ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN DECEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 11th of December
BL. ARTHUR BELL, PRIEST AND MARTYR
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| London Oratory, The Martyrs of Tyburn Tree (detail) |
Arthur Bell, O.S.F., who in religion was called Father Francis, was born August 13, 1590, at Temple Broughton, the seat of his father, in the parish of Hanbury, six miles from Worcester. His parents were both virtuous, and of good families, his mother being sister to Francis Daniel, esq. of Acton Place, near Long Melford in Suffolk. He was brought up in the fear of God, and in grammar learning, privately at home in his mother's house, who was left a widow when he was eight years of age; afterwards he lived some years with his uncle Daniel in Suffolk.
At the age of 24, he went over to the English college of St Omer's, where he employed a year in the study of rhetoric; and then was sent, by the fathers of the society, to the English college of St Alban the Martyr in Valladolid; where he studied his philosophy, and some part of his divinity, and was made priest; and not long after, took the habit of Saint Francis, in the convent of Segobia, August 9, 1618: and having very much edified the whole community during the years of his probation, he was by the unanimous votes of all admitted to his solemn vows and profession, September 8, 1619.
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| F. Arthur Bell |
But before he had gone through the usual term of his guardianship, he was called to Brussels by F. Joseph Bergaigne, the commissary-general of the order (afterwards archbishop of Cambray) and for restoring the province of Scotland, was appointed its first provincial, and sent in that quality to the general chapter then held in Spain. After his return he was sent by the same commissary-general upon the English mission, where he arrived September 8, 1634. He laboured with great zeal for nine years in the mission, in converting souls to Christ, and then received the crown of martyrdom for his reward, which for the space of twenty years he had earnestly prayed for.
He was apprehended on the 6th of November, 1643, at Stevenage in Hertfordshire, by the parliament soldiers, upon suspicion of his being a spy; who, upon a strict search, found in his bags some papers, in which he had written out the lessons of the office of the blessed Sacrament, and a form of blessing the cord of the confraternity of St Francis, &c. which, after sending for the school-master of the town to interpret them, appeared (not only to these military men, but also afterwards to the committee of the parliament) dangerous matters: especially the form of blessing the cord, which they imagined to be some spell or conjuration.
That day and the following night he passed under the guard of four soldiers, and the next morning was searched again when they found about him a letter in Spanish, addressed to, or designed for, the Spanish ambassador, then residing in London, in which was made mention of his being of the order of St Francis: so that now they resolved to secure him, no longer as a spy, but as a suspected priest. This drew many officers and others to the place where was detained. One of them asked him what religion was he of? he readily answered, I am a catholic. What! said the other, a Roman catholic? How do you mean a Roman, said Father Bell, I am an Englishman. There is but one catholic church, and of that I am a member.
They all said, he was in the right to own his religion: that, said he, I will do, with the grace of God, to my last breath. Another asked him if he believed the pope to be the head of the catholic church He answered in the affirmative; upon which there arose a dispute concerning the church and the pope, but in a confused manner, as is usual to this kind of disputants, who are ever running from one point to another: they brought their bibles to confute them, but in vain; for he shewed them that they had shamefully corrupted even their very scriptures. In conclusion, he told them their arguing against church authority and infallibility, and grounding all things in religion upon the weak and uncertain bottom of private judgment, and private interpretation of the scriptures (liable, as they acknowledged, to error) was not a way to invite him to their religion, for that it would be a very unequal change to part with a church (which he was assured was an infallible guide, by the divine promises, as recorded in scripture) for a religion which owned itself liable to error; and could give no assurance to its followers that it was not leading them on the broad way of eternal damnation. Such an exchange as this, said he, would be like that which your soldiers have obliged me to make, who have taken away my clothes that were whole, and given me nothing but rags in their place. In fine, in parting he told them plainly and sincerely, that no salvation could be hoped for out of the catholic church, and that he wished them all to be even as he was, excepting his present state of confinement.
From Stevenage he was carried before the committee thes sitting in Hertfordshire, to whom all his papers were delivered; with a particular caution to look well to him, for that he had a spell amongst his papers, by means of which he could get out of any prison or dungeon; for such they supposed to be that form of the benediction of the cord of St Francis, which was found amongst his papers.
Here he was examined, whether he had ever been beyond the seas? He answered, Yes. Whether he had taken holy orders there? He answered, that as this was by their laws deemed a crime, he was not to be his own accuser. Upon this he was given over to Jones the city marshal, to be by him conducted the next day to town; who stripped him of what the soldiers had left, and sent him on horseback, half naked as he was, in his rags, and so carried him to London, making him a subject of mockery to the people, in all the towns and villages through which they passed; whilst F. Bell, as appears by his own written relation, so far from taking this in evil part, thought this cavalcade of his too great a pomp for one whose profession obligeth him to take up his cross every day, and follow Christ.
When they were arrived in town, the marshal (who before in searching him found the key of his trunk) found means to get the trunk into his hands, and seized upon it, and all its contents as a lawful prize. The committee of the parliament, by whom F. Bell was shortly after examined, upon hearing the case ordered the marshal to return his goods; for as he was not as yet convicted, he had certainly a right to keep what was his. But the marshal, though he promised to return them, never did it. I shall never hear any more, says F. Bell, of my goods, till the day of judgment; and then I fear I shall be blamed for transgressing holy poverty, by having so many goods to lose, for I firmly believe these men were appointed by God to put me in mind of my vocation. Thanks be to God for it. Such were the dispositions of this holy man.
In his examination before the committee of the parliament, being questioned concerning the Spanish letter that was found about him, he acknowledged that he was a poor penitent of the order of St Francis, but would not satisfy them as to the point of his priesthood; so he was committed to Newgate in order to take his trial at the next sessions. But before these things were transacted, his brethren had made choice of him to be, for the second time, guardian or superior of their convent at Douay, which office had been vacant ever since the martyrdom of F. Heath, who was actually guardian when he came over to England, where he so quickly met with the crown he sought.
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| Newgate Prison, where F. Bell was held |
Reverend Father,
I received your command with all humility and readiness at the very time that I was putting it in execution for I took possession of F. Paul's place in Newgate about twenty hours before yours came to my knowledge. As to what remains, I beg your prayers that I may perserve to the end; and I beg of all christians, with St Andrew, that they would not hinder my suffering, &c,
Your poor Brother,
F. Bell.
To the commissary general he returned the following answer:
Most Reverend Father, obedience and reverence.I received the command of your most reverend paternity with humility, and am disposed with all possible readiness to put it in execution as soon as this present impediment which stands in the way shall be removed. Now the impediment is this. On the 6th of November, O. S. I was apprehended on my way to London, by the parliamentary soldiers, and being examined, and found to be a catholic, I was put under the custody of four soldiers, night and day, And after I had been stripped of all things, sword, money, clothes, and even my very shirt, and clad in an old tattered coat of some poor soldier, I was brought before the parliament at London, where being again examined, I was found out by certain arguments to be a friar minor, which I did not deny; and being withal suspected to be a priest according to the order of the Roman church, I was for this reason committed to the prison of Newgate. I am to be tried on the 5th of December, what will then be done with me my Lord Jesus Christ knows, with whom I am ready to go to the cross, and to death, if his mercy will vouchsafe to extend itself so far as to be willing to accept of the sacrifice of such and so great a sinner: but if I am still necessary to his people, the will of our Lord be done. I have begged death for Christ. This I will continue to beg for. My sinful life has been a long time hateful to me. Pardon me, I know what is for my profit; to die is my gain. I humbly beg your prayers, and those of my brethren, that if (as I wish) it be my lot to die, I may depart with obedience in the grace of Christ; and with St Andrew, I beseech all christian people not to be a hindrance to my death. If I shall not be condemned to die, I will labour by all lawful means to procure my liberty, that I may be able to obey, as it is my duty, the command I have received. God preserve your reverence, &c,
Newgate, Nov. 22, 1643.
F. Bell was not tried on the 5th of December, as he expected, but on the 7th of that month. The witnesses that appeared against him were Wasworth, Mayo, and Thomas Gage, all apostates from the catholic religion and the last also from his religious vows. Wadsworth deposed, that he knew him twenty years before at Brussels, in the habit of St Francis, and that he was esteemed by all as an honest plain friar. Mayo declared, that he knew him at Graveline, in the monastery of the poor Clares, and that he was one of the priests of that monastery, and that he also knew him at the convent of the English Franciscans at Douay. Gage made oath, that the prisoner lived for some time at London, with a lady, a near relation of his, where be had often heard him say Mass; and that he remembered his complaining to him of his kinswoman's rising so late, that he could seldom begin Mass before 12 o'clock.
