To the industry of Father Darbyshire, says Tanner, England owes the conversion of Mr. George Gilbert (the second subject of this volume, who had been led into France, and visited Paris) from the errors of Calvin to the one true Church of God; and who was afterwards the faithful companion of Father Parsons, and rendered him and Father Edmund Campion, and the other Priests, such immense assistance in the salvation of multitudes of souls in England.
We may also add that to the same zeal and industry the Society of Jesus owes their renowned member, and the Catholic Church in Ireland its zealous labourer and confessor of the Faith, Father Henry Fitzsimon, whose most deeply interesting life, and one of such historical importance in the annals of Irish Church history, is at the present time being brought to the light of day by the labours of the Reverend Father Edmund Hogan, of the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus, in consecutive numbers of the Irish Ecclesiastical Record. In the following extract from Father Henry Fitzsimon's work, Justification of the Masse, chap, iii., p. 115 : "Of holy water, and effects thereof"—in giving an instance of its miraculous effects upon himself, he alludes to his journey to Paris, where the supernatural event happened, and his conversion by Father Darbyshire—
"Yet truly Sathan and al his adherents have cause to detest holy water, whether antient Christians approved it or noe; considering that St Eligius delivered fiftie possessed by devils by only sprinkling them therwith, and St Gregory and St Hubert purged monasteries and howses formerly subiect to their molestation in the same maner. Therwith also did our St Malachie helpe and heale a woman in frensie and divers others diseased. Nether are more miraculous histories recorded of any other memorial of Christ's benifits toward vs. For the vse of holie water is to make vs myndful of our regeneration by the water of baptisme; as holy bread of our feeding on the B. Bodie of Christ Jesus; as the Agnus Dei of our deliverie by Christ's oblation for synns, and as the framing of the sign of the Crosse, our triumph over death and hel by Christ's holy Passion. They are therfor grateful memorials, because they are a kinde of real protestation of our myndful gratuitie; whereby also God maketh them soe miraculous, to warrant such our devotion, and to testifie His gratious acceptation.
"It is honorable to reveale the works of God, nor lesse in my owne cause then of others. I wil briefly relate it as a merciful worke of God with al humble and grateful fidelitie. In the year 1587, being twentieth of my age, and tenth of my education in heresie, I came to Paris; so far overweening of my profession, that I surmised to be able to convert to Protestancie any encountre whosoever. Nether did I fynde many of the ordinarie Catholikes, whom I did not often grauel. At length, by my happines, I was overcome by Father Thomas Darbishire, ane owld English Jesuit, long tyme experienced in the reduction of many thowsands to the Catholike religion.
"Only toward holy water I remained squeamish, I know not how; rather by ignorance than obstinate, or malitiouse doubtfulnes. At the same tyme a vehement tormenting payne seased my third finger of the left hand, with that smarting griefe that I thought often to chopp it of. No fomentation could qualifie it. A holy day requiring my going to Masse, I would not in the first fervour of my devotion omitte it, not knowing then but that I was bound thereto notwithstanding al paine. Repairing therfore to St Severius' Church, my payne redubled in such scorching excesse that I teared and groned, as in the greatest agonie; and being neere the holy water font, I plunged in my whole hand, not then for devotion, but for refrigeration. To Thee, O Lord my God, be al prayse for ever and ever, who at that very instant vnsensiblie, intierly, abundantlye didst heale me without al sensible signe of my former payne, and with exclusion of al palenes and vncheerfulness thereby procured, in the presence of M. Henry Segrave, M. John Lea, M. Dominiche Roch, and many others, giving me occasion to be confounded for my incredulitie, -and eternally thankful for my deliverance. To Thee, therfore, again and again, be al glorie for ever and ever. Amen!"
To his other labours Father Darbyshire was no less assiduous in the duties of the confessional; in which he not only applied himself to the conversion of great sinners with much zeal and industry, but God also was pleased to add to his efforts wonderful efficacy, and to enable him by prodigies also to assist his penitents.
During his residence in Paris he wrote the following beautiful letter to another member of the Society at Avignon. A copy in Latin is in the State Papers Office; 1 the original letter is preserved in the British Museum, Harlein MSS., Vol. cclxxxviii, fol. 154. In another hand at the top of the letter is written, "The vain hope the Papists had of the King's apostacy." The original letter is endorsed, "Father Darbyshire—intercepted letter." To have intercepted a letter written in France to another party in the same country shows the extraordinary activity of the Government spies in those times.
The copy in the Public Record Office is endorsed, "Coppye of a letter of Darbishier to another English Jesuite at Avignon, whereof I have sent the original to Mr. Secretary, 29th August, 1584."
"I have received your letter of the 6th of the nones of July, which afforded me the greatest joy, as from it I learn that you persevere in your vocation, and (as I hope) make progress, which I trust you will always do. That you are mindful of me for my good is what I give thanks for, first to God, and next to yourself, for so I persuade myself it will be. On many accounts I confess that I am bound to you, nor shall you find me ungrateful in anything in which I may be able to serve you. This, beyond measure delights me, that the mere recollection and thought of our Institute so pleases you. Believe me, my Brother, that this is a singular grace of God which not many receive. Oh! if we but knew the gift of God." [The letter then gives some information about one Henry Bayley in Paris, and continues]—" Your parents are well, but your father always in prison on account of his faith and profession of the Catholic religion. Oh! happy you to have such a father, so constant in the Faith, and so ready to die for Christ and His holy Catholic Church. It would be pleasing . to them to receive letters occasionally from you; but I leave it to your prudence to be sure not to write to them anything that would make your father's condition worse as regards his bodily sufferings. We have here now, and for some months past, Father Robert Parsons, of whom you will have often heard, the companion of Father Campion. There is another Father also, Father Weston, who has come hither not long ago from Spaine. In this province we are nine Englishmen at present; praise be to Christ
"Concerning England, I will only say this much, that those men are full of fury and full of fear, their wicked consciences giving them no rest I do not see what they have to fear from man. Would that they strove to make God their friend.
" The King of Scotland [afterwards James I.] goes on well, but when I consider that his mother is in England [Mary, Queen of Scots, in prison], and that he is deprived of her wisdom and experience, and is without external help and advice, I fear much that some evil may happen, both for him and for us, for she who now reigns in England, as long as she [Queen Mary] lives, does not think herself secure, and will leave no stone unturned to get rid of her. 2
"Edward, who a short time ago came from England into France, who was friendly to your father, is in prison for the Catholic business which is now being treated of.
"Farewell, and commend us to Christ in your prayers. Salute in my name, very affectionately, your Reverend Father Rector, of whom I have retained the most pleasant recollections.
"Yours always in our Lord,
"Thomas Darbyshire, Soc. Jes.
"Paris, 13th August, 1584."
The following is a specimen of the spy system employed by the bitter anti-Catholic Government of the time, and shows to what a depth of degradation even a Sir Francis Walsingham could stoop to to curry favour in high quarters, and to entrap such a man as Father Darbyshire. We insert this letter without the slightest fear of damaging the character of that holy man, whose long and deep experience in the ways of the world, and in the trials of those times, and whose great prudence were proverbial, to say nothing of his well-known piety and sanctity of life. Let the candid reader contrast the Father's character with the barefaced statement of the spy, and of his honourable employer, and he will find but little difficulty in treating the whole (and this applies to the case of most of these spies) as a tissue of misstatements, or exaggerations, if not altogether a concoction of falsehoods, invented only to deceive and please the employer and turn the tables upon Walsingham himself, as tacitly, at least, suggesting the getting rid of Mary Queen of Scots, " Whose life is a steppe vnto her Majestie's death," and advising his Sovereign "for her own safetie and her subjects to add to God's good providence her just policie," &c.
Harlein MSS., 260, p. 178, Plut, lxvi. E. British Museum. Sir Francis Walsingham to the Right Hon. Lord Burleigh.
"March 15th, 1572.
"To the Rt. Hon. and my very good Lord of Bourleigh.
"Your lordship, by Sir Thomas' letters unto her Matie., shal be fully informed what hath passed in conference, as wel with the Kinge as his deputies, touching the league to which I refer yow. Of late I caused one, under the colour of a Catholique, to repaire to one Darbyshire, an English Jesuite in Paris, for that I understand there is a concurrence of intelligence betweene him and those of Loraine, as also with those of the Scottish Queene's faction. The partie I sent did seeme [pretend] very much to bewaile the evill successe that the late practices took in Englande, and that nowe he did feare theire cause would growe desperate, especiallie for that Mathers' enterprize was alsoe discouvered. To this the Jesuite answered, that the evil handling of matters was the cause of that they tooke noe better effecte. Notwith-standinge, saith he, bee of good comforte, and assure yourselfe there are more Mathers in England then one, who will not omitt, when time shall conveniently serve, to adventure their lives in seeking to acquit us of that lewde woman [meaning Her Matie.], for, saith he, if she were gone, then would the hedge lye open, whereby the good Queen that now is prisoner, in whorae resteth the present right of this crowne, should then safely enjoy the same. For besides that all the Catholykes which in the realme of England are at her devocon, there are, sayth he, diverse heretiques, God bee thanked, that are well affected towards her; which, sayth hee, is noe small miracle that God hath soe blinded theire eyes, as that they should bee inclined vnto her, that in the end shall yeelde unto them theire just desertes, unless they return to the Catholique faith. The other replied, that for his parte he coulde never hope to see her at libertie, nor longe to see her keepe her heade uppon her shouldiers, and therefore could receave no greate comforte that way. Well, sayth the Jesuite, I tell you trewlie that I dare assure yow shee shall have noe harme, for shee lacketh noe friendes in the English Courte, and as for her libertie (saithe hee), it standeth all good Catholiques in hande soe much to see it, eyther by hook or by crooke, as doubte not man; but there are some good men that will venture a joynt to bringe it to passe. For yf shee were once possessed of the crowne of England, it wil bee the onlie way and raeane to reforme all Christendome in reducinge them to the Catholique faith, and therefore you must thinke that there are more heades occupyed in this matter then English heades, and that there are more waies to the wood than one, and therfore be of good courage, and ere over one yeare bee att an end, yow shall know more. Besides the villanous and undutyfull language of Her Matie., he used very lewd and bitter speeches agaynst the Earl of Leicester and your lordp. And this was the summe of theire talke, which I confirringe and weighinge with the former intended practices, made me thinke it worth the advertisement, that Her Matie. may see how much theye build uppon the possibilitie of that dangerous woman, whose life is a stepp vnto Her Mtie.'s death, for that they repute her for an undoubtfull successor, or raither, which is a more danger, for a right inheritour. And though I know her mischievous intencons are limitted, that they reach no further to Her Mtie.'s harm or prejudice then shall seeme good to God's providence, yett is Her Mtie. bound, for her own safetie and her subjects, to add [to] the same His good providence, her just policie, soe farr forth as may stand with justice. And soe leavinge further to trouble your honour att this present, I most humblie take my leave.
"Att Sloys, the second of Marche, 1572, "Yr. honour's to commande,
" Ffrancis Walsingham."
The following is an extract from a letter of one Henry Alis, another Government spy. 3 He says (inter alia) —" That, being bound for Paris, he was commended from John Woodward unto Pater Thomas Darbysher, one of the Fathers of the Jesuetts of Paris; who acquainted me with one James Hill, servant unto the Duke of Guise, and hath a brother that doth serve my Lord of ArundelL Also, he acquainted me with one Robert Tempest, that is Treasurer and Procurator of the Colledge of Reims; and, after divers communications passed betwixte us, and he knowinge by the reports of my Lord of Northumberlande's younge sonnes and their tutor that are in Paris, and one Thomas Hole that was tutor to my Lord of Northumberlande that nowe is, gave me creditt the better. And when I was in the Marshalsea, of your honor's commandment, I was acquainted with diverse Prestes that were banished owte of the Marshalsea, and are now in Paris. One Smith and one GrifFen, and diverse other Prestes, which made me creditt the better; and, after many greate schoolings, with the fall of Gyfford, being alledged that he was a spy; and divers other admonitions for my loyal tie towardes theire Church," &c. [This spy, having thus got admittance to the Catholics, proceeds to give various information he had gathered. As regards Father Darbyshire it is very trifling, thus]— " Father Darbyshire began in this manner with me, and began to bewaile the state of our nobilitee, and wished to God they bore so noble a mind in England as the Duke of Guise doth, who had the Kinge up in a mewse, and perforce made him swear and agree to what they wolde, or else he sholde be put where two or three Kinges had been before—in a Religious howse, and so ended their daies."
Having given the two foregoing specimens of the plans of the Government spies connected with the subject of our history, the reader must pardon a short digression here upon this interesting subject, by introducing the account of a notorious spy, a pious evangelical character, who actually made his way into the English College at Rome, and there pretended to become a convert to the Catholic faith. These men penetrated, under all imaginable shapes, into prisons, private and Religious houses, and Colleges at home and abroad, so that a Catholic of whatever degree was never secure. In the P. R. O., State Papers, Dom. Elizabeth, Vol. cxlix., No. 184, is the following (endorsed " Secret advices—Samuel Postinget")—
" Whereas, your honor desireth to knowe all such manor of dealinges as the Papists do use towards Protestantes for to make them denye their Lord and Maker, and so to revoke from their fayth. ... I sett forth unto you ther behaviour towardes me and my felowe in our aboad there amongst them.
" First, therfore, when wee came to Rome we wente unto the English Seminarye ther, and wheras to others the preveledge of the house go but viij dayes, yet beinge we were scholars, yonge men in necessitie, and not instructed in ther religion, they granted unto us vj weekes at the leaste, in which tyme they did nothing but persuade us for to be reconciled to ther Churche, and to become (as they call them) Catholiques. We had a booke or two which they tooke from us, and instead of them gave us such bookes as best pleased ther myndes, in the which we learned Seaven Sacraments; workes without fayth to be sufficient to salvation; the Pope to be the Head of the Churche, and that whatsoever he did binde and loose in earth the same was bound and loosed in Heaven; that whosoever dyed not in the state of ther Churche dyed not in the state of grace, and so could not be saved. Of Purgatory, also, there was somewhat to be seene, and how in the Sacraments we did eate and drinke the Body and Blood of Christ wholly and substantiallye, with an infinite companye more of such devilishe doctrines, amongst Christians never to be named. Thus, when they had nortered [nurtured] us at ther pleasure a tyme, they cajled a Congregation, in the which the Pope gave us leave to be admitted into the bosome of ther Church. All this done, yet they could not admit us thereunto till such tyme as being ledd by feare, or compelled by force, they had made us to abjure ourselves, and utterly, to forsake God and His trewth. And, instead of this, to swear that forever we would follow ther religion, viz., Antichrist, &c.
" Now, when they had wrought us to ther purpose, as they thoughte, then we were amongst them confirmed, after that confessed and pardoned our sins by a man who hath no lesse need to have his sins washed away in the blood of Christ then we had, and thus they doe with all such that come hither. . . .
"Further more, whereas your honor commanded me to sett downe the names of all such as I did know beyond the seas, enemies to ther country and fled for religion. Although I cannot remember all ther names, yet the names of those I do know I will rehearse as trulye as I can."
The spy then proceeds to give a very long list of Priests and others in the English College, &c, Rome. He then proceeds thus—
" Ther be 20 more in the Sem. at Rome, at the leaste, whose names I know not Paris doth abound with Papists, and I am persuaded that his honor the L. Ambass. hath and doth seeke all possible meanes to roote them owte yf it could be; and refuseth neyther coste nor labour to winne them (if they woulde hear him) unto the Shepherd of their sowles Ct. J., and obedience towards ther Prince and countrye."
This spy then proceeds, by command of his honour, the Secretary, to point out the means for obtaining news from Rome. He names an Italian Catholic, who loveth England, and married an Englishwoman, one John Brygosa. Also one William, an Englishman, who had married an Italian. Also a young man, Edward Boss, once a scrivener in London, who made his way to Rome, and got into the Inquisition, &c. &c. He also told the Lord Ambass. "of 3 other verye fytt men to be spyes," with whom his honor must find some one to speak about it. He goes on—
"This much I certified my L. Ambass. more, that many he might thither sende, but some or none of them should ever come away, for yf he be known to have been in France, though he never came in England (or at the least not of two or three years), and goeth not from D. [Douay], often letters are at Rome afore him for* his apprehendinge when he cometh thither.
"I further certifye his honor that yf these before rehearsed were not sufficient instruments to bring to pass his honor's purpose, then yf he did please to fynd out the man, I wolde sett downe the course he should take, which yf he wolde observe, he sholde live in Rome a spye so longe as him listed : and moreover that yf no meanes colde be founde to convey letters I wolde shew unto his honor howe a man should goe thither, and retorne agayne at his pleasure, without all suspycion. His honor inquired not of me the meanes how this might be wroughte, onlye he willed me to advertize yr honor thereof, when I come to London. To show myselfe obed. therefore unto his honor's comandment I assure your honor that yf all occasyons of hearing newes from Rome, were taken away (as I think they be well nere), yet your honor may betraye the same by pilgrimage.
"Last of all I gave his honor to note of one Pownde, a Pryste bound for Inglande. He came, from Rome in the beginning of Lent, and I did think he woulde have gone by Paris, which yf he did I told his honor that in my opynion noe greater benefit colde be wroughte to our countrye Q then to worke his apprehend inge. He ys a very weake man, and such an one as I thinke according to the proverbe, had rather 1 turne than burne,' which yf he coulde be broughte unto, yt wolde greatlie worke the confusion of the Papystes, for that ys one of the things that they doe chiefly boaste of, namelye, that as yet none of their Priestes have fallen or recanted.
