Gerard, John

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Gerard, John (1564–1637). Jesuit. Gerard was from a Lancashire catholic gentry family and was sent to Douai. He was ordained priest at Rome in 1586 and joined the Jesuits in 1588. Captured on a mission to England, he made a daring escape from the Tower in 1597. He was on the fringes of the Gunpowder plot, aware that something was afoot, but ignorant of the details. He managed to make his escape in 1606 and spent the rest of his life in catholic teaching institutions on the continent. His autobiography throws much light on English catholicism under James I.

J. A. Cannon

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