Children mark 400th anniversary of Jesuit martyr's death

On Monday 23 June, pupils at St Thomas Garnet School in Bournemouth will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the gruesome death of their patron saint with a special Open Air Mass and a concert by Anthony Adams - the country's best known Frank Sinatra impersonator who was runner up in the BBC TV talent show 'The One and Only'.

Thomas Garnet was the nephew of Father Henry Garnet SJ , Superior of the Jesuits in England for 20 years before being arrested and executed in the wake of the Gunpowder Plot.  Thomas became a Jesuit in 1604, shortly before the arrest of his uncle.  Thomas was arrested about the same time, imprisoned for 18 months in the Tower of London and then exiled.  He had never had anything to do with the Gunpowder Plot.  On his return to England he was arrested for being a Catholic priest and lodged in the Tower of London once again.  Even though Thomas Garnet was sentenced to be Hanged, Drawn and Quartered, he refused to allow himself to be rescued from jail and is reported to have gone to his death a 'happy man'; he is quoted as saying, 'On this day I am the happiest man alive'.  His bravery in refusing to renounce his faith so impressed the crowd at Tyburn that they pulled on his legs to kill him during the hanging process, so that he would not be alive for the subsequent butchery.

Thomas' execution took place at 9am on Thursday, 23 June 1608.  At 9am exactly 400 years later, St Thomas Garnet's School in Parkwood Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth will celebrate with an Open Air Mass in the school grounds conducted by three priests.  In the afternoon, there will be a concert featuring Anthony Adams.  Anthony, who has two children at the school, will honour St Thomas Garnet by singing the Frank Sinatra classic 'My Way'.


 St Thomas Garnet School