He was born at Hemingborough, Yorkshire, educated at Douay and Rome, and ordained priest at Arras. In 1602 he crossed to England, and, being in ill health, put himself under the care of a physician in London. A few days later, while he was walking in the street, he met a stranger, in appearance a venerable old man, who saluted him with these words, “Jesus bless you, sir, you seem to be sick and troubled with many infirmities; but be of good cheer, for within these four days you shall be cured of all.” And so it happened, for the next day, Saturday, April 17, through the treachery of an apostate priest, he was apprehended, tried and condemned, and was executed at Tyburn on the Tuesday following, April 20, and so found rest. On the morning of execution he found means to celebrate Mass in prison; those who were present, and especially Mr Henry Owen, his server and prisoner for conscience’ sake, saw about his head while he was celebrating a bright light like a ray of glory, which from the consecration to the communion rested directly over his head and then disappeared. This martyr was only twenty-three years old.
Mementoes of the Martyrs of England and Wales, Father Bowden, C.O.
In 2018, I went to Tyburn (a neighborhood in London)with a group from the Pilgrim Project to mass at the Benedictine Convent, near the site. The present location of the “Tyburn Tree” is a traffic circle, but there is a commemoration disk there. It must have looked strange, 33 people kneeling at the traffic circle, kissing the disk!