In this reading from The Lives of the Saints, we hear the dramatic story of Blessed John Felton, an English Catholic who suffered and died during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

The story unfolds in the turbulent religious world of Elizabethan England.

In 1570, Pope St. Pius V issued the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis against Queen Elizabeth I. According to the account presented in this reading, John Felton—a Catholic gentleman originally from Norfolk—obtained a copy of the document and publicly posted it near St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

The act would ultimately cost him his life.

Felton was discovered, arrested, and imprisoned. During his captivity he was subjected repeatedly to torture on the rack as authorities sought information concerning possible conspirators.

Yet the account emphasizes that Felton regarded his action not as participation in a political conspiracy, but as an act arising from his Catholic convictions and allegiance to the Holy See.

At his trial at Guildhall, Felton openly professed his position.

Four days later, he was taken to the place of execution near the very location where he had posted the papal bull.

There, confronted with death, Felton experienced a moment of human fear—but mastered it and publicly reaffirmed the reason for which he was prepared to suffer.

Pointing toward the place where he had posted the document, he declared his willingness to die for the Catholic Faith.

Before his execution, Felton performed an extraordinary act.

He removed a valuable ring from his finger and sent it to Queen Elizabeth as a token of goodwill.

He then knelt, prayed the Miserere (Psalm 51), and commended his soul to Almighty God.

His execution was brutal. According to the account, as death approached, the name heard upon his lips was:

JESUS.

🙏 Blessed John Felton, pray for us.

His family’s connection with the English Catholic martyrs did not end with his death. His son Thomas Felton, only a small child when his father was executed, would himself eventually suffer martyrdom approximately eighteen years later.

John Felton was included among the English martyrs beatified under Pope Leo XIII in 1886.

His story comes from one of the most bitterly contested periods of English religious history—a period marked by conflict between the English Crown, the papacy, Catholics, and Protestants.

Whatever trials Christians encounter in their own age, the martyrs confront us with an enduring question:

How much are we willing to sacrifice rather than abandon Jesus Christ and the Faith?

May the courage of the English Catholic martyrs inspire us to remain faithful to Christ in prosperity and adversity, in acceptance and rejection, and ultimately in life and death.

🙏 Blessed John Felton, pray for us.
🙏 Blessed Thomas Felton, pray for us.
🙏 Holy English Martyrs, pray for us.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Blessed John Felton, Martyr
00:17 — Pope St. Pius V and Regnans in Excelsis
00:24 — The Bull Against Queen Elizabeth I
00:31 — Religious Conflict in Elizabethan England
00:40 — The Morning of May 25, 1570
00:48 — Papal Bull Posted Near St. Paul’s Cathedral
00:57 — John Felton Identified
01:04 — Another Copy of the Bull Is Discovered
01:13 — Felton Is Captured
01:22 — Newgate Prison and the Tower of London
01:31 — Tortured on the Rack
01:39 — Felton’s Motive According to the Account
01:48 — Trial at Guildhall
01:56 — Brought Back to St. Paul’s
02:04 — Felton Overcomes His Fear
02:11 — “I Want to Die for the Catholic Faith”
02:18 — A Ring Sent to Queen Elizabeth
02:26 — The Miserere and His Final Prayer
02:33 — Felton’s Execution
02:42 — The Name of Jesus
02:51 — Felton’s Wife and Queen Elizabeth
02:59 — His Son Thomas Also Becomes a Martyr
03:07 — Beatification of John Felton

https://sensusfidelium.com/the-lives-of-the-fathers-martyrs-and-other-principal-saints/august/st-cajetan-of-thienna/

Get Butler's Lives of the Saints here: https://loretopublications.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=102&url=1

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