He then proceeds to point out, "in obedience to your honor's comand, the things which doe most hurt the estate of our countrye," and his opinion as to the remedye.]
" Fyrste, therfore, that matters in Council privately handled must be privately kept, and not imparted but unto those which love their countrye, and the good estate thereof, for I protest unto your honor that ther is nothinge done in your Privie Council which is not known in Rome within 8 wekes at the moste, and this I think one inconvenience, but as touchinge the remedye thereof, I leave that to your honor.
"Another inconvenience is the lyfe of Parson, a Jesuit, who hurteth our countrye more than I am able to declare, onlye I note the same unto your honor as one great hurte unto our countrye, and to be for-seen by your honor's wisdom.
"Another inconvenience ys as I thinke the continuance of the English Seminarye at Rhemes, a thing very easy to be reformed, and no small benefite unto our corhon wealth, for yf it were made frustrate, the Seminarye at Rome were to no effecte. I could laye down some reason for that which I doe saye, but your honor's wysdom is able to comprehend the sume of my meaninge.
"Another inconvenience is that Papistes are suffered to live in the Inns of Court (I dare not say in the Queen's Mtie's Court) lest I shoulde offend, but this I dare boldlye saye that amongst lawyers more Papystes ther are than in all Inglande beside, for yee have not nowe allmoste in Englande one Papist Priest which hath not been a lawyer, or els broughte upp amongst them.
An other discomoditie ensueth by givinge unto young gent" leave to travell beyond the seas under the pretence of learning language, were yt not for discharge of my conscience, and for shewing my betrothed dutye unto your honor, I had rather with sylence to overpasse these thinges, then otherwyse to deal with them, fearing that if it were known I should have small rewarde for my labours.
"Another inconvenience is yt your searchers are not trustye; they covet all to be gent 1 ? and yf at the first entering to their office they be not worth a groate, within a yeare or two they become so ryche that they will be purchasers. This is not by just dealinge," &c.
To return to Father Darbyshire. Father John Gerard in his narrative 4 mentions that he became acquainted with Father Darbyshire during the residence of the former at Clermont College, Paris, about 1582-3. "After my residence at Rheims I went to Clermont College, Paris, to see more closely the manner of the Society's life, and to be more solidly grounded in humanities and philosophy. I had not been there one year when I fell dangerously ill. After my recovery I accompanied Thomas Darbyshire to Rouen, in order to see Father Parsons, who had arrived thither from England, and was staying incognito in that city to superintend the publication of his Christian Directory, a most useful and happy work, which in my opinion has converted to God more souls than it contains pages."
We have before mentioned that Father Darbyshire was obliged to leave Paris on account of ill health. He again visited Rome, and then went to Pont-a-Mousson, in Lorraine. There he remained until his death. He received the following most interesting letter at Pont-a-Mousson from Father Henry Tich-bourne. This letter was probably intercepted; at all events by some means it has found its way to the State Paper Office. 5
"The reasons that moveth us in these partes to have hopes more then ordenare of ye convercQn of our contrye are verie pregnant. Firste, ye hie degree of credit our princepal pilleirs and agentes have bothe
in R[ome] and S[pain]. In R , Fr. P[ersons]
with the Pope himselfe is so accepted that he will not sufFre him to use anie other complimente of Kinghes or other wayes in his presence then are usual for Cardinalles: his nevew hath assigned him his day of audience, and sendeth his coche for him dailie: he hath composed those desperate controversyes between the Fathers and Scolerres and let out ye corrupt bloode w h that dexteritie as hath gott him ye fame of an expert phisitian; and hath triumphed so over ye crue of malcontentes that whereas before his coming to R , ye young youghters [youngsters]
were so averted from the S[paniards] that they could not abide ther sight, and wold not move ther hattes to the Ambassd: he brought them to degest the one, and respect the other. And to confirm me ye rather in this opinion, I find that with great diflkultie and the clamorous reluctation of our hole [whole] Ordre he hath avoided the reade cappe, Ffr. C[reswell] in S[pain], and Ffr. H[olt] in Flanders have with ye Princes they deal with no less credit then he here. The seconde supporte of this our hopes yr ye continuallie confluence of the rares and bestes wittes of our nation to the Seminaires, and ther Constance in following their missions, and procuring to be qualified for ther fetorne; which ys in ye sight of man marvellous to se that ye rigoure of ye lawes conceavid and contrived in those cases and ye vigilant ayes [eyes] and sever execution ther of thes ten or xii yeares practised hath bene ye foundacion of all this our credit abrod and an invitement to men to adventure for God's sake and ye saving of soules, ther skinne and bones. It ys then observid yt where before these lawes published, we had but tow [two] Seminaries, and those but indeferantlie fornished of persons or provision, sens that tyme for tow we have 8 : one here the nombre 70: one in Doyai the nombre 120 : one in St. Omers the nombre 80. One in Vaillolit the nombre 63 : one in Civille the nombre 65; in St Luca and Lisbonnd tow residences furnished proportionable and for our missions, wher before those onlie there retorned not 7 or 8 yearelie at ye most, now ye nombre of them yt retorne yearlie ys conted to be some 40 or 50. The nombre of adventurers and labourers in England is lifted to five hundred, besides them of our Societie which are some 150 in England and abrode, besides Capuchins and other Relegeux ye nombre of one 100. Thes evident testimones of missions and remissions and of ye particular intellegences of all preparations and pretentions of our Conseil at home sent con-tinuallie to Fr. P. by expresse messingers yt all such that seke to contradict or oppose against him are ether discardid or discredited, and all they can say or projeecte to ye contrarie, held for inventions and intertainments. The onlie thing yt ys feared will be the interruption of this our settled hopes or diminution of credet ys a reporte which hath bene here verie herte [hurtful] of libertie of conscience at home, which is supposed to proceed from some deiper brayne then our ordenarie wittes are wonte to yealde; and because I knowe it will be to you gratefull and withall a caveat to take hede of such compaignons yt gape after yt libertie, I will set you downe ye discourse pro and con, and raisons upone bothe partes in ther memoriales for ye procuring of aprobation and good liking of ther designe. And first it was on both partes for a maxime concluded that parcial or propocinable execution of the lawes served for nothing els but to make suche as riped benefit therby reputed for spies, and men of so large a conscience, and in fine so hard to distinguish therin by the rule of more moderate execution that happilie those that lest deserved it were most hardlie dealte with. Yt rested then yt of late some by some publique altering and repealing of lawes or some solemne securitie under the Prince's worde yt ys objected on the one parte and much feared of ours yt this ys the onlie meanes to discover the defeate and nakednes of our cause and to show that yt which we are faine to doute w l . h suche gloriose colours ys but a mere chemire [chimera] and bare shadowe, yt ther is no suche nombers of men affected to our parte as we wolde enforce yt a more milde and moderate course were more fetting for all partes that yt ys observed in all histores yt religion was never planted or restored by armes; that suffering and submission must nedes in tyme worke commiseration. That liberty granted will be a badge and as yt were a leverie cote to distinguish betweene staide and plaine meaning Catholiques, yt are desirous to geve Caesar yt which ys Caesar's, and God yt which ys God's, yt ye way to take away on all partes geloses, suspitions, and a laborinth of perplexites ys for the one part to geve what testimonie or pledge may humanlie be devised by ther innocence and sincere submission, ye other of ther humanitie, nobilitie, and obedience, yt for obtaining this liberte they offer no other conditions than Card! Allain dothe in his apologe Tertullian and yustinius Martyr. Replie was made by ours that this meanes was so dangerous yt what rigour of lawes cold not compasse in so manie yeares, ys liberte and lenitie will effectuate in 20 dayes. To wit the disfernishing of ye Seminaries, the disanimating of men to come, and others to retorne; ye expultion of the Societie a confusion as in Germanie; extinction of zeal and fervor a disanimation of Princes from the hott pursuit of ye enterprise of our reduction, will leave us hopeles and healples and will fall out with us as with the shepe yt maid peace with the wolves on condition they should , remove the dogges. So that the circumstances and conditions necessarielie imply the removal of the Companie (wch by ther rule may admitte no like conditions) and are our dogges. We shall be left as a praye to ye wolves yt will besides drive our greatest patron to stoupe to a peace wch will be the utter ruine of our edifice, this manie yeares in building. It was further opposed that color of matter of State was pretended, but ye marke was utterlie to extirpat and cut off by the rootes all memorie of ye Catholik religion, that the danger of suche alterations in a setled course the discredit might light upon ye devisers and makers of suche lawes yf suche mutations should now folow dothe demonstrate that this discourse of liberte ys but an invention of busie heades, and nether for to be allowed nor accepted yf it might be procured, nor in ytself possible to be procured, for the former raising hiatus was made that wisemen consider the end of the lawes and are not alwayes tied to the same meanes, but like skilfull phisitians use cupping or cutting but when otherwise the humours cannot be removed by potions and pourgalions; so that when Lycurgus* lawes may accomplish ther endes, they put into the scabbord the sworde of Draco's lawes till the rigours of tymes otherwise require. Seeing then yt by a benefit bestowed by repealing rigorous lawes, by using benignant and benificSus, by geven a limited and conditionall liberte the end of the law may take place w as to protect the State from perils and perturbances, to purge it of practitioners and intestine and domestical enemies, to flanke it and fortifie yt from all foraine invasions, yt ys thought yt no private love of estimation or affection to ther owne plottes which might grievouslie hinder so clement a mutation. To this replie was maid in a word yt ye world did"
[MS. damaged by age for three or four words] " the -conservation of State as hatred of religion. It being further demanded with what credit the partie persecuting could be induced to suche alteration, or what securitie mght be required or geven of the partie benefitted, answere was made yt ye intercession of Princes in religion Catholik yet frendes to the State might make the alteration most honorable. Ther wordes likewise geven for the security might be considered sufficient, other particularities concurrent None to be admitted or permitted to that benefit, but such as be men knowne to be faithful to the State should be approved, none but such as shall take othe to be free from matters of State and bound to reveale what they knowe to be prejudicial therto; and here by the way I must advise you that Sir Thomas Tresham as a frend to the State ys holden among us for an Atheist, and all others of his humour eyther so or worse. Thus you have what was argued on both partes : but the Libertins with ther raisons were with just disdaine rejected, so that I thinke hereafter they deare no more open ther mouthes.
