death_place death_date birth_place venerated_in birth_date article_title name beatified_date beatified_by
isle of wight 25 april 1586 lancashire roman catholicism circa 1560 robert anderton
 bl . robert anderton 1929 pius xi
robert anderton

robert anderton -lrb- c. 1560 -- 25 april 1586 -rrb- was an english roman catholic priest and martyr .
he has been declared ` blessèd ' by the roman catholic church .
his feast day is 25 april .
he was born in lancashire around 1560 .
he graduated from oxford university in 1578 .
shortly thereafter he went abroad and converted to roman catholicism .
he entered the college at reims in 1580 , and there met william marsden .
the two were ordained to the priesthood there .
upon finishing their studies , anderton and marsden set sail for england .
they were caught in a storm while crossing the english channel .
they prayed that they would be allowed to die on land rather than at sea .
they were driven ashore by the storm onto the isle of wight , and quickly seized by the local authorities .
in court , they pleaded that they had not violated the law by landing in england , as their landing was involuntary , being forced ashore by the storm .
this led to their being summoned to london , where they were given the opportunity to take the oath of supremacy , acknowledging elizabeth as the supreme governor of the church of england .
although they acknowledged elizabeth as their lawful queen in all secular affairs , they would not swear the oath .
as failure to take the oath was considered treason under the second act of supremacy , anderton and marsden were found guilty of treason .
the sentence was then confirmed , and a proclamation was published , explaining their guilt .
they were taken back to the isle of wight near the spot where they had landed and executed by hanging , drawing , and quartering on 25 april 1586 .
he was beatified by pope pius xi in 1929 .
