St. John Ogilvie, SJ

St. John Ogilvie was born into a Calvinist family in Scotland in 1579. At 12, he was sent to Europe to study, where he attended Benedictine and Jesuit educational institutions. In 1596, he joined the Catholic Church. Three years later, he joined the Jesuit order. In 1610, he was ordained a priest and served in France. He repeated asked to be sent to Scotland to minister to the remaining Catholics there. Since 1560, it had been illegal to preach or endorse Catholicism in Scotland.

In 1613, he returned to Scotland disguised as a horse trader. He preached in secret and celebrated Mass in homes. He had some success in Edinburgh and went to minister in Glasgow, where he was to receive five people into the Church. One of those betrayed him. In October of that year, he was discovered and arrested in Glasgow. He was tortured with multiple interrogations, sleep deprivation, and having his hair pulled out, but refused to give up names of accomplices. He refused to confess and refused to pledge allegiance to King James.

For that, he was hanged for treason on March 10, 1615. His last words were: “If there be here any hidden Catholics, let them pray for me, but the prayers of heretics I will not have.” He threw a concealed rosary into the crowd. According to legend, one of his enemies caught it and subsequently became a devout Catholic. He did not die immediately, and the executioner had to pull his legs to end his agony. Although the order included a sentence of being quartered, he was not, and he was buried outside the city in a plot reserved for criminals.

St. John Ogilvie is the only post-Reformation Scottish saint, and he is described as “Scotland’s Catholic martyr.” His feast day is March 10.