Philip Evans and John Lloyd

Philip Evans and John Lloyd were Welsh Roman Catholic priests. They are among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

For other people named Philip Evans, see Philip Evans (disambiguation).
For other people named John Lloyd, see John Lloyd (disambiguation).

Philip Evans
Saint

Philip Evans

S.J.
Priest and Martyr
Bornc. 1645
Monmouth, Wales
Died22 July 1679 (aged 33 - 34)
Pwllhalog, near Cardiff, Wales
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Beatified15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Feast23 July, 25 October
Attributesnoose around neck, knife in chest, harp
PatronageTennis, tennis players

Philip Evans was born in Monmouth in 1645, and educated at Jesuit College of St. Omer (in Artois, now in France). He joined the Society of Jesus in Watten on 7 September 1665, and was ordained at Liège (now in Belgium) and sent to South Wales as a missionary in 1675.[1][2]

He worked in Wales for four years,[1] and despite the official anti-Catholic policy no action was taken against him. When the Oates' scare swept the country both Lloyd and Evans were caught up in the aftermath.[3] In November 1678 John Arnold, of Llanvihangel Court near Abergavenny, a justice of the peace and hunter of priests, offered a reward of £200 (equivalent to £30,000 in 2021)[4] for his arrest.

Despite the manifest dangers Evans steadfastly refused to leave his flock. He was arrested at the home of Christopher Turberville at Sker, Glamorgan, on 4 December 1678. Ironically the posse which arrested him is said to have been led by Turberville's brother, the notorious priest hunter Edward Turberville.

John Lloyd

John Lloyd, a Welshman and a secular priest (a priest not associated with any religious order), was a Breconshire man.[5] He was educated in Ghent (now in Belgium), and from 1649 at the English College, Valladolid, Spain.[6] He took the 'missionary oath' on 16 October 1649 to participate in the English Mission. Sent to Wales in 1654 to minister to covert Catholics, he lived his vocation while constantly on the run for 24 years. He was arrested at Turberville's house at Penlline, Glamorgan, on 20 November 1678, and imprisoned in Cardiff Gaol.[7] There he was joined by the Jesuit, Philip Evans.[7]

Trial

Both priests were brought to trial in Cardiff on Monday, 5 May 1679.[7] Neither was charged with being associated with the plot concocted by Oates. Nonetheless, they were tried for being priests and coming to England and Wales contrary to the provisions of Jesuits, etc. Act 1584, and were declared guilty of treason for exercising their priesthood.

Saint

John Lloyd
Priest and Martyr
BornBreconshire, Wales
Died22 July 1679 (aged 33 - 34)
Pwllhalog, near Cardiff, Wales
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Beatified15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Feast23 July, 25 October

Executions
Plaque marking the execution site

The executions took so long to be scheduled that it began to appear that they might not take place. The priests were allowed a good deal of liberty, even to leaving the prison for recreation.[3] The executions took place in Pwllhalog, near Cardiff, on 22 July 1679.[7] Two plaques mark the site at what is now the junction of Crwys Road and Richmond Road in Roath, Cardiff, still known as "Death Junction".[8]

Evans was the first to die. He addressed the gathering in both Welsh and English saying, ‘Adieu, Father Lloyd! Though only for a little time, for we shall soon meet again'. Lloyd spoke very briefly saying, ‘I never was a good speaker in my life'.

Canonisation and feast day

On 25 October 1970, both John Lloyd and Philip Evans were canonised by Pope Paul VI.[1] Although they died on 22 July, this date is kept by the Catholic Church as the feast day of Mary Magdalen, so their joint feast day was assigned to 23 July. The same date is the assigned day of Bridget of Sweden, who was later designated one of six patron saints of Europe by Pope John Paul II. This means that while churches dedicated to John Lloyd or Philip Evans can keep their feast on 23 July, other churches must commemorate Bridget on that date. A voluntary celebration for John Lloyd and Philip Evans may be kept on a nearby date at the discretion of local communities.[9]

The collective feast day of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales was formerly kept on 25 October. In England they are now celebrated together with beatified martyrs on 4 May.[10] In Wales, 25 October is the feast of the "Six Welsh Martyrs and their companions".[9]

Dedications
St Philip Evans Church, Cwmafan

St Philip Evans
  • St Philip Evans Church, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff (Roman Catholic)
  • St Philip Evans Catholic Primary School, Llanedyrn, Cardiff
  • St Philip Evans Church, Cwmafan, Neath Port Talbot (Roman Catholic)[11]

St John Lloyd

References
  1. Us, All Of. ".: The Jesuit Singapore Website :". www.jesuit.org.sg. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  2. "Liturgy Office of Wales". Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  3. Stanton, Richard (1892). A menology of England and Wales, or, Brief memorials of the ancient British and English saints arranged according to the calendar, together with the martyrs of the 16th and 17th centuries. University of California Libraries. London; New York: Burns & Oates.
  4. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  5. Inscription on a portrait in the Royal English College, Valladolid: "San Juan Lloyd, natural de Brecknockshire, Gales, colegical y sacerdote de este Colegeio de San Albano, murió por la fe católica fuera de Cardiff, Wallia, el 22 de Julio de 1679" (Saint John Lloyd, a native of Brecknockshire, Wales, student and priest of this College of St Alban, died for the Catholic faith outside Cardiff, Wales, on 22 July 1679). Image at "Ramblings from a Welshwoman abroad". 31 August 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2015., low-resolution image at "ST. John LLOYD". Royal English College, Valladolid. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  6. ""St. John Lloyd", Royal English College, Valladolid". Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  7. Wainwright, J (1910). The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. retrieved from "St. John Lloyd". New Advent. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  8. Wynn-davies, Therese (10 March 2011). "Spotlight: History of 'death junction'". The Guardian.
  9. National Calendar for Wales, Liturgy Office for England and Wales, accessed 31 July 2011
  10. National Calendar for England, Liturgy Office for England and Wales, accessed 31 July 2011
  11. "St Philip Evans". Catholic Directory UK and Ireland. Retrieved 12 May 2018.

Other sources
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