John Wall (priest and martyr)
| Saint John Wall, O.F.M. | |
|---|---|
| Forty Martyrs of England and Wales | |
| Born | 1620 Preston, Lancashire, England |
| Died |
22 August 1679 Worcester, England |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholicism |
| Beatified | 1929, Rome by Pope Pius XI |
| Canonized | 25 October 1970, Rome by Pope Paul VI |
| Major shrine | Douai, France |
| Feast | 12 July |
Saint John Wall, O.F.M., (1620 – 22 August 1679) was an English Catholic Franciscan friar, who is honored as a martyr.
He was born in Preston, Lancashire. When of age, he entered the English College, Douai (in modern-day northern France) in 1641, and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1645. He returned to his homeland for several years, saying Mass for the Catholics who stayed loyal to the papacy. He returned to Douai and there he entered the Order of Friars Minor, taking the name Friar Joachim of St. Ann. He was soon named Master of novices, serving in that office until 1656, when he returned to England, settling in Worcestershire. There he became a Governor (Six Master) of the Royal Grammar School Worcester.
In 1678, after 22 years of ministry to the Catholics of the nation, he was apprehended under suspicion of being a party to the Titus Oates plot and sent to the Worcester jail. His trial was on 25 April. After being sent to London he was brought back to Worcester and executed for being a Catholic priest and exercising as such. He was a much respected local figure and the crowd's reaction showed that their sympathies were entirely with him. Many of the onlookers, who were mostly Protestants, wept, and the Sheriff reportedly cried out "End Popery? This is the way to make us all Papists!"
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