Thomas Aufield (1552 – 6 July 1585), also called Thomas Alfield, was an
English
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* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
Roman Catholic
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martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', 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 ...
.
He was born in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
and educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
and
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
. He then converted to
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and in September 1576 went to the
English College at Douai,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
, but suspecting danger returned to England in November.
[Wainewright, John Bannerman. "Venerable Thomas Alfield", ''Lives of the English Martyrs'', (Edwin H. Burton and J. H. Pollen eds.), London. Longmans, Green and Co., 1914]
/ref>
In September 1580 Aufield returned to the English College, by then at Rheims. He was ordained a priest on 4 March 1581 at Châlons-sur-Marne and later that month set out for the English Mission. He seems to have mostly operated in the North, where he was arrested on 2 May 1582. He was imprisoned 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 ...
, where he apostatized under torture, returning to Protestantism
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
. Released on bond, he then returned to Gloucester.[
By the following April he was again at Rheims, and having returned to Catholicism around the beginning of ]Michaelmas term
Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Mich ...
visited his brother-in-law in Aldersgate Street
Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City.
The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix den ...
, London. Around this time he was approached by Captain John Davis requesting an introduction to William Allen William Allen may refer to:
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United States
*William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio
* William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio
* Willia ...
. Davis proposed that the ships he had been given by the government for piracy against Spain be crewed by Catholics to serve the Pope or the King of Spain against the Turks or other enemies. Aufield met Davis at Rouen and brought him to Rheims to meet Williams. Davis's plan was conveyed to the Pope, who referred Davis to the King of Spain.[
On the failure of the negotiations, Aufield returned to England and was arrested for circulating Catholic texts and sent to the Tower, and again put to torture. Aufield was charged under 23 Eliz. c.2 s.4 which prohibited publication of any book against the queen. He was then transferred to ]Newgate
Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to M ...
. He was then tried, convicted and hang
Hang or Hanging may refer to:
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Law
* Hanging, a form of capital punishment
Arts, ...
ed at Tyburn
Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern ...
alongside his assistant Thomas Webley.Cooper, Thompson. "Thomas Alfield". ''Dictionary of National Biography'', 1885. CatholicSaints.Info. 7 April 2019
/ref> He was beatified
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to Intercession of saints, intercede on behalf of individua ...
in 1929. His feast day is 6 July, the date of his martyrdom.
See also
* Douai Martyrs
The Douai Martyrs is a name applied by the Catholic Church to 158 Catholic priests trained in the English College at Douai, France, who were executed by the English state between 1577 and 1680.
History
Having completed their training at Douai ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aufield, Thomas
1552 births
1585 deaths
Converts to Roman Catholicism
People educated at Eton College
Executed people from Gloucestershire
English beatified people
16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
16th-century English Roman Catholic priests
People executed under Elizabeth I
English College, Douai alumni
People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging
One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales