MARTYED ENGLISH PRIEST BURIED IN CATHEDRAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19060, 3 May 1930, Page 1

MARTYED ENGLISH PRIEST BURIED IN CATHEDRAL.

Father Southworth 9 s Body Returns To England And His Old Parish. (United Press Association-—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) '(Received May 3, 9.15 a.m.) LONDON, May 2. The first martyr to be buried in Westminster Cathedral is Father John Southworth, a Jesuit, who was executed at Tyburn, where he was hanged, beheaded and quartered in 1654 under the orders of Oliver Cromwell. It may be said to be a home-coming, as Father Southworth was known as the parish priest of Westminster, where he worked for years among the poor, and during the outbreak of the plague, anointing many infected people. The Earl of Arundel secured portions of the body and placed them in a leaden coffin, which was taken to Douai Seminary, where Father Southworth was educated. The coffin was rediscovered in 1927, when X-rays, revealing the scars of martyrdom, established identification of the remains. To-day thousands assembled at the Cathedral, where there were hung banners showing the martyrdom. The body, arrayed in the red vestments of a martyr, 'was placed in a glass-sided teak casket, with the face covered. and was carried on priests’ shoulders to the Chapel of St George, Cardinal Bourne following. An immense crowd subsequently thronged the chapel, hoping to touch the casket with their scapulars and rosaries. —“ Times ” Cable.

The beatification of 136 English Roman Catholic martyrs was carried cut at Rome on December 15 last. Eighty-five of the martyrs wfre executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The ceremony took place in the basilica of St Peter’s. The martyrs included Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, and thirty-eight other laity, including three women. The remainder were oriests who were martyred between 1594 and 1679, in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth, James 1., and Charles 11., and under Cromwell. The basilica was magnificently decorated with pictures of martyrs performing miracles, hanging in places of prominence amid a blaze of candles. There was an immense congregation, including a number of English visitors. After the reading of the Papal Bull announcing the beatification, relics were exposed, and the Te Deum sung. The

bells of St Peter's tolled and were echoed by those of 400 churches in Rome. Claims for the beatification of 134 more English martyrs are being investigated. Among those who attended the ceremony was the Duke of Norfolk, whose ancestor, Philip, Earl of Arundel, died in the Tower of London in 1595. The present Duke of Norfolk, the 16th of the line, is twenty-one years of age. He is the Premier Duke and Hereditary Marshal of England. The House of Howard dates from at least 973, the early name being llereward. In 1308 Sir Henry Howard was Chief Justice of England. Sir John Howard was created Duke of Norfolk in 1483 Shakespeare’s “Jockey, of Norfolk.” Philip, Earl of Arundel, was attainted in 1590, and died in the Tower on Octobee 19, 1595.