BL. EDWARD OLDCORNE, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 7 APRIL

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN APRIL

Saints celebrated on the 7th of April

WELCOME!

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

BL. EDWARD OLDCORNE, PRIEST AND MARTYR 

⬅️ Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

[Blessed Edward Oldcorne was a] martyr, he was born in 1561. His father was a Protestant, and his mother a Catholic. He was educated as a doctor, but later decided to enter the priesthood, went to the English College at Reims, then to Rome, where, after ordination, in 1587, he became a Jesuit. 

HE WENT ON THE MISSION

Next year he returned to England in company with Father John Gerard, and worked, chiefly in Worcester, until he was arrested with Father Henry Garnet and taken to the Tower. No evidence connecting him with the Gunpowder Plot could be obtained, and he was executed for his priesthood only. 

HE WAS EXECUTED FOR BEING A CATHOLIC PRIEST

Two letters of his are at Stonyhurst; the second, written from prison, overflows with zeal and charity. His last combat took place on April 7, 1606 at Red Hill, Worcester. With him suffered his faithful servant, the Venerable Ralph Ashby, who is traditionally believed to have been a Jesuit lay-brother. Oldcorne’s picture, painted after his death for the Gesú, is extant, and a number of his relics.

(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913. The "Venerable" in the original text has been changed to "Blessed". Fr Oldcorne has since been beatified.)