"R[ome] this 2 of Febr., 1598.
" Yours ever assured,
"Henry Twetchbourne, " of ye Societie of Jesus.
" Al molto Rd° Padre il Pad,Thomaso Derbeshire de la Comp de Giesu, a Mosseponti."
Father Darbyshire suffered grievously from some severe and obstinate disease in the shin bone which caused him acute pain and defied all the efforts of the medical men of the time, so much so that, despairing of any remedy, they decided that it was necessary to amputate the diseased limb, but Father Thomas imploring the aid of the Prince of the Apostles, on whose feast the terrible decision was come to, was suddenly cured by his powerful intercession.
It pleased God also to confer upon him the supernatural gift of the foreknowledge of events, of which the following is a remarkable instance. When the Fathers of the Society were assembled at the General Congregation in Rome for the election of a successor to Very Reverend Father General Mercurian, then just dead, Father Darbyshire who was then living at Paris, asked Father James Tiry, who was a Father of great authority and distinction in the Society, whether he knew a certain Father of the name of Claudius in Rome? To whom Father Tiry replied, "Certainly, I know him; but why do you ask?" Father Darbyshire then with childlike simplicity, relating what had occurred, said, "I arose at night to pray to God for the happy election of our new Father General, when the most clement Mother of God was pleased to condescend to appear to me, and conducted me in spirit to the conclave of the Fathers; then amongst the rest she led by the hand a certain young Father of the name of Claudius, and indicated to the Congregation that he was to be the object of their choice." The event proved the truth of his prediction, for shortly afterwards, Father Claudius Aquaviva was elected General, to the great advantage of the Society, and the no slight proof of the pious life and sanctity of Father Darbyshire.
None of Father Darbyshire's chroniclers even lead to the supposition that he ever returned to labour in the English mission. The following notices of a Priest of that name are found amongst the State Papers. They may refer to some other of the same name, or it is not an impossibility that this most zealous lover of souls may have again for a short time revisited his beloved and afflicted land. The exact date seems to be uncertain. The editor of the volume of State Paper Calendars puts " 1584?" The extracts are given, and the reader left to form his own conclusion.
State Papers, Dom. Eliz., Vol. clxviii., No. 33.
Endorsed—"An abstract of the notes delivered by the Lord Hunsdon concerning Seminarists and Recusants. Feb., 1583.
" The names of certaine persons noted in sondrie Counties to be Receavors and Entertayners of Jesuites and Seminaries [inter alios] —
" Mr. E. Ludlow of Cames, prisoner in Winchester. His wife keepeth in his house Gardiner, receiveth Darbyshire, alias Escham. S. Hampton.
"Mr. Wells of Otterbourne often harboureth in his house, Darby shire, alias Hampshire, alias Escham. S. Hampton.
" City of London. At the house of Mr. Shelley of Mapledurham, County Southampton, are comonly to be found (amongst others) Derbyshire."
Father Darbyshire died at Pont-a-Mousson, on the 6th day of April, 1604, at the age of eighty-six.
1 Dom. Eliz., Vol. clxxii., No. 17, 1584.
2 On the 8th of February, 1587, Mary Queen of Scotland and Dowager of France was beheaded at Fotheringhey Castle, Northamptonshire, by Elizabeth, after an imprisonment of eighteen years. As her constancy in the Catholic religion was the chief cause of her death, whatever might otherwise be pretended, so she is usually reckoned amongst those who suffered for religion (Challoner's Missionary Priests, vol. i., p. 191. Edit. 1741).
3 Domestic, Eliz., State Papers, P. R. O., 1588, Vol. ccix., No. 57.
4 See Father Morris' valuable work, Condition of Catholics, &c, pp. xii., xiii.
5 Dom. Eliz., 1598, State Papers, Vol. cclxii., No. 28. Father Henry Tichborne, of Salisbury, entered the Society of Jesus October n, 1587. He rendered essential service to the rising English Seminary at Seville, founded by Father Parsons in 1588, as Minister, Confessor, and Professor of Moral Theology. Father Henry More {Hist. Prov. Angl 9 p. 290), fixes his death in the year 1606, and adds that he died "with a great opinion of his sanctity and learning."
Showing posts with label recusant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recusant. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Facts Illustrative of the times of Elizabeth Queen Of England. Part 44.
FATHER THOMAS DARBYSHIRE, S.J. PART III.
Jesuits In Conflict: Or Historic Facts Illustrative of the labours of the English Mission and Province Of The Society Of Jesus. In the times of Queen Elizabeth and her successors. By a member Of The Society Of Jesus.
To return to the thread of our narrative. Father Darbyshire, before his noviceship was ended, being asked, according to custom, if he was ready to undertake the duty of teaching in any class, even the lowest, and for as long as obedience should enjoin him to do so, and also to perform any duty, however low, that might be assigned him, he gave the following answer in writing— Paratum cor meum Deus, paratum cor meum; neque dubito verum dixisse Christi vicarium in initiis hujus Societatis, quando ista protulit, Digitus Dei est hic —"My heart is ready, O my God, my heart is ready; nor do I doubt but that the Vicar of Christ spoke the truth when, in the commencement of this Society, he uttered these words, 'The finger of God is here.'"He was sent to Dillingen, where for some years he spread the sweet odour of his virtues. Whilst at Dillingen he was, according to Sacchinus, 1 sent to Scotland in 1566 on some mission by the Holy Father, as companion (with Father Edmund Hay, then Rector of the Scotch College, Paris) to the Apostolic Nuncio, Vincentius Laurens, whom the Pope had consecrated Bishop, and appointed as his own successor in the see of Monte Regale. The object of this mission does not appear, though it was probably connected with some affairs of Mary Queen of Scots, who was married to Darnley the following year. From Dillingen he was ordered to France, having been appointed Master of Novices at Billon, in the exercise of which most responsible office he displayed specimens of every virtue, both in the art of discernment of spirits (in which he was specially distinguished), and being possessed of the most affable manners, he applied himself to every duty of conciliating and conserving, and the exercise of works of benevolence and charity. Father Darbyshire was solemnly professed in the Society of Jesus in the year 1572. For some years he lectured in Latin to the members of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin, 2 As no leave had been given, until 1580, for any members of the Society to enter England, such being the inscrutable providence of God, Father Darbyshire, eager for procuring the salvation of souls in any place or country whatever, was employed entirely in assisting his neighbour in France, labouring especially amongst the lower classes and the ignorant, and though of such rare talents and a Professed Father in the Society, leaving the pulpits and chairs of professors, he almost entirely confined himself to giving catechetical instructions. This extreme humility in so learned and so distinguished a Father, was so agreeable to God that in spite of his determination to confine himself to the poorest of the poor, the young and illiterate, men of the highest rank and distinguished for their learning, flocked in numbers to hear him. This was especially the case when at Pont-a-Mousson, where his lectures and instructions were interspersed with displays of such ornaments of learning and eloquence, that not only his poor hearers were delighted, but grave theologians also would eagerly make notes of them, lest they should be lost when once delivered, being, as they said, worthy of a larger theatre.
In Paris an event occurred worthy of notice as a proof of his zeal, and in commendation of his admirable tact in leading the souls of men to God.
