Saint Robert Southwell
Saint Robert Southwell, SJ (born c. 1561 AD in Horsham St Faith, Norfolk, England; died February 21, 1595 AD in London, England) was an English Jesuit priest and poet who was martyred at Tyburn during the Elizabethan persecution of Catholics. He is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales and is particularly known for his poem "The Burning Babe," which Ben Jonson praised as worth all his own works. He was tortured under Richard Topcliffe, the notoriously brutal interrogator of Elizabethan Catholics. His feast day is February 21.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Robert Southwell
| Saint Robert Southwell | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | February 21 |
| Profession | Jesuit priest; English poet; martyr; member of the English Jesuit Mission; one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Society of Jesus (Jesuits); English Jesuit Mission; Elizabethan recusancy; English Catholic literary tradition; Forty Martyrs of England and Wales |
| Patronage | England; poets; English Catholic writers; the Society of Jesus; those who suffer for their faith; the Diocese of Brentwood (local patron) |
| Attributes | Jesuit habit; quill and manuscript ("The Burning Babe"); gallows (Tyburn); manacles or chains (Tower imprisonment); burning child (vision of "The Burning Babe"); pilgrim disguise (his clandestine ministry) |
| Birthplace | Horsham St Faith, Norfolk, England |
| Death Place | Tyburn, London, England |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on February 21, 1595, for the statutory offense of being a Catholic priest in England; he had been captured in 1592 after six years of clandestine ministry, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and tortured approximately 13 times under Richard Topcliffe before his trial; he was so debilitated that the crowd at Tyburn reportedly pitied him and called out to allow him to die by hanging before the drawing and quartering |
| Primary Shrine | Tyburn Convent, London — perpetual adoration in honor of the Tyburn martyrs; principal site of English Jesuit martyrdom; the Convent maintains a relic collection; February 21 observed with solemn Mass |
| Liturgical Class | Feast (Roman Rite); February 21; observed in England and Wales |
| Historic Class | Not in universal 1962 calendar (canonized 1970) |
Biography
Robert Southwell was born c. 1561 in Norfolk, England, into a Catholic family. He studied at Douai and then at the English College in Rome, where he joined the Society of Jesus in 1578. He was ordained a priest in 1584 and entered England clandestinely in 1586 as part of the English Jesuit Mission.
For six years he moved secretly among recusant Catholic families, celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, and writing devotional poetry and prose for the embattled Catholic community. He served as secretary to Anne Howard, wife of Saint Philip Howard.
He was captured at Harrow in June 1592. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and tortured approximately 13 times by Richard Topcliffe. After three years of imprisonment he was tried, convicted of being a Catholic priest, and hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on February 21, 1595.
His poems — particularly "The Burning Babe" — circulated widely and were praised even by Protestant contemporaries. Ben Jonson said that if he had written "The Burning Babe" he would be content to have written nothing else.
Pope Leo XIII beatified him in 1886. Pope Paul VI canonized him as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales on October 25, 1970.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Horsham St Faith, Norfolk, England
Death location: Tyburn, London, England
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Known shrines
- Tyburn Convent, London — perpetual adoration; relic collection; principal shrine for English martyrs including Southwell.
Feast day
February 21
Veneration
Saint Robert Southwell was an Elizabethan Jesuit priest and poet martyred at Tyburn in 1595. His poem "The Burning Babe" is one of the finest religious poems in English. He is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, canonized in 1970. His feast is February 21.
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