John Roberts (martyr)

John Roberts
Born	1577 Trawsfynydd, Wales
Died	10 December 1610 Tyburn, London, England
Venerated in	Roman Catholicism
Major shrine	Downside and Erdington Abbeys
Feast	25 October

Saint John Roberts (1577 - 10 December 1610) was a Welsh Benedictine monk and priest, and was the first Prior of St. Gregory's, Douai, France (now Downside Abbey). Returning to England as a missionary priest during the period of recusancy, he was martyred at Tyburn.

St. John Roberts was born in 1577 in Trawsfynydd, a small village in Snowdonia, north Wales, the son of John and Anna Roberts of Rhiw Goch Farm. A Welsh gentleman, descended from the ancient British kings, his father was a farmer. He was baptised into the Protestant faith in the local church of St Madryn and is said to have received his early education from a monk who had been a member of the community of Cymer Abbey just outside Dolgellau, until it was dissolved by Henry VIII. He attended St. John's College, Oxford in February, 1595 before leaving after two years to study law at Furnival's Inn, London.

During his travels in Europe, he left behind both the law and his former faith as he converted to Catholicism on a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He moved on to Spain and joined St Benedict's Monastery, Valladolid, and became a member of this community in 1598, where he was known as Brother John of Merioneth, in reference to his birthplace, Meirionnydd.

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