John Nelson (1535 – 3 February 1578) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

who was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. Nelson was from

Skelton, York Skelton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York, in North Yorkshire, England. It is north-north-west of the city of York, west of Haxby, and on the east bank of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse. Skelton ...

.Nuns of Tyburn Convent, ''The One Hundred and Five Martyrs of Tyburn'', p.21, Burns & Oates, 1917
/ref> He was nearing 40 when he left for

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

in 1573 for training as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

.Camm O.S.B., Bede, ''Lives of the English Martyrs'', p.223, Longmans, Green and Co., London, 1914
/ref> Two of his four brothers would later follow him there to become priests. He was ordained at

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

in the

County of Hainaut The County of Hainaut ( ; ; ; ), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled the present-day border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons, Belgium, Mons (), n ...

by Monsignor Louis de Berlaymont,

Archbishop of Cambrai This is a List of bishops and archbishops of Cambrai, that is, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai. Bishops For the first bishops of Arras and Cambrai, who resided at the former place, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras. On the death ...

, on 11 June 1576. The date and place of his admission 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 ...

are unknown. The following November, he left for his mission, which appears to have been in

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 ...

. He was arrested on 1 December 1577 at his residence, "late in the evening as he was saying the Nocturne of the Matins for the next day following", and was put into

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

as a suspected Papist.Wainewright, John. "Blessed John Nelson." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 Feb. 2013
/ref> He had written to the French Jesuits during his imprisonment for permission to be admitted to the Society. When interrogated about a week later, he refused to take the oath recognizing the Queen's supremacy in spiritual matters, and was induced by the commissioners to declare the Queen a schismatic. Under the Legislation of 1571, this was high

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

and was punishable by death.Dillon, Anne. ''The Construction of Martyrdom in the English Catholic Community, 1535–1603'', Routledge, 2017, no pagination
/ref> He was condemned to death on 1 February 1578, and was confined after the trial in an underground dungeon 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 citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

, the ''Pit of the Tower''. While in prison he subsisted on bread and water and was able to say

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. On his execution day he refused to see several

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

ministers, after meeting with family members. He was taken to

Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

and was allowed to speak before the bystanders, who were mostly hostile in the historically Protestant London. When asked to beg pardon of the Queen, he responded, "I will ask no pardon of her, for I have never offended her." He then asked any

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s in the crowd to pray with him as he recited several common

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

s in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. He was hanged and cut down alive, then quartered. His last words were, reportedly, "I forgive the queen and all the authors of my death". He was

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 ...

on 29 December 1886 by Pope

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the A ...

References

Sources

*The most reliable compact source is Godfrey Anstruther, ''Seminary Priests'', St Edmund's College, Ware, vol. 1, 1968, pp. 245–247. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, John 1534 births 1578 deaths English beatified people 16th-century English Jesuits Jesuit martyrs People executed under Elizabeth I by hanging, drawing and quartering Martyred Roman Catholic priests 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 16th-century venerated Christians Executed people from North Yorkshire Clergy from York Forty-one Martyrs of England and Wales

See also

References

Sources