Saint Thomas Garnet
Saint Thomas Garnet, SJ (born c. 1575 AD in Southwark, Surrey, England; died June 23, 1608 AD in Tyburn, London, England) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr, nephew of Father Henry Garnet (the Jesuit provincial executed in connection with the Gunpowder Plot). He was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970. He is one of the lesser-known figures among the Forty Martyrs but is significant as a Jesuit missioner who was arrested, banished, returned, and finally martyred at Tyburn for the statutory crime of being a Catholic priest in England. His feast day is October 25.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Thomas Garnet
| Saint Thomas Garnet | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | October 25 (Forty Martyrs); June 23 (individual feast) |
| Profession | Jesuit priest; English missioner; martyr; one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Society of Jesus (Jesuits); English Jesuit Mission; Jacobean recusancy; post-Gunpowder Plot Catholicism; Forty Martyrs of England and Wales |
| Patronage | Jesuits; English Catholics; those falsely accused; England |
| Attributes | Jesuit habit; gallows (Tyburn); the Gunpowder Plot context (without personal involvement); priestly vestments; the seal of confession (his uncle's martyrdom) |
| Birthplace | Southwark, Surrey, England |
| Death Place | Tyburn, London, England |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on June 23, 1608, under James I; he was executed under the 1585 statute making it a capital offense for a Catholic priest ordained abroad to remain in England; he had been banished from England in 1606 after the Gunpowder Plot investigations (in which his uncle Henry Garnet was implicated and executed); he returned to England and continued his ministry; he was arrested, tried, and executed on the same charge as the other Jesuit martyrs — being a priest in England |
| Primary Shrine | Tyburn Convent, London — 105 Martyrs' shrine; relic collection; February 21 individual feast and October 25 Forty Martyrs feast; the principal site of English Jesuit martyrdom veneration in London |
| Liturgical Class | Feast (Roman Rite); October 25 (Forty Martyrs of England and Wales) |
| Historic Class | Not in universal 1962 calendar (canonized 1970) |
Biography
Thomas Garnet was born c. 1575 in Southwark, England, nephew of Father Henry Garnet SJ, the Jesuit provincial of England. He was educated at the English College at St Omer, Flanders, where he entered the Society of Jesus. He was ordained a priest and entered England as a Jesuit missioner.
In the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot (1605), in which his uncle Henry Garnet was implicated (and executed in May 1606), Thomas was arrested, tried, and banished from England in 1606. He returned to England and continued his ministry.
He was arrested again, tried for being a Catholic priest in England under the 1585 statute, and hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on June 23, 1608.
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: Southwark, Surrey, England
Death location: Tyburn, London, England
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Dynamic content
Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Thomas Garnet have been added to the database yet.
Media
No media found for this saint.
Shrines
Dynamic shrines
No results
No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
Feast day
October 25 (with the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales); June 23 (individual)
Veneration
Saint Thomas Garnet was an English Jesuit martyr executed at Tyburn in 1608, nephew of the Gunpowder Plot Jesuit Henry Garnet. He is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, canonized 1970. Feast October 25.
Prayers
Authored
There are prayers authored by this saint in prayers list yet.
Intercessory
There are no prayers asking for this saint's intercession in prayers list yet.