Saint John Rigby

Memorial
21 June
Profile
Lancashire gentleman. Raised Protestant but converted to Catholicism. Converted others, including his father.

Imprisoned at Newgate for his faith, and for refusing to acknowledge the Queen as head of the Church. Did time with Saint John Jones. Tortured and executed by order of Justice Guady for refusing to attend Protestant services. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

As part of the paperwork before his execution, he was asked his marital status. John replied he was "both a bachelor and a maid," the latter apparently referring to his job as a servant in the household of the avid Protestant Sir Edmund Heddleston.
Born
1570 at Harrack Hall, Wigan, Lancashire, England
Died
martyred in 1600 at Saint Thomas, Watering, England; his body was chopped up and scattered around Southwark
Name Meaning
God is gracious; gift of God (John)
Beatified
1929 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized
25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Name Meaning
God is gracious
Patronage
bachelors
torture victims
Additional Information
Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Catholic Online
Catholic Encyclopedia, by John B Wainewright
For All The Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein
Google Directory
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
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