John Roberts (martyr) facts for kids

John Roberts (born around 1577 – died December 10, 1610) was a Welsh Benedictine monk and priest. He was the first leader, called a prior, of St. Gregory's monastery in Douai, France. This monastery later moved to become Downside Abbey in England.

John Roberts returned to England as a missionary priest during a time when being Catholic was against the law. He was killed for his faith in Tyburn and is now honored as a saint by the Catholic Church.

Early Life and Becoming Catholic

Gelli Goch, the home of John Roberts

John Roberts was born in 1577 in Trawsfynydd, a small village in Snowdonia, north Wales. His parents were John and Anna Roberts, who lived on Rhiw Goch Farm. His father was a farmer from a respected Welsh family.

John was baptized into the Anglican faith at the local church of St Madryn. However, he is believed to have been taught early on by an old man who used to be a Cistercian monk. This monk had lived at Cymer Abbey until it was closed down by Henry VIII in 1537.

John Roberts went to St. John's College, Oxford in 1595. After two years, he left to study law in London.

St Madryn's Church, Trawsfynydd, where Roberts was baptized

While traveling in Europe, he decided to change his path. He stopped studying law and converted to Catholicism during a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He then moved to Spain and joined St Benedict's Monastery in Valladolid in 1598. There, he was known as Brother John of Merioneth, named after his birthplace.

Becoming a Benedictine Missionary

From Valladolid, John Roberts went to San Martín Pinario in Santiago de Compostela to train as a monk. He officially became a monk at the end of 1600. After finishing his studies, he was ordained as a priest. He left for England on December 26, 1602.

Even though a government spy was watching him, John Roberts and his friends managed to enter England in April 1603. He was appointed to help the English monks of the Spanish group. However, he was arrested and sent out of the country on May 13.

He arrived in Douai, in northern France, on May 24. Soon after, he found a way to return to England. He bravely helped people suffering from the plague in London. In 1604, he was arrested again while trying to go to Spain with four new students who wanted to become monks. Since he wasn't recognized as a priest, he was released and banished again. But he immediately returned to England.

On November 5, 1605, John Roberts was found and arrested at the home of Mrs. Percy. This happened while an officer was searching the house because Mrs. Percy's husband, Thomas Percy, was involved in the Gunpowder Plot. John Roberts was found innocent of any part in the plot itself. Still, he was held in the Gatehouse Prison in Westminster for seven months. He was then sent out of the country again in July 1606.

Starting St. Gregory's Monastery in Douai

This time, John Roberts was away from England for about 14 months. He spent most of this time in Douai (which is now in northern France). There, he started a new home for English Benedictine monks who had joined different Spanish monasteries. He became the first prior (leader) of this new community, which was the beginning of St. Gregory's monastery in Douai.

This group of monks was forced to leave France in 1795 during the French Revolution. They traveled to England and settled at Downside Abbey, Somerset, in 1814.

Return to England and His Death

John Roberts returned to England in October 1607. In December, he was arrested again and put in the Gatehouse at Westminster. He managed to escape after a few months. After his escape, he lived in London for about a year. But in May 1609, he was taken to Newgate Prison.

He might have been executed then, but the French ambassador, Antonie de la Broderie, spoke up for him. His punishment was changed to being sent out of the country again.

John Roberts visited Spain and Douai once more. But he returned to England for a fifth time within a year. He was captured again on December 2, 1610. The men who arrested him arrived just as he was finishing saying Mass in a house. A former priest who had become a spy had followed him and reported him to King James I. John Roberts was taken to Newgate Prison wearing his special priest clothes, called vestments.

On December 5, he was put on trial and found guilty under a law that made it illegal for priests to serve in England. On December 10, he was executed at Tyburn, London, at the age of 33, along with another man named Thomas Somers.

Honoring Saint John Roberts

The process to officially recognize John Roberts as a blessed person (beatification) was approved by Pope Leo XIII on December 4, 1886. Then, on October 25, 1970, John Roberts was made a saint by Pope Paul VI. He is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Roman Catholic Bishop Edwin Regan said that even though Saint John Roberts's name isn't as well known today, he is a very important person in religious history. John Roberts was the first monk to return to Britain after the Protestant Reformation. This was a time when Catholics and Protestants were very much against each other. A Catholic priest could only expect to live for about two years in Britain during that period.

On July 17, 2010, a special church service was held at Westminster Cathedral to celebrate the 400th anniversary of John Roberts's death. Many people from Wales attended, and the service was held in both English and Welsh. It was the first time Welsh had been spoken in a ceremony at Westminster Cathedral.

A special song called "Beatus Juan de Mervinia" was written for the service by Welsh composer Brian Hughes. It was sung in both Latin and Welsh.

John Roberts is remembered with a special walking trail from St Madryn's church in Trawsfynydd to Cymer Abbey near Dolgellau. There is also an exhibition about him at the Llys Ednowain Heritage Centre in Trawsfynydd.

Relics of Saint John Roberts

After John Roberts died, a group of people, including Maurus Scott, recovered his body. They took it to St. Gregory's monastery in Douai. However, his body disappeared during the French Revolution.

Later, one of his arms was found with the Spanish royal family. It was then returned to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where he had trained as a monk. Some of his fingers are kept as relics (holy objects) at Downside Abbey, Erdington Abbey, the Sacred Cross Church in Gellilydan (near where he was born), Tyburn convent, and St Joseph's Convent, Taunton.