Martyrs of Gorkum

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The Martyrs of Gorkum were a group of Roman Catholics in the sixteenth century who suffered martyrdom for Catholicism in the Dutch town of Gorinchem or Gorcum.

[edit] Events

By 1572, Martin Luther and Jean Calvin had already wrested from the Catholic church a great part of Europe. The iconoclastic storm had swept through the Seventeen Provinces of the Low Countries, and was followed by a struggle between Lutheranism and Calvinism in which the latter was victorious. In 1571 the Calvinists held their first synod, at Embden. On 1 April of the next year the Watergeuzen or Gueux de mer (water-/sea- beggars, i.e. rebels), rebellious against the Spanish Habsburg crown which ruled the Low Countries, conquered Brielle and later Vlissingen and other places.

In June, Dortrecht and Gorkum fell into their hands and at Gorkum they captured nine Franciscans: Nicholas Pieck, guardian of Gorkum, Hieronymns of Weert, vicar, Theodorus van der Eem, of Amersfoort, Nicasius Janssen, of Heeze, Willehad of Denmark, Godefried of Mervel, Antonius of Weert, Antonius of Hoornaer and Franciseus de Roye of Brussels. To these were added two lay brothers from the same monastery, Petrus of Assche and Cornelius of Wijk bij Duurstede. Almost at the same time the Calvinists laid their hands on the learned parish priest of Gorkum, Leonardus Vechel of Bois-le-Duc, who had made distinguished studies in Louvain, and also has assistant Nicolaas Janssen, surnamed Poppel, of Welde in Belgium. With the above were also imprisoned Godefried van Duynsen of Gorkum, who was active as a priest in his native city, and Joannes Lenartz of Oisterwljk, an Augustinian and director of the convent of Augustinian nuns in Gorkum.

To these fifteen, who from the very first underwent all the sufferings and torments, were later added four more companions: Joannes van Hoornaer (alias known as John of Cologne), a Dominican of the Cologne province and parish priest not far from Gorkum, who when apprised of the incarceration of the clergy of Gorkum hastened to the city in order to administer the sacraments to them and was seized and imprisoned with the rest, Jacobus Lacops of Oudenaar, a Norbertine, who after leading a frivolous life, being disobedient to his order, and neglectful of his religious duties, reformed, became a curate in Monster, Holland and was imprisoned in 1572; Adrianus Janssen of Hilvarenbeek, at one time a Premonstratensian and parish priest in Monster, who was sent to Brielle with Jacobus Lacops; and lastly Andreas Wouters of Heynoord, whose conduct was hesitant up to the time of his arrest, but also ended in lethal martyrdom.

After enduring much abusive suffering in the prison at Gorkum (26 June-6 July) the first fifteen prisoners were transferred to Brielle. On their way to Dordrecht they were exhibited for money to the curious and arrived at Brielle 13 July. On the following day, William de la Marck, Lord of Lumey, commander of the Gueux de mer, had them interrogated and ordered a disputation. In the meantime the four others also arrived. It was exacted of each that he abandon his belief in the Blessed Sacrament and in papal supremacy. All remained firm in their faith. Meanwhile there came a letter from the prince of Orange, William the Silent, which enjoined all those in authority to leave priests and religious unmolested. Nevertheless Lumey had them hanged in the night of 9 July, in a turfshed amid cruel mutilations.