St. Polydore Plasden: Priest Martyr and Protector of the Eucharist

One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, Saint Polydore Plasden was just 28 years old when he was hanged at Tyburn Gallows, London in 1591 for his Catholic priesthood. According to the law in England at that time (Statute 27 Elizabeth) it was illegal to be a Catholic priest in England. It was also against the law to pray the Rosary, attend Mass and light devotional candles etc... When he was captured at the home of fellow Martyr Swithun Wells, Fr. Polydore refused to renounce his Catholic Faith or accept the Queen of England as the head of the Church, even when he was subjected to fierce and barbaric tortures. At Tyburn, Sir Walter Raleigh fought for a reprieve for him but in the end insisted that he must be allowed to hang until dead before the butchery was carried out upon the priest's body.

Saint Polydore Plasden is a great patron for the Blessed Sacrament and defence of the Real Presence - he was arrested during a secret Mass and due to his concern for the Blessed Sacrament and his fear that the Eucharist might be subjected to sacrilege, Fr. Polydore gave his word that he, Fr. Edmund Gennings and those recusants hearing Mass would freely surrender should Mass be permitted to conclude. The infamous Richard Topcliffe knew that Fr. Polydore would keep his word and agreed so as to be able to take them away quietly.

- this is a trailer for a... film on Saint Polydore Plasden who was a 28 year old priest hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn Gallows in 1591 because he defended the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Sir Wlater Raliegh fought for his life at the gallows but managed to assure he was dead before he was disembowelled. The greatest threat to mankind is the loss of belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Learn how one of the least known English Martyrs of the Reformation gave his life to protect every single fragment of the Holy Eucharist and is a powerful witness for today. More information at http://www.marysdowryproductions.org/

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests.  Amen.

Jesuit Martyrs of Virginia

In 2002, the Diocese of Richmond opened the cause for the canonization of the Spanish Jesuit Martyrs of Virginia. This has renewed interest in the fascinating, almost fantastic, tale of a lost Spanish colony in Virginia and the men who died trying to convert the Ajacan Indians. In 1571, Fr. Segura and his seven companions were killed by hostile tribesmen at the St. Mary's mission sited on Virginia's Lower Peninsula, near the Chesapeake Bay. This was close to the spot where the English would permanently settle just thirty years later. Fr. Russell E. Smith is the postulator for the martyrs' canonization and a judge with the diocesan tribunal. Fr. Smith learned about the Jesuit settlement while growing up in historic Williamsburg, Virginia and as a priest he took up the matter with the postulator general for the Society of Jesus, in Rome. The Virginia Historical Society and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities have also lent their scholarly support for evidence of the Spanish mission. Meanwhile, the Richmond diocese has designated St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in New Kent County as the new Shrine of the Jesuit Martyrs.

~ Matthew M. Anger:  excerpt from Spanish Martyrs for Virginia ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests.  Amen.