BL. JOHN ROCHESTER AND BL. JAMES WALWORTH, PRIESTS AND MARTYRS - 11 MAY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY

Saints celebrated on the 11th of May

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. JOHN ROCHESTER AND BL. JAMES WALWORTH, PRIESTS AND MARTYRS 

⬅️ Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales

John Rochester was a priest and martyr, born probably at Terling, Essex, England, about 1498; he died at York, May 11, 1537. 

HE STRENUOUSLY OPPOSED THE NEW DOCTRINE OF THE ROYAL SUPREMACY

He was the third son of John Rochester, of Terling, and Grisold, daughter of Walter Writtle, of Bobbingworth. He joined the Carthusians, was a choir monk of the Charterhouse in London, and strenuously opposed the new doctrine of the royal supremacy. 

HE WAS ARRESTED AT THE CARTHUSIAN CONVENT AT HULL

He was arrested and sent a prisoner to the Carthusian convent at Hull. From there he was removed to York, where he was hung in chains. 

FR JAMES WALWORTH

With him there suffered one James Walworth (Wannert; Walwerke), Carthusian priest and martyr, concerning whom little or nothing is known. He may have been the “Jacobus Walwerke” who signed the Oath of Succession of 1534. John Rochester was beatified in 1888 by Leo XIII.

(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)

⬅️ Forty Martyrs of England and Wales