Saint John Southworth
Saint John Southworth (born c. 1592 AD in Salmesbury, Lancashire, England; died June 28, 1654 AD in Tyburn, London, England) was an English Catholic priest who was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn under the Commonwealth (Cromwellian) government. His body was rescued, reassembled, and eventually enshrined at Westminster Cathedral, where his incorrupt body in a silver-gilt vestment remains on display. He is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized in 1970. His feast day is June 28.
Stored in Cargo: Saint John Southworth
| Saint John Southworth | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | June 28 |
| Profession | Secular Catholic priest; plague nurse; confessor |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; secular clergy; Lancashire-born priest serving London's poor; plague nurse; Forty Martyrs of England and Wales |
| Patronage | Lancashire; London; Westminster; plague victims and nurses; priests under persecution; Forty Martyrs of England and Wales |
| Attributes | Priest's vestments; incorrupt body in silver vestment (iconographic); hangman's rope; plague victims; Westminster Cathedral |
| Birthplace | Salmesbury, Lancashire, England |
| Death Place | Tyburn, London, England |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on June 28, 1654, for the statutory crime of being an ordained Catholic priest in England, under the Cromwellian Commonwealth |
| Primary Shrine | Westminster Cathedral, London — his incorrupt body in a silver-gilt vestment on permanent display; one of the most important Catholic shrines in England; visited by hundreds of thousands annually |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman Calendar; feast June 28; observed in England, particularly in London and among the Forty Martyrs |
| Historic Class | Not in universal 1962 calendar |
Biography
John Southworth was born around 1592 in Salmesbury, Lancashire, into a Catholic recusant family. He was ordained at Douai and returned to England to minister to Catholics. He was arrested under Charles I, condemned, and then released through the intervention of Queen Henrietta Maria (the Catholic French wife of the king). He resumed his ministry.
During the plague epidemic of 1636–1637 he worked openly in Westminster nursing the sick and dying — people of all faiths — with complete disregard for his own safety. He became well known and beloved in Westminster.
Under the Cromwellian Commonwealth the penal laws were strictly enforced. He was arrested again in 1654 — during the Interregnum, when no Catholic royal sympathizer could intervene — and convicted of being a priest. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on June 28, 1654. He was one of the last people executed at Tyburn.
His body was bought from the executioner by the Spanish ambassador's chaplain, reassembled, embalmed, and eventually sent to France. It passed through various Catholic houses in exile until, after the restoration of the English Catholic hierarchy (1850), it was returned to England. Found incorrupt, it was clothed in a silver-gilt vestment and enshrined at Westminster Cathedral, where it remains on public display.
Pope Paul VI canonized him as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales on October 25, 1970.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Salmesbury, Lancashire, England
Death location: Tyburn, London, England
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Known shrines
- Westminster Cathedral, London — his incorrupt body on permanent display; major pilgrimage site.
Feast day
June 28
Veneration
Saint John Southworth is venerated as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, canonized October 25, 1970. His incorrupt body is enshrined at Westminster Cathedral.
Prayers
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