St John Roberts was a Benedictine monk and priest.
He was born in 1577 in Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, Gwynedd, Wales.
He died on December 10 1610 in Tyburn, London, England.
We celebrate his feast day on December 10 every year in the Catholic Church, October 25 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, and December 1 as one of the Martyrs of Oxford University.
St John Roberts Biography | |
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Date of Birth | 1577 |
Place of Birth | Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, Gwynedd, Wales |
Profession | Benedictine monk and priest |
Place of Work | England |
Date of Death | December 10 1610 |
Place of Death | Tyburn, London, England |
Feast Day | December 10 |
Beatification | By Pope Leo XIII on December 4 1886 |
Canonization | By Pope Paul VI on October 25 1970 |
Patron Saint of |
St John Roberts’s Life History
Saint John Roberts was born in 1577 in Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, Gwynedd, northern Wales, to John and Anna Roberts. His ancestors were Welsh princes, and although raised Protestant, John felt a strong connection to Catholicism.
He attended Saint John’s College, Oxford, from 1595 to 1597 but left without obtaining a degree. At the age of 21, he studied law at the Inns of Court and, while traveling in France in 1598, converted to the Catholic faith at Notre Dame in Paris.
On October 18, 1598, John entered the English College at Valladolid, Spain, but later joined the Abbey of Saint Benedict in Valladolid in 1599.
He became a Benedictine novice at the Abbey of Saint Martin in Compostela, Spain, in 1600 and was ordained there.
Father John returned to England as a missionary in 1603 but faced persecution, arrest, and exile multiple times due to his Catholic activities.
During his exile, he founded a house in Douai for exiled English Benedictines, which eventually became the monastery of Saint Gregory.
Father John played a role in the conversion of Blessed Maurus Scott. Despite facing numerous arrests and imprisonments, he returned to England multiple times, only to be arrested again.
Father John Roberts was arrested for the crime of priesthood on December 2, 1610, while celebrating Mass.
Convicted on December 5, 1610, he was martyred by being hanged, drawn, and quartered on December 10, 1610, at Tyburn, London, England.
His body was initially taken to Saint Gregory’s in Douai, France, but it disappeared during the French Revolution. Two of his fingers are preserved at Downside Abbey and Erdington Abbey.
The Catholic Church commemorates his feast day on December 10 each year, recognizing him as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales on October 25 and as one of the Martyrs of Oxford University on December 1.
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