David Lewis (Jesuit priest)
SJ | |
|---|---|
 David Lewis, engraving by Alexander Voet (1683) | |
| Martyr | |
| Born | 1616 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, Kingdom of England |
| Died | 27 August 1679 (aged 62–63) Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 15 December 1929[1] by Pope Pius XI |
| Canonized | 25 October 1970[1], Vatican City by Pope Paul VI |
| Feast | 27 August |
David Lewis,
Early life
Lewis, the youngest of nine children of Anglican Reverend Morgan Lewis, the headmaster of a grammar school, and Margaret Pritchard, a Catholic, was born at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, in 1616.[3] His cousin was another future martyr – John Kemble.[4]
At 16 years of age, while visiting
He returned to his native land for a year. Then he was appointed spiritual director to the seminarians at the English College in Rome. After his mission in Rome had been completed, he came back to Monmouthshire and worked for 30 years in the apostolate paying much attention to the poor people and people in need.[5] Due to this, he was known as Tad y Tlodion ("Father of the Poor").[6]
Arrest and execution
My religion is Roman Catholic; in it I have loved above these forty years; in it now I die, and so fixedly die, that if all the good things in the world were offered to me to renounce it, all should not remove me one hair’s breadth from the Roman Catholic faith. A Roman Catholic I am; a Roman Catholic priest I am; a Roman Catholic priest of that order known as the Society of Jesus, I am;"
He was arrested on 17 November 1678 at St Michael's Church, Llantarnam, then in Monmouthshire, and condemned at the Assizes in Monmouth in March 1679 as a Catholic priest and for saying Catholic Masses. He was accused of attempting to kill Charles II and trying to restore the Catholic faith in Wales. He was betrayed by an apostate couple who had been promised an award of 50 pounds for the Jesuit's capture, and another sum of 200 pounds was promised by a Welsh magistrate to those who could help in his exposure.[9] Like John Wall and John Kemble, he was then sent to London to be examined by Titus Oates (the originator of the Popish Plot) and other informers.
He was brought for
He pleaded not guilty to the charge of being an
I speak not as a murderer, thief or such-like malefactor, but as a Christian, and therefore am not ashamed.[11]
He was brought back to Usk in Monmouthshire for his execution by John Arnold of Monmouthshire, prayed at the Gunter Mansion and was hanged on 27 August 1679 and then posthumously disembowelled. It was a tribute to the esteem in which he was held that the crowd, mainly Protestants, insisted that he be allowed to hang until he was dead and receive a proper burial.[12] The Sheriff, who knew and liked Lewis, refused to attend the execution, which he had postponed for as long as he could.[13]
After the Titus Oates affair (1679–80), the remaining Welsh-speaking Catholic clergy were either executed or exiled. Lewis was the last Welshman to become a Jesuit until 2001, more than 300 years later.[14]
Recognition
Together with John Wall, John Kemble and 37 other martyrs, David Lewis was
Citations
- ^ a b c "St David Lewis, SJ". The Jesuit Singapore Website. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "August 27th: Saint David Lewis, SJ". The Jesuits Prayer Ministry Singapore. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Dodd, Arthur Herbert (1959). "Lewis, David". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "St David Lewis, SJ". friendsoftheordinariate.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ and martyrs Profile Archived 17 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, jesuit.org. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ISBN 9781553954828. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ Challoner, Richard (1836). Modern British Martyrology: Commencing with the Reformation, A.D. 1535, 26th Henry VIII. to A.D. 1684, 24th Charles II. London: Keating, Brown, & Co. p. 240. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ Cambden, Burnet (1720). The dying speeches and behaviour of the several state prisoners that have been executed the last 300 years. London. p. 350. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ and martyrs Archived 17 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 17 Jan 2018
- ^ ISBN 9780862436100. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "The Jesuits". Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ Kenyon, J.P. The Popish Plot Phoenix Press reissue 2000 p206
- ^ Kenyon p.206
- ^ Llywelyn, Dorian (Summer 2014). "Ties That Bind Us". LMU. Vol. 4, no. 2. Loyola Marymount University. p. 48. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "Ceremony for a martyred saint". BBC News. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
References
- Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "Ven. Charles Baker". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
- Jones, Gareth A. (1999). In Thoroughgoing Service: The Life of Saint David Lewis. Archdiocese of Cardiff. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- Attribution
- . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Baker, Charles (1617-1679)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ven. Charles Baker". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