A certain English doctor in theology, cast forth from his native land by the common shipwreck of schism, arrived safely at Paris. He was an old friend of Father Darbyshire, who frequently visited him, and resolved to attack him upon the point of making his confession, and to persuade him to make a general one of his whole life. Therefore, taking a favourable opportunity, he began the subject; and, in order to draw his friend's attention in the right direction, he said, " I have nothing to do with other matters; this alone demands my only care. I had a dream last night which may equally strike you as wonderful, as it vehemently admonishes me of my duty. I seemed to be seated with a party at a lordly table, when, during the feast, musicians happened to enter the room. They asked if any one wished to hear some music ? Certainly,' was the reply of all Then one of them turning to me, said, ' Dost thou wish me to sing thee a song ?' 'I give you leave,' I answered; sing on.' But the man, lifting up the veil of my conscience from my earliest years, placed at one view before my eyes all the sins I had ever committed up to that hour, which struck me with so great a horror that I resolved with all possible speed to free myself from the dreadful burthen. 'Come on, therefore,' said Father Thomas; ' take a quiet interval of two or three days in which to examine carefully your whole past life, that you may the more perfectly prepare yourself for so excellent a work.' 'This is not necessary,' he replied; for I always keep things so clearly digested in my mind that any such delay is superfluous.' " The doctor then and there, in an admirably arranged manner, made his general confession, giving us a lesson of the wonderful method by which God is pleased to assist His own elected ones; and it was for himself, as he little thought at the time, a preparation for a much nearer departure from this world than he expected, for soon after he was seized with mortal sickness and died piously.
1 Hist. S.J., pars iii., I. ii., n. 6.
2 This would probably have been at Paris. Amongst the State Papers, Dom. Eliz. y 1574, Vol. xcix., No. 55, is a list of recusants names, and (interalios), "Father Darbishere, Jesuite, Paris."
Monday, 11 January 2016
Facts Illustrative of the times of Elizabeth Queen Of England. Part 43.
FATHER THOMAS DARBYSHIRE, S.J. PART II.
Jesuits In Conflict: Or Historic Facts Illustrative of the labours of the English Mission and Province Of The Society Of Jesus. In the times of Queen Elizabeth and her successors. By a member Of The Society Of Jesus.
At length the Protestants perceiving that many by Father Darbyshire's example and authority retained their faith with constancy, and that many more were converted by him from heresy, he was seized and condemned to a most wretched prison. Here, on one occasion when deeply oppressed by his sufferings and sorrows, and weeping over his misfortunes, an image of the Crucified Saviour of the world suddenly appeared to him, bleeding, and, as it were, affixed to the wall, which before that time he had never observed. 1 By this vision he was so strengthened to undergo all events, even death itself, that from that moment, he had no other desire than for the rack, the tortures, the axe, and the gibbet itself. But instead of death, being banished for life, grieving at having the laurels of martyrdom thus torn from his brow, he determined, deeming it an honour to do so, to accomplish this desire of martyrdom, by embracing one of a chaste and Religious life in the Society of Jesus—a martyrdom no less severe because more prolonged. He did this the more willingly having been frequently connected with that holy name, for, by order of Philip and Mary he had been appointed by royal commission the Prefect of a certain Sodality called by the name of Jesus, to which Sodality belonged the distribution of large alms. And not long after this he was unanimously voted as Principal of another College of Priests, called "The Table of Jesus," in the room of the deceased Suffragan of London. He expressed his feelings at being chosen to such great benefices, and afterwards to the Society of Jesus, in these words— Qui me prius promoverat ad Fraternitatem Nominis Jesu; qui secundo ad mensam Nomini Jesu invitarat; tertio quoque in Societate Nominis Jesu collocavit; fecit mini magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus — "He hath done great things to me, and holy be His name, Who first promoted me to the Confraternity of the Name of Jesus; Who secondly invited me to the Table of the Name of Jesus; and thirdly Who hath also placed me in the Society of the 'Name of Jesus."
He was no less delighted to join the Society of Jesus on account of its holy name than of his admiration of its Institute. When during his deliberations as to the choice of a state of life, he was hesitating, being mainly anxious of securing his own personal salvation, and had turned his thoughts towards the recluse mode of life of the severe and holy Order of the Carthusians, a stranger suddenly stood before him, the door being shut, and thus addressed him—"And thou," said he, "by becoming a Carthusian, consultest indeed thine Own salvation; but what becomes of thy neighbours ? "— Et tu (inquit si), Cathusianus futurus es, saluti tuae consules, at ubi futurus est proximus. This apparition and address banished all further hesitation, and he recognized it as a ringer pointing to the Society of Jesus, which specially devotes itself both to its own and its neighbour's salvation. Thereupon he betook himself to Father Laynez, who was at that time attending the Council of Trent as one of the Pope's theologians, and who succeeded St. Ignatius, as second General of the Society, on the death of the former, July 31, 1556.
Being sent by Father Laynez to Rome, he was there received into the Society 1st May, 1563, then aged forty-five. Mr. Dodd says that he had first visited several parts of France and Flanders, and that after his reception into the Society his time was chiefly spent in catechising youth in the Colleges, which his facility in the Latin tongue enabled him to perform with great success, and that Dr. Allen, the founder of Douay College and afterwards of the English College at Rheims, had a great respect for him, and meeting him at Rome, they came down together to Rheims where they arrived April 2, 1580, and that subsequently on Father Darbyshire being obliged to leave Paris on account of his bad health, and for change of air, Dr. Barret, being then President of the College at Rheims, invited him there, which he accepted of, arriving at Rheims, December 1, 1590, and whilst he remained on visit there he was pleased to perform the office of a catechist in which he so much delighted. 2
Mr. Wood 3 thus speaks of Father Darbyshire— "In the beginning of Queen Elizabeth he was deprived of his spiritualities, whereupon Thomas Cole, who had been Dean of Salisbury, as 'tis said, in the time of King Edward VI., and afterwards an -exile in the time of Mary, succeeded him in his archdeaconry, who kept it till the time of his death, the beginning of 1571. After Darbyshire was deprived, he went beyond the seas, and at length entered himself into the Society of Jesus, and became a noted person amongst the Roman Catholics. He had a great skill in the Scriptures, and was profound in divinity. He catechised also many years publicly at Paris in the Latin tongue with great concourse and approbation of the most learned of that city. Whether he wrote anything, I find not as yet, only that he died at a good old age at Pont-a-Mousson, 1604 (2 James I.). Whilst he was chancellor of the diocese of London, he had much to do in examining heretics, as they were then called, that were brought before Bishop Bonner about matters of faith." So far Mr. Wood.
1 The print at the head of this Life represents this scene.
2 Dodd's Church History, vol it, p. 524. Edit. 1739. Mr. Dodd also says, quoting Wood's Athen. Oxon 9 p. 160, that Father Thomas had a brother, William Darbyshire, who was also a canon of St. Paul's, and died July 3, 1552.
2 Wood's Athen. Oxon, vol. i., p. 83, Fasti. Edit 1721.
Saturday, 9 January 2016
Facts Illustrative of the times of Elizabeth Queen Of England. Part 42.
FATHER THOMAS DARBYSHIRE, S.J. PART I.
Jesuits In Conflict: Or Historic Facts Illustrative of the labours of the English Mission and Province Of The Society Of Jesus. In the times of Queen Elizabeth and her successors. By a member Of The Society Of Jesus.
Father Thomas Darbyshire was nephew to Bonner, the Catholic Bishop of London, who, when Queen Mary, on the death of the boy-King, Edward VI., assumed the reins of government, was conspicuous for his zeal in arresting the hitherto hidden serpent of heresy; but what is of greater importance, he was a disciple and imitator of the heroic fortitude of that Prelate, who was not to be moved or shaken, either by the feigned promises or the real threats of Queen Elizabeth, who, in punishment of his invincible firmness in the Catholic faith, and obedience and submission to the Sovereign Pontiff, condemned him to be buried alive in a most wretched and painful dungeon, there to be slowly consumed by a long martyrdom of suffering, to which he at last succumbed. Bishop Bonner employed Father Darbyshire as his chancellor in the administration of his episcopal functions, and made him his fellow-soldier in combating the enemies of the Faith.
He was educated at Broadgate Hall, Oxford, where he completed the degree of Doctor of the Civil Law, 17th February, 1555. Afterwards taking Orders, he was made Doctor of Canon Law, as also of Divinity. Having qualified himself in this manner, and supported by his uncle's interest, he had considerable benefices and dignities bestowed upon him. He was successively made Archdeacon of Essex, Canon of St. Pauls, Chancellor of the Diocese of London, and lastly, Dean of St. Paul's. 1 Queen Mary's death, and with that event the overthrow of the Catholic religion in England, put a stop to his further promotion. He was conspicuous for his constancy in defending the Faith on the accession of Elizabeth, and being, in consequence, deprived of all his preferments, dignities, and ample fortune, which, by the favour of his Princes and of the Holy See, and in reward of his talents and learning, had been bestowed upon him, he remained still in England for some time longer, in hope of seeing another change. He was held in great esteem amongst the Catholics in England, and was deputed in their name to the assembled Fathers of the Council of Trent, to procure their opinion upon a point of controversy, then much agitated amongst the English Catholics, whether they were permitted to frequent the churches and services of the Protestants, to which they were forced under pain of the severest penalties. He shortly returned to England, having procured their opinion, to the effect that so to attend the said churches and worship would be a grave sin. Dr. Oliver, in his notice of Father Darbyshire, 2 says that through his zealous representations, the Fathers of the Council of Trent passed their decree, De non adeundis hcereticorum ecclesiis.
