Blessed Edward Jones and Anthony Middleton, Martyrs
Edward Jones from Wales and Anthony Middleton from Yorkshire were both
educated at the Douai College in Rheims. They became priests and were sent
to the English mission in the time of Elizabeth II. Middleton was the first
to arrive in England, in 1586, and pursued the ministry for some time
without being discovered, helped considerably by his youthful appearance and
slight stature. Jones followed, in 1588, and quickly became known by the
English Catholics as a devout and eloquent preacher. The two men of God were
hunted down and captured with the aid of spies posing as Catholics, and they
were hanged before the very doors of the houses in Fleet Street and
Clerkenwell where they were arrested. Their trial is regarded as full of
irregularities; the reason for the summary justice dispensed to them was
spelled out in large letters: "For treason and foreign invasion." After
offering their death for the forgiveness of their sins, the spread of the
true Faith, and the conversion of heretics, they died on May 6, 1590. Their
feast day is May 6th.
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