F. Bell excepted against all the witnesses as infamous apostates, who having broken their faith to God, deserved none with men. And as to the jury, he said, he hoped they were christians; "that he was certainly not a priest of the Levitical order of Aaron and that it would not be wisdom, if any one had a call from God to the priesthood, to neglect the fountain head, and to take up with troubled water." The recorder told him, he spoke mysteriously; and asked if he had any thing else to say? He answered, No. Upon which the jury going out, after a short deliberation, pronounced him guilty; for which verdict the holy man returned them thanks.
In the afternoon he was brought again to the bar, and asked what he had to say why sentence should not pass upon him. Upon which occasion he expressed himself in the following manner: "My accusers have given in their depositions against me, and my jury has pronounced me guilty: I return them my most hearty thanks, for I shall most willingly, and with the greatest joy, die with Christ, and his apostles and martyrs, my cause being the same as theirs. And since I am going to speak of a matter of equal or greater importance than was that of which the prophets spoke of old, let me invoke heaven and earth with them be astonished, O ye heavens! and be thou covered with confusion, O earth! to see a christian state, at least that pretends to profess Christ and his gospel, to make that priesthood high treason which was founded and established by Christ and his gospel, that priesthood, I say, which supports the gospel, and is supported by it. It was for this reason I asked in the morning whether the gentlemen of the jury were christians, intimating that christians might perhaps condemn the priests of the order of Aaron, but not those of the institution of Christ; as on the other hand Jews would condemn christian priests, but not their own. What before appeared to you mysterious, I now explain. Whoever has a call from God to the priesthood, let him seek it there, where there is a certain and undoubted succession never interrupted from Christ's time, viz. in the Roman communion; and not there, where the succession is called in question, or rather, where without all question it has certainly failed, as it has amongst protestants; for it is certain, there is no true priesthood in the protestant church."
Thus far they heard him with patience; but here one of the bench interrupted him, telling him, that the laws under which a man is born, are to be obeyed. It is true, said Father Bell, and if I had been born among Pagans, I should have obeyed their laws, if they were not contrary to the law of God. But, as for these unchristian laws, by which priests are put to death I know for certain, that the makers of them have long since received their just rewards; and let all such look to themselves in time, and to their own consciences, who are, or shall hereafter, by reason of their office, be in the occasion of putting them in execution.
Serjeant Green the recorder pronounced sentence in the usual form, at which Father Bell is said to have joyfully intoned the Te Deum, and to have returned hearty thanks to the court; who also, on their part, seemed to pity his case, and exhorted him to conformity. He told them he had much more reason to pity their case, and that he begged of God's mercy, they might not have far more grievous torments to suffer in the next world, than those he was to endure in this.
During the three days which Father Bell remained in prison, between the sentence of death and the execution, he was visited by great numbers of catholics, as well English as foreigners; some coming to beg his blessing, others to get something of him, which they might keep as a relic, &c. all admiring the cheerfulness and joy which appeared in his words and countenance. Amongst the rest, the imperial envoy came more than once to see him, to whom the man of God declared that he would not exchange his present condition for that of the emperor his master. The French embassador also sent to him, to desire his prayers; and he being one whom the parliament at that time had great regard to, Monsieur Charles Marchant, his chief chaplain, was in great hopes, by this means, to have put a stop to the execution but Father Bell frankly told this good priest, when he spoke to him in prison upon that subject, that instead of a friend, as he had hitherto esteemed him, be should look upon him as his capital enemy, if by his means he should be deprived of the crown which he had so long desired; and therefore conjured him to lay aside all thoughts of hindering his death, which would be to him the gate of life.
