Blessed John Nelson
Blessed John Nelson (born c. 1534 AD in Skelton, Yorkshire, England; died February 3, 1578 AD at Tyburn, London, England) was an English Catholic priest of the Society of Jesus who was executed during the persecution under Queen Elizabeth I. He is honored among the English Martyrs. His feast day is February 3.
John Nelson came late to the priesthood, studying at the English College at Douai and returning to England to minister in secret. Arrested and pressed to acknowledge the queen as head of the Church, he refused, affirming the authority of the Catholic Church, and was condemned as a traitor. He was beatified in 1886.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed John Nelson
| Blessed John Nelson | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | February 03 |
| Profession | Priest; Jesuit; seminary priest |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Society of Jesus (Jesuits); English Martyrs |
| Patronage | Priests under persecution; late vocations; England |
| Attributes | Palm of martyrdom; priestly vestments |
| Birthplace | Skelton, Yorkshire, England |
| Death Place | Tyburn, London, England |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn under Queen Elizabeth I for upholding the authority of the Catholic Church; seminary priest who entered the Society of Jesus |
| Primary Shrine | Tyburn, London, England |
Biography
John Nelson was born about 1534 at Skelton, near York, into a Catholic family of Yorkshire. He came to the priesthood relatively late in life. Resolving to serve the Church in the face of the Elizabethan persecution, he went abroad to study at the English College at Douai, where he was ordained a priest in 1576.
He returned to England to minister secretly to the Catholics who kept the old faith. Under the penal laws, this ministry was treated as treason. Nelson was arrested in London in 1578. Under interrogation he was pressed to declare whether he acknowledged Queen Elizabeth as the supreme head of the Church in England; he answered that no temporal ruler could hold such authority, which belonged to the Catholic Church, and he refused to renounce the pope.
For this profession of faith he was condemned as a traitor. On February 3, 1578, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn. Before his death he was admitted to the Society of Jesus, which he had desired to enter.
John Nelson was beatified on December 29, 1886, by Pope Leo XIII, among the English Martyrs. His feast is kept on February 3.
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Feast day
February 3
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