NEWDIGATE, SEBASTIAN, BL.

Carthusian priest, martyr; b. Harefield Place, Middlesex, England; d. hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn (London), June 19, 1535. Sebastian was the wellborn younger son of the king's sergeant John Newdigate and the heiress of John Nevill of Sutton in Lincolnshire. After completing his education at Cambridge, he joined Henry VIII's court and became an intimate of the king. After the death (1524) of his wife, he placed his daughter Amphelys in the care of others and entered the London Charterhouse of the Carthusians. On June 6, 1534, he signed the Oath of Succession with the addendum "in as far as the law of God permits." He was arrested (May 25, 1535) for denying the king's supremacy, and bound in irons in a standing position for 14 days at the Marshalsea Prison. There Henry made a personal plea for Sebastian to conform in exchange for riches and honors. Following his refusal, Newdigate was brought before the Privy Council, then sent to the Tower, where Henry again visited him. After his trial (June 11), he was returned to the Tower. He was executed with BB. William exmew and Humphrey middlemore. Newdigate was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on Dec. 9, 1886.

Feast of the English Martyrs: May 4 (England); May 11 (Archdiocese of Birmingham).

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

[k. i. rabenstein]