Blessed Adrian Fortescue
![[Blessed Adrian Fortescue]](saintaaz.jpg "??kb jpg detail from a painting of Blessed Adrian, artist unknown, Collegio, Malta; please do not write to ask about the image")
- Memorial
- 9 July
- Profile
- English nobility, the son of Sir John Fortescue, and a cousin of Anne Boleyn.
Made a Knight of Bath in 1503, frequently serving in the royal court of King Henry VIII.
Fought for England in France in 1513 and 1522.
Married twice, and father of seven.
Made a Knight of Saint John in 1532.
He collected several lists of proverbs and folk sayings, often writing them in the margins of his Book of Hours.
On 29 August 1534, for reasons never explained, he was arrested by the king's order, and imprisoned for several months.
Arrested again on 3 February 1539, and sent to the Tower of London.
Without trial, he was condemned to death in April for treason, though no specific act was alleged, only general "sedition and refusing allegiance", a consquence of his loyalty to Rome.
Martyred with Venerable Thomas Dingley.
- Born
- 1476 in Punsborne, Hertfordshire, England
- Died
- beheaded on 9 July 1539 on Tower Hill, London, England
- Beatified
- 13 May 1895 by Pope Leo XIII
- Canonized
- pending;
if you have information relevant to the canonization of Blessed Adrian, contact:
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
39 Eccleston Square
London SW1V 1BX, UNITED KINGDOM
- Prayers
- O God, you specially strengthened Blessed Adrian with a wonderful spirit of holiness and courage.
Hear the prayers of your people and from his renowned example may we learn to be obedient to you rather than to human authority.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
- General Calendar of the Order of Preachers
- Additional Information
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Biographisch-Bibliographischen Kirchenlexikons [german]
Catholic Encyclopedia, by J H Pollen
Catholic Online
Google Directory
New Catholic Dictionary
Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
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- Readings
- O God, since all things are within your power, grant through the prayers of blessed Adrian, your martyr, that we who keep his feast today may become stronger in the love of your name and hold to your holy Church even at the cost of our lives.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
- Missal with readings of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes, and of Malta, London 1997