Blessed Thomas Reynolds

Blessed Thomas Reynolds studied at Rheims, France, and at Valladolid and Seville in Spain, preparing for the dangerous mission of ministering to persecuted Catholics in England. He was ordained in 1592 in Cadiz, Spain, and returned to England to work as a covert priest. He labored for years in secret until his arrest in 1606, after which he was exiled. Undeterred, he returned to England and continued his clandestine ministry until he was arrested again in 1628. He spent fourteen years in prison before being tried, condemned, and executed for the crime of being a Catholic priest in England. His decades of faithful service and long imprisonment before martyrdom testify to his extraordinary perseverance and devotion.