Stephen Rowsham facts for kids

Stephen Rowsham was an English Catholic priest. He was executed on April 3, 1587. He is known as a Catholic martyr. A martyr is someone who dies for their religious beliefs. He was later declared "Blessed" by Pope John Paul II in 1987. This means the Catholic Church recognizes him as a holy person.

Stephen Rowsham's Early Life

Stephen Rowsham was born around 1555 in Oxfordshire, England. When he was about 17 years old, in 1572, he started studying at Oriel College, Oxford. Later, around 1578, he became a priest in the Church of England. He worked at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford.

Becoming a Catholic Priest

Stephen Rowsham became convinced that the Catholic faith was the true religion. Because of this, he decided to become a Catholic priest. In 1581, he went to the English College in Reims, France. Many English Catholics went there to study during this time. He was ordained as a Catholic priest in the autumn of 1581.

Returning to England

In England during the 1500s, being a Catholic priest was very dangerous. The government at the time did not allow Catholic priests to practice their faith openly. Despite the danger, Stephen Rowsham decided to return to England. He wanted to serve the Catholic community there. He arrived back in England on April 30, 1582.

Arrest and Imprisonment

Stephen Rowsham was easy to spot because he was small. He also had one shoulder higher than the other and a slight twist in his neck. This made him recognizable, and he was arrested very soon after he landed in England.

On May 19, 1582, he was sent to the Tower of London. This was a famous prison. He stayed there for more than three years. For a long time, from August 1582 to February 1584, he was kept in a very small and uncomfortable prison cell called the "Little Ease." It was a tiny space where he could not stand up or lie down properly.

In 1584, he was moved to another prison called the Marshalsea. Then, in the autumn of 1585, he was sent out of England into exile.

Final Mission and Martyrdom

Stephen Rowsham arrived back in Reims, France, in October 1585. But he did not stay there long. He bravely decided to return to England again on February 7, 1586. For about a year, he worked as a priest in the west of England.

He was eventually captured at the home of a woman named Widow Strange in Gloucester. Stephen Rowsham was put on trial in March 1587. He was found guilty because he was a Catholic priest. He was executed in Gloucester on April 3, 1587. He was 31 or 32 years old.

See also

• Douai Martyrs

Sources

• Edward Rishton, Diarium Turri-Lundin
• John Hungerford Pollen, Acts of the English Martyrs (London, 1891)
• "The Martyrs of England and Wales (1535–1680), Hagiography Circle