Also known as
- George Napier
Profile
Son of George and Anne Napper; his father taught at All Souls College. Great-nephew of William Cardinal Peto. Educated at Corpus Christi College in Oxford; seminarian at the English College, Douai, France. Ordained in 1596, he returned to England to minister to the covert Catholics in Oxfordshire, England beginning in 1603. He travelled the countryside on foot, and apparently lived with his brother William who put himself in great danger by hiding him. He was betrayed and arrested on 19 July 1610 when he was found carrying a breviary, holy oils, a reliquary, and a pyx containing two consecrated Hosts; when he was later searched, the reliquary and pyx had disappeared. George was sent to Oxford Castle where he was convicted of the crime of priesthood. While in prison, he ministered to fellow prisoners; this was considered an additional crime. He was offered a commutation of his sentence from death to exile if he would sign an oath of allegiance against the pope; he declined. Martyr.
Born
- hanged, drawn, and quartered between 1 and 2 in the afternoon of 9 November 1610 at Oxford, England
- body parts hung on the city gates as warnings to other Catholics
- some parts recovered and given burial at Sanford manor
- 8 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI (decree of martyrdom)
- if you have information relevant to the canonization of Blessed George, contact
Catholic Bishops‘ Conference of England and Wales
39 Eccleston Square
London SW1V 1BX, UNITED KINGDOM
Additional Information
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Catholic Encyclopedia, by John B Wainewright
- Enciclopedia Catolica
- Katherine Rabenstein
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
MLA Citation
- “Blessed George Napper“. Saints.SQPN.com. 16 May 2013. Web. 20 June 2013. <>