GREEN, HUGH, BL.

Priest, martyr; alias Ferdinand Brooke; b. London, England, c. 1584; d. hanged at Tyburn (London), Aug. 19 (or 28?), 1588. Hugh, son of Protestant gentry, took his degree at Peterhouse, Cambridge (1605), and was converted to Catholicism while a student at Gray's Inn. Thereafter he undertook seminary studies at the English College, Douai (1610–12). Following his ordination (1612) he tested a religious vocation as a Capuchin, but left for reasons unknown. Instead he became chaplain to Lady Arundel of Lanherne at Chideock Castle, Dorsetshire. Although he attempted to comply with Charles I's banishment of priests (March 8, 1641), he was late in embarking for the Continent. He was arrested, tried, and condemned in August. He had a profound effect on fellow prisoners, who sought his absolution before mounting the gallows. Green made a public confession of his sins and was absolved by a disguised Jesuit. Contemporary descriptions expound on the barbarity of his execution. The disembowelment took one-half hour, then witnesses played football with his severed head. Fr. Green was beatified by Pius XI on Dec. 15, 1929.

Feast of the English Martyrs: May 4 (England).

See Also: england, scotland, and wales, martyrs of.

Bibliography: r. challoner, Memoirs of Missionary Priests, ed. j. h. pollen (rev. ed. London 1924; repr. Farnborough 1969), II, 113. j. h. pollen, Acts of English Martyrs (London 1891).

[k. i. rabenstein]