middlesex, was appointed as coadjutor to Colleton in February 1626. Colleton spent the end of his life in the house of Sir William Roper at

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The thre ...

in Kent, where he died on 19 October 1635, aged 87.

Works

His works are: * ‘A Ivst Defence of the Slandered Priestes: Wherein the reasons of their bearing off to receiue Maister Blackwell to their Superiour before the arriuall of his Holines Breue are layed downe ... Newly imprinted 1602,’ sine loco. * A supplication to the king of Great Britain for a toleration of the catholic religion. * Epistle to Pope Paul V.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Colleton, John 1548 births 1635 deaths 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests