John Gerard (Jesuit)
John Gerard, S.J. (1564–1637) was an English Jesuit priest, operating covertly in England during the Elizabethan period in which the Catholic Church was subject to persecution. He was the son of Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn, near Ashton in Makerfield, Lancashire, who had been imprisoned in 1569 for plotting the rescue of Mary, Queen of Scots, from Tutbury Castle.[1] His release in 1571 may have been influenced by his cousin Sir Gilbert Gerard who was Attorney General at that time.
John is noted not only for successfully hiding from the English authorities for 8 years before his capture, but for enduring extensive torture, escaping from the Tower of London and, after recovering, continuing with his covert mission. After his escape to the continent, he was later instructed by his Jesuit superiors to write a book about his life (Latin text).[2] An English translation was published in 1951 [3]. This is a rare, first-hand account of the cloak-and-dagger world of a Catholic priest in Elizabethan England.
Education abroad and first mission
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He was sent at age twelve with his brother to Exeter College, Oxford, where they matriculated on 3 December 1575. Some sources say his teacher, Mr. Lewkenor, followed him home in order to become a Catholic and continue his and his brother's education.[1] Due to the prohibition of Catholics at universities in England, Gerard was sent to study at the English Catholic school in Douai, which was later moved to Rheims, then, with the Jesuits at Clermont[disambiguation needed]. As was the fate of so many Jesuits who often returned to England with foreign clothing and accents Gerard was arrested soon after he landed to begin his mission at Dover. He was sent to the Marshalsea Prison, where many undercover priests had been imprisoned. Anthony Babington, who was later to be executed for treason for being involved in a plot to free the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, posted bond to secure Gerard's release.
Second mission
He then went to Rome and was given another mission on behalf of the Jesuits to England. In November 1588, three months after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Gerard and Edward Oldcorne landed in Norfolk to begin their task of sustaining the English Catholics. Eventually, Gerard was taken to the leader of the English Jesuits, Father Henry Garnet. Gerard soon became a very popular figure in the Catholic underground. By way of disguises, he appeared very secular, being versed in gambling and wearing fashionable clothes. Gerard wrote of many escapes from the law and of occasions when he hid in priest holes.
Capture and torture
Gerard was finally captured in London on 23 April 1594, together with Nicholas Owen. He was tried, found guilty and sent to the Counter in the Poultry. Later he was moved to the Clink prison where he was able to meet regularly with other persecuted English Catholics. Due to his continuation of this work, he was sent to the Salt Tower in the Tower of London, where he was further questioned and tortured by being repeatedly suspended from chains on the dungeon wall. He would not answer any questions that involved others, or name them. He insisted that he never broke, a fact borne out by the files of the Tower.
Escape
A famous exploit of his was believed to have been masterminded by Nicholas Owen. With help from other members of the Catholic underground, Gerard, along with John Arden, escaped on a rope strung across the Tower moat during the night of 4 October 1597. Despite the fact that his hands were still mangled from the tortures he had undergone, he succeeded in climbing down. He even arranged for the escape of his gaoler (jailer), with whom he had become friendly, and who he knew would be held responsible for the jailbreak. Immediately following his escape, he joined Henry Garnet and Robert Catesby in Uxbridge. Later, Gerard moved to the house of Elizabeth Vaux [1] at Harrowden. From this base of operations, he continued his priestly ministry, and reconciled many to the Catholic Church, including Sir Everard Digby (one of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot). He later suspected Digby of plotting something, but did not act, thus allowing the plan to proceed undetected. When the plot was discovered, Gerard was a very wanted man due to his links to those involved.
Later life
He was denounced by Robert Catesby's servant Thomas Bates. Staying a while at Harrowden, then escaping from there to London, he left the country with financial aid from Elizabeth Vaux and, after some persuasion,[1] the ambassadors of Flanders and Spain, on the very day of Henry Garnet's execution. Gerard went on to continue the work of the Jesuits in Europe, where he wrote his major work on the orders of his superiors. He died in 1637, aged 73, at the English College seminary, Rome.