Richard Holtby
Encyclopedia
Father Richard Holtby was an English Jesuit Superior and Roman Catholic priest.
or Fryton
, Yorkshire
, England and was the second son of Lancelot Holtby of that place by Ellen (née Butler] of Nunnington, in Ryedale, Yorkshire.
After spending two years at Christ's College, Cambridge
, and migrating to Caius College on 19 August 1573, aged 20, he removed to Oxford
, where in 1574 he joined Hart Hall, the principal of which, Philip Rondell, was a papist, "but durst not show it".
there as well, who later suffered death for the Catholic faith. Leaving Oxford without a degree, Holtby proceeded to the English College at Douay, where he arrived in August 1577, and was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained priest at Cambrai on 29 March 1578.
A year later he was sent to English mission, and he laboured with great zeal in the northern counties. In 1581, Father Edmund Campion
paid him a visit, and while staying in his house composed the famous Decem Rationes and urged him to join the Society of Jesus. Richard entered the Society of Jesus
in 1583 and crossed the English Channel
to participate in his Spiritual Exercises
with Father Thomas Derbyshire. He fulfilled the requirements of his noviceship at Verdun
and continued on to Pont-à-Mousson
to continue his studies. There he was one of three out of thirteen contemporaries who survived the black plague. After four years spent studying theology at the University of Pont-à-Mousson, he was appointed superior of the Scotch College there, in about 1587.
, sent him back to England in 1589. In 1603 he was professed of the four vows. After the execution of Father Henry Garnett he was appointed superior of vice-prefect of the English mission, and during his three years’ tenure of that office he appears to have resided in London. When the question of the new oath of allegiance to James I
was proposed, and the archpriest George Blackwell
declared that it might be conscientiously taken by Catholics, Holtby at first forbade the Jesuits to write or preach against the oath, while leaving them free to give private advice on the subject; but after the condemnation of the oath by Pope Paul V
he denounced it.
Richard died in England on 25 May 1640, aged 87.
Early life
Richard was born in either HovinghamHovingham
Hovingham is a large village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the edge of the Howardian Hills and about 7 miles south of Kirkbymoorside....
or Fryton
Fryton
Fryton is a small village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England with a population of around 50. It is located in its own parish west of Slingsby and a few miles north of the prominent estate of Castle Howard...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England and was the second son of Lancelot Holtby of that place by Ellen (née Butler] of Nunnington, in Ryedale, Yorkshire.
After spending two years at Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, and migrating to Caius College on 19 August 1573, aged 20, he removed to Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where in 1574 he joined Hart Hall, the principal of which, Philip Rondell, was a papist, "but durst not show it".
Religious education
Richard taught at Oxford University as well as Cambridge University as a young seminary priest in England. He knew Father Alexander BriantAlexander Briant
Saint Alexander Briant was an English Jesuit and martyr, executed at Tyburn.He was born in Somerset, and entered Hart Hall, Oxford , at an early age...
there as well, who later suffered death for the Catholic faith. Leaving Oxford without a degree, Holtby proceeded to the English College at Douay, where he arrived in August 1577, and was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained priest at Cambrai on 29 March 1578.
A year later he was sent to English mission, and he laboured with great zeal in the northern counties. In 1581, Father Edmund Campion
Edmund Campion
Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
paid him a visit, and while staying in his house composed the famous Decem Rationes and urged him to join the Society of Jesus. Richard entered the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
in 1583 and crossed the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to participate in his Spiritual Exercises
Spiritual Exercises
Spiritual exercises may refer to:* Any spiritual practice dedicated towards increasing one's personal spirituality* Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, a book of spiritual practices of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order...
with Father Thomas Derbyshire. He fulfilled the requirements of his noviceship at Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
and continued on to Pont-à-Mousson
Pont-à-Mousson
Pont-à-Mousson is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.Population : 14,592 . It is an industrial town , situated on the Moselle River...
to continue his studies. There he was one of three out of thirteen contemporaries who survived the black plague. After four years spent studying theology at the University of Pont-à-Mousson, he was appointed superior of the Scotch College there, in about 1587.
Mission in England
The father-general, AquavivaClaudio Acquaviva
Claudio Acquaviva was an Italian Jesuit priest elected in 1581 the 5th Superior General of the Society of Jesus...
, sent him back to England in 1589. In 1603 he was professed of the four vows. After the execution of Father Henry Garnett he was appointed superior of vice-prefect of the English mission, and during his three years’ tenure of that office he appears to have resided in London. When the question of the new oath of allegiance to James I
Oath of Allegiance of James I of England
The Oath of Allegiance of 1606 was an oath required of subjects of James I of England from 1606, the year after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 ; it was also called the Oath of Obedience . Whatever effect it had on the loyalty of his subjects, it caused an international controversy lasting a...
was proposed, and the archpriest George Blackwell
George Blackwell
Father George Blackwell was Roman Catholic Archpriest of England from 1597 to 1608.-Biography:Blackwell was born in Middlesex, England about 1545, perhaps the son of the pewterer Thomas Blackwell. He was admitted as a scholar to Trinity College, Oxford on 27 May 1562...
declared that it might be conscientiously taken by Catholics, Holtby at first forbade the Jesuits to write or preach against the oath, while leaving them free to give private advice on the subject; but after the condemnation of the oath by Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V
-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
he denounced it.
Later life and death
On vacating his office he returned to the north of England, where he exercised much influence among the Catholics. A government spy in a report to the privy council in 1593 describes him as "a little man, with a reddish bearde", and adds that he chiefly resided at Mr. Trollope’s house at Thornley, co. Durham. In order to evade arrest he assumed the aliases of Andrew Ducket, Robert North, and Richard Fetherston. He was a skilful mechanic, and constructed many cleverly contrived hiding-places for the persecuted priests. He could also ply the needle to make vestments and altar-cloths. In 1602–3 he was at Heborne, the residence of Mr. Hodgson, three miles from Newcastle; and in 1605–6 he was at Halton, Northumberland, the seat of Lancelot Carnaby. He died in the Durham district on 14 May (O.S.) 1640. "Of no other English Jesuit", remarks Dr. Jessopp, "can it be said that he exercised his vocation in England for upwards of fifty years, and that, too, with extraordinary effect and ceaseless activity, without once being thrown into gaol or once falling into the hands of pursuivants; and quietly died in his bed in extreme old age."Richard died in England on 25 May 1640, aged 87.
His works
- On the Persecution in the North, 1594 manuscript at Stonyhurst College, printed by John MorrisJohn Morris (Jesuit)John Morris was an English Jesuit and historical writer.-Life:He was educated partly in India, partly at Harrow School, partly in reading for Cambridge with Dean Alford, the New Testament scholar. Under him a great change passed over Morris's ideas...
in Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers, iii. 103-219, and partially printed in Dodd’s Catholic History,’ ed. Tierney, iii. 75-148. - Account of Three Martyrs (namely Page, Lambton, and Waterson, priests), manuscript at Stonyhurst College; printed by Morris in ‘Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers,’ iii. 220-30.