Blessed George Napper
Also known as
George Napier
Additional Memorial
• 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai
• 1 December as one of the Martyrs of Oxford University
Profile
Son of George and Anne Napper; his father taught at All Souls College. Great-nephew of William Cardinal Peto. Educated at Corpus Christi College in Oxford; seminarian at the English College, Douai, France. Ordained in 1596, he returned to England to minister to the covert Catholics in Oxfordshire, England beginning in 1603. He travelled the countryside on foot, and apparently lived with his brother William who put himself in great danger by hiding him. He was betrayed and arrested on 19 July 1610 when he was found carrying a breviary, holy oils, a reliquary, and a pyx containing two consecrated Hosts; when he was later searched, the reliquary and pyx had disappeared. George was sent to Oxford Castle where he was convicted of the crime of priesthood. While in prison, he ministered to fellow prisoners; this was considered an additional crime. He was offered a commutation of his sentence from death to exile if he would sign an oath of allegiance against the pope; he declined. Martyr.
Born
1550 at Holywell Manor, Oxford, England
Died
• hanged, drawn, and quartered between 1 and 2 in the afternoon of 9 November 1610 at Oxford, England
• body parts hung on the city gates as warnings to other Catholics
• some parts recovered and given burial at Sanford manor
Beatified
15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI
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