In the following paper, of which an extract is made, and which is supposed by the editor of the State Paper Calendar to date about 1561, Father Darbyshire is named Doctor Darbyshire, &c. A rather full extract is given, being a curious document, and showing the spirit of the times, and the active zeal of the new pseudo-bishops, on stepping into the sees of the ejected orthodox ones.
State Papers, Dom. Elizabeth, Addenda, Vol. xi., No. A 5, 1561 [?]
"Schedule signed by Edmund [Grindall], Bishop of London, Richard [Cox] of Ely, William [Downham] of Chester, and three others, Commissioners of Recusants who are at large, &c.
"List of evil disposed persons of whom complaint has been made, but who lurk so secretly that process cannot be served upon them [inter alios] —
"Philip Morgan, late of Oxford.
"Friar Gregory, a common Mass sayer.
"One Ely, late Master of St. John's College, Oxford.
"Dr. Robinson, late Dean of Durham, is excused by his lameness. One thought to do much hurt in Yorkshire.
"One Morris, late chaplain to Dr. Bonner, wanders about Staffordshire and Lancashire very seditiously, and is the person who cast abroad the seditious libel in Chester.
"Robert Gray, Priest, much supported at Sir Thomas Fitzherbert's, and now wandering in like sort A man meet to be looked to.
"Dr. Hoskins, late of Salisbury, a subtle adversary, through the example of Sir Thomas Fitzherbert, John Sacheverell, and John Dracot, committed by us to prison, and through their families and friends, most in the counties of Stafford and Derby, are evil intended to religion, and use froward speeches in ale houses."
" List of persons who have fled over the seas [inter alios] —
"Dr. Bullock, late Prebendary.
"Dr. Darbyshire, late chancellor to Dr. Bonner, and his kinsman.
"William Taylor, late chaplain to Archbishop of York."
"Prisoners in the Fleet, by order from us [inter alios] —
"Sir Thomas Fitzherbert, Knt. " Dr. Scott, late Bishop of Chester. " Dr. Harpesfilde, late Archdeacon of London. Thomas Wood, late Parson of High Ongar, Essex, and chaplain to Queen Mary.
"Dr. Cole, late Dean of St Paul's."
"Prisoners in the Marshalsea—
"Doctor Bonner, late Bishop of London.
"John Symes, a Priest of Somersetshire."
"In the Counter, Poultry— "John Dracot, gentleman."
"In the Counter, Wood Street— "John Sacheverell.
"Thomas Atkinson, clerk, late Fellow of Lincoln* College, Oxon. "John Greete, a Priest, late beneficed in Hants."
"In the King's Bench—
"John Baker, clerk, late Parson of Stamford Rivers, Essex."
Although Father Darbyshire is returned in the above amiable list of the three Right Reverend Fathers in God, as fled beyond seas, it is most probable that he was simply gone on the above embassage to the Fathers assembled at the Council of Trent.
1 Father Bartoli, Istoria S.J. Inghil., says that he was Professor of Philosophy in the Academy of the " Sapienza," of London.
2 Collect, S.J.
Thursday, 7 January 2016
Facts Illustrative of the times of Elizabeth Queen Of England. Part 40.
Jesuits In Conflict: Or Historic Facts Illustrative of the labours of the English Mission and Province Of The Society Of Jesus. In the times of Queen Elizabeth and her successors. By a member Of The Society Of Jesus.
GEORGE GILBERT, S.J. PART XII.
His great desire of martyrdom produced a corresponding devotion to the martyrs. And hence, amongst his other benefactions, says Bombinus, he covered the walls of the church of the English College in Rome with the pictures of the English martyrs, in which he went to great expense; but the painting, the subject, and the order of the whole thing, he left to Father William Goode, who at that time was the English confessor in the College. The Annual Letters of the English College, 1583, say that these martyrs included all from the first conversion of England. Father Bartoli says that Mr. Gilbert gave to the same church of the English College the painting of St. George the Martyr, Patron Saint of England, and his own Patron, whose history is represented in the Church, and this work he himself superintended; and if the artist succeeded in producing a picture so to the life, it was due to George Gilbert's constant watching him till the work was finished.
In the meantime, the holy Pontiff Gregory XIII. frequently summoned Mr. Gilbert to his presence upon a matter of business, which was generally believed was one of high import to the interests of the Catholic religion, in the transacting of which it was necessary for him to go to France, though it was currently believed that his journey really tended towards England.
Whilst he was preparing to execute this commission with all possible despatch, the very day before he should have mounted his horse to depart, it pleased God that he should be seized with a fever so violent as to carry him off in seven days; in which brief space many remarkable things were observed in him exhibiting proof of his deep devotion and piety, and of edification to the whole College.
In being carried on his bed to another chamber more convenient, passing by the door to the church, he begged the bearers to carry him inside ; for which, permission being obtained, he became so completely absorbed in God that nothing but an order of obedience from the Father Rector, who was called in on purpose, could induce him to consent to be removed. Lying on his bed, he esteemed nothing so grievous as that he was departing this life like a sluggard (to use his own words) in bed. Hence he ardently desired that his life might be spared for this end only—to consummate it by a violent death in the defence of the Catholic religion. But on the Father Rector telling him that such was not the will of God, and desiring him to turn his mind for the short moment left him to God and spiritual things, he immediately became calm and resigned, and henceforth banished from his heart all thoughts and desires of a longer life.
Having received the consolation of the last Sacraments of Holy Church, Extreme Unction and Viaticum, and beholding the students of the College who surrounded his bed, and by whom he was so singularly beloved, weeping and showing uncontrolled signs of affliction at this rapid and premature death of so distinguished a youth; "Cease those tears," he said, " it rather befits me to weep, who alone am most wretched of all, being thus taken away without shedding my blood." And then, addressing each one singly according to their various dispositions, to one he said, "What have you to weep for, for whom may be reserved chains and prisons ?" " Why you" he said to another, "who may have to endure scourgings and fetters, and to whom is still left the full hope of martyrdom, whilst I, who for two years was panting after it, and often close upon it, die this sluggish death in bed ?" Then taking in his hands the wooden crucifix which the blessed martyr, Father Alexander Briant, had carved for himself for the purpose of animating his desire of dying that dreadful death at Tyburn for his Lord, he exclaimed, "O cross, O rope, O sword, O most desirable death, why was I, wretched man, unworthy to enjoy you, and through you to pour out my blood? Who will give me to be treated with the treatment of these holy martyrs? O most beloved, most venerated Sherwin and Briant, aid me by your prayers that I may obtain pardon for my sins, which exclude me from so great a favour, and cause me to die here idle. Who will give water to mine head and a fountain of tears to mine eyes?" 1 He then began to address the blessed martyr, Father Campion, his former most affectionate friend, familiarly as though present, greatly lamenting his lot that he was not found worthy to be his companion when dragged on the hurdle to Tyburn gallows. 2 Then when he had offered to Christ our Lord, the sweetest Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mother, the merits of His most holy Passion, and the sorrows that most blessed of mothers endured in life, with the excess of joy wherewith she was flooded at her death, and begging the prayers of his good Angel Guardian, and his Patron Saint, for protection in the awful passage, he offered himself as an holocaust to God, and begged of Very Reverend Father General Claudius Aquaviva to admit him to the Society of Jesus he so greatly loved and honoured, and for which, as Bartoli observes, he could not have done and suffered more had he always been a member of it; and as a last request that he might be buried in the Church of St Andrea, the church of the Roman Novitiate, his voice became feeble. At that moment the Father Rector Agazzari, who had gone to the Gesu to obtain from the Father General the necessary leave and faculties to admit him to the Society, and the vows of religion, returned to the College and imparted to him the joyful news. Returning hearty thanks to God, the Master of all vows, exerting himself he pronounced the formula of the vows with a most ardent affection of love, and then uttering the most holy names of Jesus and Mary, and in fervent colloquies with God, closing his eyes as one asleep, he rendered up his happy soul into the hands of his Creator at the fourth hour of the night, on the 6th of October, 1583. At first the bystanders thought he was sleeping, but when they saw that he was really dead, they kissed his hands and feet, bathing them with their tears.
Being well known at the Court of Rome as a man of distinguished virtues, his loss was there deeply regretted, so much so that the Sovereign Pontiff, Gregory XIII., himself, who so fully appreciated both his virtues and his talents, was deeply grieved at his premature death, declaring it to be a great loss to England. He was carried to the Church of St Andrea, and there buried amongst the novices, according to his desires and the wish of the Father General.
