In his book Our Martyrs , Father Dennis Murphy SJ recalled a story from Lopez’s Noticias Historicas.
It concerned the story of the reaction of a priest in 1539 when King Henry VIII published the Act of Supremacy that made him the alleged ‘Head of the Church’.
As priest in the convent in Adare, Father Robert decided to gather the 42 members of the local community together to oppose the King and to swear loyalty instead to the pope.
Expecting the King to send his army to plunder the church of its belongings, the local community hid the belongings across their homes and in other places to make it difficult for the army to take their sacred items. Fr. Robert was brought before the court but repeatedly refused to entertain their requests to hand them over the Cross from the altar.
He told them that only pagans and Muhammad thought that the faith should be spread by the sword.
Fr. Robert then doubled down and told them that they Henry VIII was the head of the ‘Synagogue of Satan’.
An offended officer then drew his sword and beheaded Fr. Robert.
As the jail was full, the other religious figures were imprisoned in homes where they died.
This was in February 1539.
Please pray for the memory of Fr. Robert and all of the great Catholic martyrs of Ireland during this month of February.
You can order the reprint of that Fr. Murphy’s Our Martyrs from this link here. All proceeds go to Aid to the Church in Need who help persecuted Christians around the world.