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Francis Page was born in Antwerp of English parents—his date of birth is unknown— and went to England to study law at one of the Inns of Court in London. While his parents were Protestants (presumably Anglicans), he had been living in a Catholic country; at the Inns of Court he met more Catholics. He fell in love with a Catholic girl who wanted him to convert to Catholicism before they married: two very dangerous actions! It was a felony for her to try to convert him and an act of treason for him to become a Catholic, But he loved her and so studied the faith, with yet another consequence, one she had surely not foreseen.
As the Jesuits in Singapore explain:
His Catholic roommate had, as his confessor, Fr John Gerard, a Jesuit priest. So it was to Fr Gerald that Francis went for instruction. The more he studied religion, the more he felt drawn to the priesthood. Much to his fiancée’s sorrow, Francis called off the marriage as he began to think of the priesthood. When Fr Gerard was arrested and transferred to the Tower of London, Francis would stand outside the prison everyday just to get a glimpse of the priest and for his blessing. His suspicious actions led to a brief arrest and after his release, Francis decided to follow the call and joined the English College in Rheims, France. He was ordained in 1600.
Father Bowden devotes two entries to Blessed Francis Page, SJ on April 27 and 28, pages 142 and 143. As he does with each of the mementoes in the book, Bowden gives a title to the meditation and provides a verse from the Holy Bible for meditation. On April 27, the title is “Light and Darkness” and the verse is from the Book of Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away . . . blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
On April 28, the title is "Love, Earthly and Heavenly" and the Bible verse is "With the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels." from Isaiah 61:10.
Between the two entries, Father Bowden describes how Blessed Francis Page barely escaped the raid on Saint Anne Line's safe-house as he was celebrating Mass on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2, 1601, and how he was finally arrested when a woman who had pretended to be a Catholic informed on him. But it's in the entry for April 27, that Father Bowden offers some great spiritual counsel as he describes Father Page's reactions to the news that his day of execution, April 20, 1602, had been set:
_-_James_Tissot.jpg)
Fr. Page received the message as from heaven, and, having celebrated the Holy Mysteries, was so filled with joy and supernatural light that it seemed as it nothing could separate him from the love of his Lord. But that he might know that this sensible devotion is God's free gift, and might learn something also of the anguish of His Savior in Gethsemane, he was of a sudden deprived of these extraordinary favors, and like his Master, became sad, sorrowful, even unto death. . . . The storm continued until the sheriff sent to him to prepare for death as the hour was at hand. The message in a moment restored calm to his soul and he went to meet death with every sign of joy. The whole way to Tyburn his soul was engaged in prayer, and with the holy name of Jesus on his lips the cart was drawn away--on April 20, 1602*.
Father Bowden describes Father Page's feelings of Consolation and Desolation, to use the Ignatian terms, in this passage as an example of a martyr's true heroism. Toward the end of Elizabeth I's reign, a Catholic missionary to England knew the danger he faced, and Father Page, having escaped capture, imprisonment, and execution once before, and knowing that Anne Line had suffered in his place on February 27, 1601, surely knew his day of martyrdom could, would come. So he was able to persevere through that Desolation of fear and trepidation. He asked Father Floyd, a Jesuit priest in prison with him, to pray for him so he could prepare again to face his death with Consolation and poise, demonstrating his resolution at Tyburn Tree, which he did.
Father Floyd also received the martyr into the Society of Jesus: having been instructed by a Jesuit, Father John Gerard, Page had contacted Father Henry Garnet, SJ about his interest in joining the Society, but had been arrested before he could return to the Continent for his formation.
Blessed Francis Page, SJ, pray for us!
_-_James_Tissot.jpg)
Fr. Page received the message as from heaven, and, having celebrated the Holy Mysteries, was so filled with joy and supernatural light that it seemed as it nothing could separate him from the love of his Lord. But that he might know that this sensible devotion is God's free gift, and might learn something also of the anguish of His Savior in Gethsemane, he was of a sudden deprived of these extraordinary favors, and like his Master, became sad, sorrowful, even unto death. . . . The storm continued until the sheriff sent to him to prepare for death as the hour was at hand. The message in a moment restored calm to his soul and he went to meet death with every sign of joy. The whole way to Tyburn his soul was engaged in prayer, and with the holy name of Jesus on his lips the cart was drawn away--on April 20, 1602*.
Father Bowden describes Father Page's feelings of Consolation and Desolation, to use the Ignatian terms, in this passage as an example of a martyr's true heroism. Toward the end of Elizabeth I's reign, a Catholic missionary to England knew the danger he faced, and Father Page, having escaped capture, imprisonment, and execution once before, and knowing that Anne Line had suffered in his place on February 27, 1601, surely knew his day of martyrdom could, would come. So he was able to persevere through that Desolation of fear and trepidation. He asked Father Floyd, a Jesuit priest in prison with him, to pray for him so he could prepare again to face his death with Consolation and poise, demonstrating his resolution at Tyburn Tree, which he did.
Father Floyd also received the martyr into the Society of Jesus: having been instructed by a Jesuit, Father John Gerard, Page had contacted Father Henry Garnet, SJ about his interest in joining the Society, but had been arrested before he could return to the Continent for his formation.
Blessed Francis Page, SJ, pray for us!
*The year is incorrect on page 142, however.
Image Credit (Public Domain): James Tissot's The Grotto of the Agony (La Grotte de l'agonie)
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