On the 11th of December, the holy man was brought out of prison, aid upon a hurdle, and drawn by four horses to Tyburn, the serenity and sweetness of his countenance speaking all the way the interior disposition of his soul. When he came to the place of execution, he said, Now I see verified in me, what was foretold me by happy Thomas Bullaker. Who, it seems, when father Bell was complaining to him in prison, that as he was the elder brother in religious profession, he ought rather to have gone before him, replied, God will have me to go first, but you shall soon follow me. Then being put up into the cart, and having leave of the sheriff (who treated him with a great deal of humanity) to speak to the people, he delivered himself to them in these, or the like words:
"Dear countrymen, give ear to me, and as yon desire to be delivered from your present miseries, put an end to your sins; for, without all doubt, your enormous crimes are the cause of the calamities under which you groan. But above all, I exhort you to renounce heresy, in which you have been so long engaged for this (with grief I speak it) has cut you off like putrid members from the true body of Christ, and like dead branches from the tree of his church. But if you resolve to persist in loving darkness more than light, long afflictions will attend you and certainly, many calamities and miseries threaten this city, and the whole kingdom, unless they desist from persecuting priests and catholics. See and consider, I beseech you, the afflictions with which God has begun visibly to punish you; and be assured, that all these punishments are tokens of his love, and a manifest testimony that he would not destroy you but as it were by constraint. I say it again, all these chastisements, civil wars, and calamities are inflicted upon you by him, to the end, that he may at length, from shipwreck, bring you into the haven of the catholic church. Abuse then no longer his goodness and mercy; do not force him to destroy you, by continuing to provoke his divine justice, by obstinacy in your evils."
Here being interrupted by the sheriff, he said no more, but turning himself to one of the malefactors who were to suffer with him, he spoke to him some words of exhortation and comfort, and had the satisfaction to see him resolved to die a member of the catholic church. He also addressed himself to the hangman with a cheerful countenance, and embracing him, gave him wholesome advice for the salvation of his soul; with which, and many other things he spoke, the people being much moved, the officers hastened the execution, and ordered the cart to be drawn away. He hanged for the space of one Miserere, and then was cut down, dismembered, bowelled, and quartered. In stripping him, they found under his secular coat, the habit of his order, which it seem he was accustomed to wear; upon which occasion, the people cried out, with astonishment, see what mortified men these are, who so much despise the pleasures of the world!
Guards were appointed to hinder the catholics from carrying off anything by way of relic; yet this did not prevent some from dipping their handkerchiefs, or other things in his blood. He suffered December 11, 1643, in the 54th year of his age, the 25th of his religious profession, and 9th of his mission.
N. B. That a little before father Bell's trial and execution, there happened to be taken at Yarmouth in Norfolk, one Mr Walter Windsor a catholic gentleman, or, as some say, a priest, whose papers being seized, there was found amongst them, a letter from the archbishop of Cambray, to some priests upon the mission, with a copy of a brief of Pope Urban the VIIIth sent to the said archbishop, by which he was directed to nominate and impower certain priests, then upon the mission to make diligent enquiry into the cause and manner of death of several priests, lately executed upon the penal statutes, and to transmit the account thereof to Rome. Now the persons deputed for this business, by the archbishop's letter, were these for London, and all the counties on the south of the river Trent, George Gage, D. D. protonotary apostolical; Father Thomas Dade, provincial of the Dominicians; father Bennet Cox, O. S. B. and Father Francis Bell, definitor, O.S.F. For York, and the northern counties, Mr Phillips, confessor to the queen; Mr George Catherick; Father Robert Haddock, provincial of the Benedictines; and Father William Anderton, O. S. F. These were commissioned personally to such places where informations were likely to be had, and to call before them persons of credit and integrity, whe had been acquainted with the said priests, and the particulars of their trials and behaviours at the place of execution; and to take their depositions upon oath, and to put them down in writing, with the names of the deponents, and to certify the same in due form to the archbishop. Now these papers coming to the hands of the parliament at this conjuncture, are by some supposed to have hastened the execution of Father Bell, who was one of the persons nominated in the archbishop's letter. Certain it is, at least, that they were published by order of parliament, the very day that Father Bell was brought upon his trial being printed by Husband, printer to the parliament, December 7, 1643.
¹From Certamen Seraphicum, p. 127, &c. and from a Manuscript sent me from St Omer's.
Source: Bishop Richard Challoner, Memoirs of Missionary Priests, Volume 2
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