Thorp(e), Robert, Bl.

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THORP(E), ROBERT, BL.

Priest, martyr; b. in Yorkshire; hanged, drawn, and quartered May 15, 1591 at York. He studied at the English College in Rheims, where he was ordained in April 1585 by Cardinal Louis de Guise. He worked for about ten years in Yorkshire, renowned for his devotion and constancy. He was in bed very early on Palm Sunday 1595 when authorities came to arrest him in the Menthorpe home of Bl. Thomas watkinson. Someone supposedly observed him gathering palms the night before and reported his actions to the local justice of the peace. Thorpe was condemned as a traitor for being a priest. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on Nov. 22, 1987, with George Haydock and Companions.

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) I, 86. j. h. pollen, Acts of English Martyrs (London 1891) 200202.

[k. i. rabenstein]