Bl. John Duckett (1603-1644) was born into a Protestant family at Underwinder in Yorkshire, England. He was educated at the nearby Sedbergh School and brought up as a Protestant.
Bl. John converted to Catholicism and at around thirty, he entered the English College at Douai in France. He was ordained a Priest in 1639 and transferred to the College of Arras in Paris where he continued his studies for a further three years.
Bl. John, having completed a two-month retreat under the direction of his uncle, John Duckett, arrived in England around the Christmas of 1643. At the time, King Charles I was fighting the English Civil War.
On the 2nd July 1644, Bl. John, while on his way to baptise two children, was arrested and taken to Sunderland where he was placed in irons. He was charged with treason, being under the authority of the Pope, and taken to London for trial.
Bl. John pleaded guilty to being a Catholic Priest and was sentenced to death. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in London on the 7th September.
Bl. John’s Feast Day is the 7th September.
Bl. John Duckett:
Pray for us that our faith will never die.
Glory be to the…