(1546-1600)
His life
+ Christopher was born in Middleton, Yorkshire, England. The son of a noble family, he was educated at Trinity College, Oxford. During his time at Oxford he converted to Catholicism.
+ In 1583, he left England and studied for the priesthood at the English College in Reims, France, and was ordained the following year. He completed his theological studies in 1586 and returned to England.
+ Few details of his ministry have come down to us. He was arrested in 1599 in the home of a widow named Eleanor Hunt.
+ During his imprisonment, he was forced to listen to Protestant sermons in the hopes that he would renounce the Catholic Faith. He was tried with Mrs. Hunt in 1600 and both were condemned to death. Christopher was executed on March 28, 1600. Mrs. Hunt would later die in prison.
+ Blessed Christopher Wharton was beatified as one of the “Eighty-Five Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales” in 1987.
For prayer and reflection
“Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our errors.”—Verse before the Gospel for Wednesday of Holy Week
Prayer
O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake
to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Collect for Wednesday of Holy Week)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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