Edmund Hay
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Edmund Hay (1540? – Rome, 4 November 1591) was a Scottish
Life
He was the son of Peter Hay of
Before they returned to the continent, Hay had persuaded a small band of young men to accompany him and to offer themselves to the Society. They comprised
Hay made his studies at Rome rapidly. Sent to Innsbruck in 1564, he became confessor to the archduchesses of Austria, and gained such favour that he was with difficulty removed to Paris to become rector of Clermont College. He was already regarded as the probable head of the Scottish mission, and was commissioned to report to Rome on the varying fortunes of that country and its queen. In 1566, Pope Pius V resolved to send Bishop, afterwards Cardinal, Vincenzo Lauro to Mary as nuncio, and Hay was to accompany him. Hay started first (6 November) with the Piedmontese envoy Du Croc to see what could be done. Their object was to induce the queen to break with Murray, Lethington, and the other Protestant ministers.
On 14 January 1567, the interview took place. The last Catholic sovereign of Scotland was receiving the last envoys from Rome to Holyrood. Lauro had ordered Hay to ask for the execution of the ministers, and this was demanding more than Mary was at all likely to grant. She answered that "she could not stain her hands with her subjects' blood".
Before the envoys could return, the queen's refusal became relatively unimportant in consequence of the murder of
Back in Paris, 15 March 1567, Hay was soon appointed provincial of France, till 6 September 1574, during the difficult years that covered the conflict between the
In 1585, he was sent back the third time to Scotland with Father James Gordon, but was forced to return after two of three years, so harsh was the climate against Catholics. He was once more placed in high office, called to Rome, and chosen "assistant" for Germany and France, but his health was undermined by the severity of his missionary life, and he soon died.
Notes
- John Hungerford Pollen, Papal Negotiations, 113-161.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Hay". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.