Whose martyr is it anyway? Unravelling a Benedictine mystery

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. The opening decades of the seventeenth century were far from harmonious for the English Catholic community. As differing clerical parties competed to strengthen their position they engaged in 'martyr grabs' - forcefully claiming Catholic martyrs as their own to help further their cause. Dr James Kelly of the Department of Theology and Religion is the Principal Investigator for the Monks in Motion project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council which is exploring the experience of English and Welsh Benedictines in exile from 1553-1800. Drawing on material from the UK, Spain, Italy and the Vatican archives, Dr Kelly's most recent paper, presented at the 2016 Sixteenth Century Society Conference in Bruges, investigates the rival claims to the martyr George Gervase, who was executed in 1608 and later beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.