Blessed Philip Powel
Blessed Philip Powel (also Philip Powell, in religion Dom Philip Powell; born February 2, 1594 AD at Trallong, Brecknockshire, Wales; died June 30, 1646 AD at Tyburn, London) was a Welsh Benedictine monk and priest of the English Benedictine Congregation who laboured for more than twenty years as a hidden missionary among the Catholic families of Devon and Somerset during the penal era, and was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn for the treason of being a priest ordained abroad. A lawyer by early training, he abandoned the study of the law for the cloister of Saint Gregory's at Douai, and after his capture in the closing months of the English Civil War met his death with a serenity that impressed even his judges. He was beatified among a group of English and Welsh martyrs by Pope Pius XI on December 15, 1929, and his feast is kept on June 30.[1][2]
Born in the Welsh county of Brecknock and schooled at Abergavenny, Powell went up to London to read law and there came under the influence of his fellow-Welshman David Baker — the future Benedictine spiritual writer Dom Augustine Baker — who directed him toward the religious life and helped him to the abbey of Saint Gregory at Douai, the community which is today Downside Abbey.[1][3] Professed as a Benedictine and ordained priest, he returned to England in 1622 and served for two decades as chaplain to recusant households in the West Country. Caught up in the turmoil of the Civil War, he was arrested when the ship carrying him toward South Wales was seized on February 22, 1646; recognised as a priest, he was tried at Westminster Hall and condemned solely on the ground of his priesthood.[1][2]
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Philip Powel
| Blessed Philip Powel | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | June 30 |
| Profession | Priest; Benedictine monk; missionary; martyr |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Order of Saint Benedict (English Benedictine Congregation) |
| Attributes | Benedictine habit; martyr's palm; hangman's rope |
| Birthplace | Trallong, Brecknockshire, Wales |
| Death Place | Tyburn, London, England |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn for being a Catholic priest |
| Primary Shrine | Downside Abbey, Somerset, England (relics preserved) |
| Liturgical Class | Not included in the General Roman Calendar; observed among the Benedictine and Welsh martyrs |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Birth and early life
Philip Powell was born on February 2, 1594, at Trallong (Tralon) in Brecknockshire, in the mountainous heart of Wales, the son of Roger ap Rosser Powell and his wife Catherine Morgan.[1][2] He received his early schooling at the grammar school of Abergavenny, and about the age of sixteen went to London to study the law at one of the Inns of Court.[1][2]
There his life was decisively shaped by the Welsh lawyer David Baker, later known in religion as Dom Augustine Baker, one of the most influential spiritual writers of the English Benedictine revival. Baker taught the young Powell the law between about 1610 and 1614 and, having himself embraced the monastic life, turned his pupil's mind toward the same vocation, assisting him to continue his studies and to proceed to the Continent.[1][3]
Benedictine profession and ordination
Powell made his way to Douai in the Spanish Netherlands, where he received the Benedictine habit in the monastery of Saint Gregory — the exiled English community that would eventually settle in England as Downside Abbey.[1][2] Under the Welsh Benedictine Leander Jones he pursued his monastic and theological formation, held the office of cellarer, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1618.[1]
Missionary priest in the West Country
In 1622 Powell left Douai for the perilous English mission, where the exercise of the Catholic priesthood was a capital crime.[1][2] He first stayed in London with his old master David Baker, and about 1624 became chaplain to the Poyntz family at Leighland in Somerset.[1] For the next two decades he ministered quietly as chaplain to a succession of recusant households in Devon and Somerset, sustaining the scattered Catholic community of the West Country through the years leading up to the English Civil War.[1][2]
When the war reached the western counties he moved into Devonshire, sheltering with the families of John Trevelyon and John Coffin, and for a time served as chaplain to the Catholic soldiers in the royalist forces under General Goring in Cornwall.[2]
Arrest and trial
As the royalist cause collapsed in the West, Powell attempted to escape by sea toward South Wales. The vessel carrying him was captured by a Parliamentary ship on February 22, 1646, and among the passengers Powell was recognised and denounced as a priest.[1][2] By order of the Earl of Warwick he was confined on May 11 in St. Catherine's Gaol in Southwark, and on June 9, 1646, he was brought to trial at Westminster Hall.[1][2] He was arraigned and convicted upon the single charge of being a Catholic priest ordained abroad and remaining in the realm, an offence made treason under the Elizabethan statutes.[1][3]
Martyrdom
On June 30, 1646, Philip Powell was drawn to Tyburn and there hanged, drawn, and quartered, at the age of fifty-two.[1][2] Contemporary accounts record the calm and even cheerful bearing with which he faced his death, professing that he suffered not for any treason but for his priesthood and his faith.[3] His remains were afterward buried in the churchyard at Moorfields in London.[2]
Relics
A crucifix carried by the martyr — said to have belonged formerly to John Feckenham, the last Abbot of Westminster — is preserved at Downside Abbey, together with some of Powell's hair and a cloth stained with his blood, cherished as relics by his Benedictine brethren.[1][3]
Significant events
- Born at Trallong, Brecknockshire, on February 2, 1594.
- Studied law in London under David Baker (Dom Augustine Baker).
- Received the Benedictine habit at Saint Gregory's, Douai, and was ordained priest in 1618.
- Returned to the English mission in 1622 and served as chaplain in Devon and Somerset for some twenty years.
- Captured at sea on February 22, 1646, and recognised as a priest.
- Tried and condemned at Westminster Hall on June 9, 1646.
- Hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on June 30, 1646.
- Beatified by Pope Pius XI on December 15, 1929.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Trallong, Brecknockshire, Wales
Death location: Tyburn, London, England
Notable location: Birthplace (Trallong, Brecknockshire, Wales)
Notable location: Where he received the Benedictine habit (community now Downside Abbey) (Abbey of Saint Gregory, Douai, France)
Notable location: Where he served as chaplain to the Poyntz family from about 1624 (Leighland, Somerset, England)
Notable location: Where he was tried and condemned, June 9, 1646 (Westminster Hall, London, England)
Notable location: Place of his martyrdom, June 30, 1646 (Tyburn, London, England)
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Canonization
Beatification
Philip Powell was beatified by Pope Pius XI on December 15, 1929, among a large group of martyrs of England and Wales who suffered under the penal laws.[1][3] He has not been canonized; the forty Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized in 1970 form a separate group, and Powell continues to be venerated as one of the beatified martyrs.
Feast day
June 30
Veneration
Blessed Philip Powell is honoured especially by the Order of Saint Benedict, and among the martyrs of Wales and England. As a Welshman who died for the faith, he is remembered in the Archdiocese of Cardiff and by the community of Downside Abbey, where his relics are preserved. In art he is depicted in the Benedictine habit, holding the martyr's palm.[3][1]
Prayers
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Intercessory
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External links
- Wikipedia – Philip Powell (martyr)
- New Advent – Ven. Philip Powel (Catholic Encyclopedia)
- CatholicSaints.Info – Blessed Philip Powel
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 "Philip Powell (martyr)," Wikipedia.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 "Ven. Philip Powel," Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Blessed Philip Powel," CatholicSaints.Info.