Richard Thirkeld (died 29 May 1583) 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 ...

priest. He is a Catholic martyr beatified 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 Ap ...

in 1886.

Life

Thirkeld was born at Coniscliffe,

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. From

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

, where he was in 1564–5, he went to

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 ordained priest, 18 April 1579. He left 23 May for the English mission, where he ministered in or about York, and acted as confessor to Margaret Clitheroe. On the eve of the Annunciation, 1583, he was arrested while visiting one of the Catholic prisoners in the Kidcote on Ouse bridge. He at once confessed his priesthood, both to the

pursuivant A pursuivant or, more correctly, pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In the mediaeval ...

s, who arrested him, and to the mayor before whom he was brought, and for the night was lodged in the house of the high sheriff. The next day his trial took place, at which he managed to appear in his

cassock The cassock, or soutane, is a Christian clerical clothing, clerical coat used by the clergy and Consecrated life, male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in ...

, which made him appear all the more venerable. The charge was one of having reconciled the Queen's subjects to the Church of Rome. He was found guilty on 27 May and condemned 28 May. He was executed at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

on 29 May 1583, secretly because authorities feared that his public execution would have caused a public demonstration. Six of his letters survive, and were summarized by

Bede Camm Dom Bede Camm, O.S.B., (26 December 1864 – 8 September 1942) was an English Benedictine monk and martyrologist. He is best known for his many works on the English Catholic martyrs, which helped to keep their memories alive in the newly reeme ...

.Camm, Bede. ''Lives of the English Martyrs Declared Blessed by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and 1895'', Vol. 2, Burns and Oates, 1905, p. 647
/ref>

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thirkeld, Richard 1583 deaths English beatified people 16th-century venerated Christians Year of birth unknown Clergy from Durham, England 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests Forty-one Martyrs of England and Wales

Life

See also

References