He left a legacy of eight hundred scudi to the Novitiate of St. Andrea, which Very Reverend Father General gave to Dr. Allen towards the heavy expenses of his College at Rheims. The following is an extract of a letter from his Paternity to Dr. Allen dated 10th October, 1583. 3 After relating the holy death of George Gilbert, and expressing the good hope they had that being now in Heaven he would much more successfully promote the affairs of the Catholic religion in England than before, he adds, " Besides this, the same Mr. George, who as he long ago, and especially at the close of his life, devoted himself to our Society (a fact well known to your Reverence), and on this account wished to be buried in the church of the Novitiate of St. Andrea; so for the relief of the poverty and needs of that house he has left by his will, eight hundred scudi. Which charity and benefaction, although most gratifying to us, nevertheless, considering the great needs of England, we believe it will be to the greater honour and service of God to employ the whole for the benefit of that nation. I therefore consider that it may be more useful for your Reverence at Rheims to employ it for your College, or else to relieve the poverty of some afflicted English exiles, or to form a fund towards the support of some that would live in Rome. It remains for your Reverence to determine, and whatever course you deem best shall be willingly executed."
1 "Quis dabit capiti meo aquam, et oculis meis fontem lacrymarum ?" etc. In Bishop Kennett's Collection, vol. iv., lviii., Lansdowne MSS., No. 982, British Museum, in "some additions to Mr. Wood's account of Alexander Briant," it is stated that " Alexander Briant had shaved his crown himself, and made him a crosse of a peece of a trencher, which he held in his hand openly, and prayed to ; which, when he was rebuked for, he boldly and stoutly made answer that his crowne was of his own shaving, and he had good hope to doe it againe."
2 The print at the commencement of this Life represents the above scene, with Father Campion appearing to him.
3 Quoted by Father Bartoli, Inghil., 1. iv., p. 76. " Nel registro di Francia," October 10, 1583.
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
Facts Illustrative of the times of Elizabeth Queen Of England. Part 39.
Jesuits In Conflict: Or Historic Facts Illustrative of the labours of the English Mission and Province Of The Society Of Jesus. In the times of Queen Elizabeth and her successors. By a member Of The Society Of Jesus.
GEORGE GILBERT, S.J. PART XI.
There were at that time English refugees in Rome, gentlemen once rich in their own country, but now, on account of their constancy in the profession of the Catholic faith of their forefathers, ruined and exiled. These afflicted ones found in George Gilbert an advocate, and, through him, a father in Pope Gregory XIII.; and when he was unable to assist any of them by means of others, he readily did so with his own as far as his circumstances permitted. Nor was he less solicitous in regard to their spiritual wants, putting them in mind, especially the higher classes, to conduct themselves, particularly before the criticising eye of the public, to the honour and credit of those holy Catholics of England, whose faith, piety, devotion, and every other kind of virtue was so distinguished, that thus Rome, by seeing their virtues reflected in themselves, would better understand what they found recorded of them in the pages of history. In like manner, amongst the young men of the College it is not easy to say what good he effected by his sweet and no less piercing discourses which were entirely of God and of spiritual things. But the most efficacious means, although silent, was the admirable example of his own life. As we have seen before, he had made a vow of chastity, and to preserve that angelical virtue immaculate, he was so jealous and guarded, that in passing through the city, in meeting women he would rivet his eyes firmly on the ground, and pass as far off as possible; and so shining was this rare virtue in him, showing itself in his virginal modesty, both of countenance, speech, and his whole gait and manner, that it bred a reverential love in the hearts of all towards him, as though he were an Angel in human shape. But he showed little respect towards himself, maltreating his body with that holy hatred which the Gospel lays down to be the true self-love of the soul. Continual and great were the penances with which he macerated
his body. Whenever they were intermitted, the very reason for the omission reckoned as meritorious, because imposed upon him by holy obedience. Frequent were his fasts, and long his vigils every night Twice a week he wore the rough haircloth; twice or thrice in the same time, severe and bloody disciplines, as might be seen after his death, these wholesome instruments of penance being found in shreds and stained with his blood. The two-fold cause of this holy severity against himself was, first, a purely penitential spirit in itself; and secondly, his great desire of martyrdom, long entertained, and so deeply rooted in his heart, that his withdrawal from England, in obedience to Father Parsons, had neither diminished his fervent desire nor his hope of being permitted some future day, if ever worthy of so great a grace, to obtain its glorious palm.
He often discoursed with the English students in the College upon the joys and glory of martyrdom, and these discourses were alike beneficial to both parties; to himself as a valve, as it were, for the escape of the flames of divine love that consumed him, whilst they tended to enkindle similar flames in theirs; although, on his part, he never discoursed with ^hem upon this subject without many sighs, accusing himself as unworthy of this honour of martyrdom, in the immediate presence of which he had been for so long a time, and yet by his own faults and demerits could never attain to its palm. In the study and practice of prayer he was indefatigable; and his unfeigned humility was such, that he would ever seek the lowest place in company, and the worst things in the community. He was most diligent in concealing his own good deeds, but could never say enough to load them upon others. When he heard his own merits and sufferings for the Faith in England recorded, if he could not otherwise turn the subject of conversation, so great was his confusion of face and the pain it caused him, that to save him from the suffering the company would at once turn to another topic.
He would spend five hours a day in prayer, and, when disengaged from business, a much longer time in spiritual exercises, in examining the resolutions made, and in reflections upon divine things pondered over in his last meditation; and he made daily notes and memoranda in writing. He would then also renew with greater instance a petition he was accustomed daily to make before the Blessed Sacrament, which was for one of two favours, whichever might be most agreeable to the will of God, (and both were granted to him, as we shall see further on), to die in some important service for the Holy See and religion, and in the Society of Jesus; which Order, the more he meditated on the life of our Saviour, so much the more he felt his love and desire for it increase, because in its whole institute and rules, its manner of life, its labours, its bulwark of holy obedience, &c, he saw that it so closely followed the divine model of Him Whose name it bears, and he felt that to himself, already despoiled of all his goods for the Catholic faith, and of all carnal delights by his vow of chastity, it only remained to consecrate to God, in the Society of His Son, all that was left him, his understanding and will, the accomplishing of which is the special office of holy obedience.
In his labour after this gain of virtues he was most remarkable. He conformed himself to the rules and regulations of the College just as one of the alumni, and so strict was he in the least point, that, although himself, for want of habit, not so very ready in the Latin tongue, he would, when addressed in English, respond only in Latin, such being the custom of the College. So compliant did he show himself to the least nod of the Father Rector and his advice, that he seemed to be divinely taught in this science of holy obedience. The very mention of it was enough to make him quaff off the most repugnant and nauseous physic in his sickness with alacrity. Having on one occasion promptly done this, he said familiarly to a certain Father, "I am in great glee, my Father." Being asked the cause of his great joy, he replied, "The most Blessed Virgin showed herself to me on this occasion with a serene and benevolent countenance, whereas a short time since she looked upon me with a severe one, because on a certain occasion I clung too much to my own will"
Whilst the students of the College were quietly sleeping at night he would secretly retire to the church, and there, kneeling before the most Divine Sacrament, would pray for a long time. The same also he would do in the day time; and he allowed no hour to pass wherein he did not raise his mind and heart to Heaven, especially in transacting business, when he would hold frequent colloquies with God, using for this purpose chosen verses out of the Psalms. He also daily recited the solemn Office of the Blessed Virgin; but otherwise, applying himself solely to mental prayer, he did not make so much use of vocal. On each Sunday and festival he received the most Divine Body of Christ, mingled with sighs and tears of tender devotion, which, in spite of his efforts to suppress, would openly break forth. He would make the favourite devotion of the visit to the seven great Basilicas of Rome—St. Peter's, St Paul's, St. Sebastian's, St Laurentius', Santa Croce, St Mary Major's, and St John Lateran's—at least every fortnight; and this alone, in order without distraction, to treat with God and the Heavenly Court. 1
He was accustomed to say that in prayer we should persevere, using a holy violence with God, as Jacob did, saying to the Angel, "I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me"— Non dimittam te, nisi benedixeris mihi; and that when he prayed thus, Hinc ego Domine non recedam, nisi id quod postulo, vel certe nisi firmam impetrandi fiduciam dederis —" I will not, O Lord, depart hence unless Thou wilt either grant me now what I ask, or else a firm confidence of obtaining it"
1 A circuit involving some ten miles at least
Tuesday, 5 January 2016
Facts Illustrative of the times of Elizabeth Queen Of England. Part 38.
Jesuits In Conflict: Or Historic Facts Illustrative of the labours of the English Mission and Province Of The Society Of Jesus. In the times of Queen Elizabeth and her successors. By a member Of The Society Of Jesus.
GEORGE GILBERT, S.J. PART X.
