John Roche (martyr)
Encyclopedia
Blessed John Roche was a Catholic
martyr
, born in Ireland
, who died in London, England in 1588. Usually shown in working-class Elizabethan dress and holding an oar or a miniature boat, he is the patron of sailors, mariners and boatmen.
He helped Saint Margaret Ward
arrange the escape of Father William Watson
from Bridewell Prison
when the boatman she had originally asked to help her refused to do so. Roche exchanged clothes with the prisoner and was arrested in his place. Offered his freedom if he would ask Queen Elizabeth I's pardon and promise to attend a Protestant church, he refused, and was hanged at Tyburn, London
on 30 August 1588, along with Ward
, Edward Shelley, Richard Martin, and Richard Flower.
Pope Pius XI
beatified Roche in 1929.
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, born in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, who died in London, England in 1588. Usually shown in working-class Elizabethan dress and holding an oar or a miniature boat, he is the patron of sailors, mariners and boatmen.
He helped Saint Margaret Ward
Margaret Ward
Saint Margaret Ward was an English Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I for helping a priest to escape from prison. Her date of birth is unknown, but she was born in Congleton, Cheshire....
arrange the escape of Father William Watson
William Watson (priest)
William Watson , English Roman Catholic priest and conspirator, executed for treason.-Life:In 1586 he became a Roman Catholic priest in France, and during the concluding years of Elizabeth's reign he paid several visits to England; he was imprisoned and tortured more than once...
from Bridewell Prison
Bridewell Palace
Bridewell Palace in London, originally a residence of King Henry VIII, later became a poorhouse and prison. The name "Bridewell" subsequently became synonymous with police stations and detention facilities in England and in Ireland...
when the boatman she had originally asked to help her refused to do so. Roche exchanged clothes with the prisoner and was arrested in his place. Offered his freedom if he would ask Queen Elizabeth I's pardon and promise to attend a Protestant church, he refused, and was hanged at Tyburn, London
Tyburn, London
Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
on 30 August 1588, along with Ward
Margaret Ward
Saint Margaret Ward was an English Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I for helping a priest to escape from prison. Her date of birth is unknown, but she was born in Congleton, Cheshire....
, Edward Shelley, Richard Martin, and Richard Flower.
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
beatified Roche in 1929.