Scottish Reformer

A saint of the Counter-Reformation, today's saint did his best to bring the truths of the faith to his home land.

St. John Ogilvie

Feast day: March 10
Birth: 1579
Death: 1615
Scotland
Nobility

John was the eldest son of a respected Calvinist who owned an estate in Scotland.  At the age of 12 years old, he was sent to 'the Continent' for his education.  During this time, he attended a number of Catholic educational establishments, under the Benedictines in Germany and with the Jesuits in Bohemia.  In 1596, John chose to become Catholic.

He joined the Society of Jesus in 1599 and was ordained a priest at Paris in 1610. After ordination he served in Rouen in Normandy where he made repeated entreaties to be sent to Scotland to minister to the few remaining Catholics in the Glasgow area.  At this time it was illegal to be a priest or encourage Catholicism in Scotland.

With little assistance from the few Catholics remaining in Scotland, as they feared for their lives, John went to London and then Paris to find help.  He returned to Scotland in November 1613 disguised as a horse trader named John Watson.  He began to preach in secret, celebrating Mass in private homes.

In October 1614, Ogilvie was discovered and arrested in Glasgow and was imprisoned. He was initially treated well, but after refusing to confess, was tortured by sleep deprivation until he gave the names of some of his accomplices. He then refused to pledge allegiance to King James, and it was for this crime that he was tried.

Found guilty, John was hanged and drawn at Glasgow Cross in March 1615.

Ogilvie's last words were 'If there be here any hidden Catholics, let them pray for me but the prayers of heretics I will not have.' After he was pushed from the stairs, he threw his concealed rosary out into the crowd. According to legend, one of his enemies caught it and subsequently became a devout, lifelong Catholic.