George Gilbert was received at Rheims by Dr. Allen with all the love and veneration of an angel from Heaven. During the few weeks he remained with him, says the Doctor, he treated with me tenderly upon the affairs of his soul; and in sending him, and with him Charles Basset, who was one of his Catholic Association, and had also fled abroad from the storm of persecution at home, and was the worthy great-grandson of the noble confessor of the Faith and martyr, Sir Thomas More, the Lord High Chancellor of England, the victim of Henry "VIII.'s passions, "These two young men," said he, "will be two great luminaries, shining resplendently there, as they have done in England." And in speaking of Mr. Gilbert in a letter to Father Agazzari, then Rector of the English College at Rome, of the 30th August, 1581, he says—"If any man of all the English nobility deserves well of the Seminarians, of the Fathers, of the Catholic religion, and of his country, it is this same most noble youth. There is no peril to which he has not been exposed. With a ready will and joyful heart he has suffered the plunder of his estates and fortune. Out of what remains to him he has been a large benefactor to the Catholics; also to us at Rheims, seeing the great poverty of our College, he has afforded no small relief—eighty golden crowns. And following his example, Charles Basset has done the same; which, for gentlemen in a strange land, exiles, and spoiled of their patrimony, was princely magnificence, or to speak worthily of them, was saintly charity."
The following is a copy of a letter which Dr. Allen wrote to the same Father Agazzari. The entire letter is given on account of its great interest, although the latter part only relates personally to our subject.
A copy of this letter is amongst the State Papers, 1 in Latin. Mr. Simpson gives the following translation 2
"We have heard from England, by a letter of Father Robert Parsons, S.J., that the persecution still rages with the same fury, the Catholics being haled away to prison, and otherwise vexed, and the Fathers of the Society being most diligently looked for, but they are still, by God's singular providence, at liberty. One of them in the same chamber with Father Robert was, not long ago, seized and searched, but the Father was absent at the time. But a Mr. Briant who was a scholar of our College at Rheims, was not only taken, but twice most cruelly tortured on the rack, to make him tell where ' that Jesuit' was. But, so far from confessing anything of the sort, he laughed at the torturers, and though nearly killed with the pain, he said, 'Is this all you can do? If the rack is no more than this, you may bring a hundred more for this matter.' 3 The day after, John Nicholls, the apostate, met Father Tirrel, a scholar of your College, in the street and as soon as he saw him cried out' Traitor,' and so took him; but he is not committed to the Tower, but to another prison called the Gatehouse, where he and Father Rishton, another pupil of your College, live happily. The Catholics were never more courageous, or more ready to suffer.
"Two days afterwards, a certain Mr. Ireson was taken with ten copies of our Apology; thus the book came to the knowledge of the Lords of the Council.
He is once again confined to his old home, the Fleet Prison, from whence he had by favour been delivered.
"The heretic, John Nicholls, boasts that he made a long oration at Rome before the Cardinals (nothing can be more false), which he has just published in his second book, and has at the same time promised to publish the former turned into Latin, with an appendix of his travels, in which he will explain at length the horrible murders and adulteries of the Catholics and the immoral life of the Jesuits and students. He now preaches publicly in London, but people are already universally tired of him, and I imagine that he will be soon tripped up, especially when the abjuration of heresies that he made at Rome in the Inquisition comes to England; for I have received the authentic copy of it which you sent, containing his whole recantation, and have sent it to Father Robert in England.
"Father Robert wants three or four thousand or more of the Testaments, for many persons desire to have them. He says that he earnestly hopes and expects more fellow-labourers of your Order; he says also that everything is going on well there, and that our Apology is vastly approved.
"I inclose a letter for the Holy Father, and another for our Protector, which you must see delivered to them. Therein I thank His Holiness for his many favours of this year, namely, for the foundation of the English College at Rome, for our College here provided for fifteen years, for his late extraordinary subsidy of five hundred golden crown, for assigning so good a protector to each College, and particularly, for not listening to the detractors of the Colleges and Missions, who, to excuse their own idleness and cowardice, assert that all these attempts on our country are in vain; and I show that it is sufficiently evident that these missions, and the endeavours of the Fathers and Seminarists are of extraordinary utility and finally, I assert and boldly pronounce,, from the opinion, sense, and experience of all good men, that the Fathers and Priests have gained more souls this one year, in their own country, than they could possibly have gained in the whole world else, in the very longest lifetime. I write also that the dangers are not so great as to make it expedient to relinquish this duty, seeing that, of the fifty Priests (at least) who have this year been sent from the two Colleges, not more than ten have fallen into the enemies' hands, and up to this time the Fathers are altogether free, and labouring fruitfully. Lastly, we show that our books are thus moderately worded, and nothing brought forward in anger, but rather directed by pity, because of the vast utilty that accrues to every class of persons by reading them. So much for the letter to the Pope.
" But to our Protector, I merely write to beg him to turn his ears from certain idle and envious men, who say that the work of the Fathers and Seminarists in our country is useless. Moreover, I beseech him, for Christ's sake, not to forbid my sending five or six young men to that College next autumn, because ours has become so numerous, that we cannot anyhow feed them, although His Holiness has given us an extraordinary gift of five hundred gold crowns. So much for my letter to him. Note, that I am afraid to send any against his express injunction, lest we may seem to have no moderation, and to abuse the Pope's liberality too much. At this very time, we are obliged to send for twenty youths (for the most part gentlemen) from Douay to our own College here at Rheims, who otherwise would have to return to England, to the manifest damage of soul and body, since, on account of this proclamation, they can get no money from England. Moreover, within the last fortnight, more than twenty young men have come to me (poor me) from England, and where shall we get bread that these may eat, that each one of them may have only a little, lest they faint in this exile? May our Lord God bless arid multiply our food !
"This week I have heard that the Fathers in England are not only well, but so occupied in the vineyard that they could not write to me. Father Campion is said to have published a Latin book of advice to the two Universities, but as yet it has not come to our hands. See, Father, whether or no they push the work forward. I have sometime ago sent them the letter of the Father General. May the Lord Jesus send many such labourers into His vineyard! At least thirty Priests have entered England since Easter, not one of whom was hindered on landing, or has since been taken, blessed be God. This year, I hope, will be every way a happy one for us. We sow in tears, but I trust in the Lord that we shall carry our sheaves with joy, through God, and this Pope Gregory, our true Father.
"I have with me, at present, the most generous companion and benefactor of the Priests in England, Mr. George Gilbert, who, on their account, has suffered the confiscation of almost all his goods and estates, and whom the heretics have personally persecuted more than the rest, knowing that the Fathers of the Society were kept and sustained by him. He has come hither into France, by the advice of Father Robert and others, in order to keep himself for that time 4 God willing, he will go to Rome in the autumn, and will dispose of himself according to the advice of the Father General and yourself. He tells me that more Fathers are very much wanted, if it were only to assist Father Robert, who, he says, has an incredible burthen to bear. He wrote those two beautiful little books himself, one of which we have hitherto supposed to be Campion's work. He preaches continually, he resolves cases of conscience for innumerable persons. The Catholics, in the midst of persecutions, have less scrupulous consciences than anywhere else that I know of, and have such an opinion of the Father, that they will not acquiesce in the judgment of any common Priest unless it is confirmed by Father Robert. He has seven men continually at work at a press, outside of London (where the noise of the machine is less likely to betray it). He is continually appealed to by gentlemen, and by some of the Council, for necessary advice; so this Mr. Gilbert tells me, who has been his inseparable companion for this whole year, and who, at his departure, left Father Robert seven horses, for the necessary journeys and affairs of the Fathers and Priests, and a large sum of money to procure needful things, paper, types, ink, and the like, for great things can only be done at great expense, and for the success of such works we must have men who are not only despisers of money, but rich into the bargain.
"Father Campion is no less industrious in his own province, and it is supposed that there are twenty thousand more Catholics this year than last. Nor has God in this age anywhere given to the preachers of His word more power or success. Blessed be His Name for ever.
"Our Apology, as I hear, is read both by adversaries and friends, and the chief of the French mission has given it to the Queen to read. Christ Jesus, &c.
"Your Reverence's brother for eternity, as I hope, both in earth and Heaven,
"William Allen. 5
"Rheims, June 23rd, 1581."
1 State Papers, Dom Eliz., P. R. O., Vol. cxlix.,'No. 51.
2 Campion, p. 208.
3 This was the glorious martyr, Father Alexander Briant, S.J. He was seized April 28, 1581, suffering at Tyburn, December 1, 1581, set. 28. For two years before his death he had determined to enter the Society of Jesus, and his desire was accomplished in prison. He endured worse than cannibal torture. Further notice of this great man must be reserved for a special history.
4 Ad illud tempus— meaning, no doubt, for better times to dawn.
5 There seems to be a little discrepancy in the dates of Father Parson's letter to the Pope, by Mr. Gilbert, which is dated 24th June, and Dr. Allen's dated 23rd June, when Mr. G. was at Rheims. This may be reconciled by the writers using the different styles, which would cause a difference of ten days.
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