- William Weston (Jesuit)
William Weston (born at
Maidstone , 1550 (?); died atValladolid , Spain,9 June 1615 ) was an English Jesuit missionary priest.Life
Educated at
Oxford , 1564-1569 (?), and afterwards atParis andDouai (1572-1575), he went thence on foot toRome and entered the Society of Jesus, 5 November, 1575, leaving all he possessed toDouai College . His novitiate was made in Spain, and there he worked and taught until called to the English mission.There was not then a single Jesuit at liberty in the country. He reached England, 20 September, 1584, and receiving into the Catholic Church
Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel . Weston left an autobiography full of the missionary adventures. One salient feature was the practice ofexorcism s, at which a number of other priests assisted; and this movement made for a time a good impression. So far, however, as we can now discover, the subjects were not suffering fromdiabolic possession , but only fromhysteria (then called "mother"). Yet there is no reason to doubt the sincerity of the exorcists, for Catholics and Protestants alike were then credulous on this subject. The first to object to thesewitchcraft proceedings were the older priests. A recrudescence of persecution put an end to the exorcisms after a year, before any serious harm had ensued ("The Month ", May, 1911). The exorcists, almost to a man, were arrested and imprisoned, Weston amongst them (August, 1586). Many were executed.In 1588 the Government moved Weston and a number of other priests to the old ruinous
Wisbech Castle , where for four years their confinement was very strict. But in 1592 the prisoners were, for economy's sake, allowed to live on the alms supplied by Catholics, and for this much freedom of intercourse was permitted. The Catholic faithful came to visit the confessors, who on their part arranged to live a sort of college life. This was not accomplished without much friction.The majority with Weston (20 out of 33) desired regular routine with a recognized authority to judge delinquencies, e.g. quarrels and possible scandals. The minority dissented, and when the majority persisted, and even dined apart (February, 1595), a cry of schism was raised, and Weston was denounced as its originator, the pugnacious
Christopher Bagshaw taking the lead against him. In May, arbitrators (Bavant and Dolman) were called in,but without result, as one espoused one side, one the other. In October two more arbitrators,John Mush and Dudley, were summoned, and they arranged a compromise amid general rejoicings. The whole body agreed to live together by a definite rule (November, 1595). TIn the spring of 1597 the troubles of the
English College, Rome , spread to England, and led to a renewal of the "Wisbech stirs", which were soon overshadowed by theAppellant controversy . Weston took no part in this,as he was committed, early in 1599, to theTower of London , where he almost lost his sight.In 1603 he was sent into exile and spent the rest of his days in the English seminaries at
Seville and Valladolid. He was rector of the latter college at the time of his death. His autobiography and letters show a man learned, scholarly, and intensely spiritual, if somewhat narrow. A zealous missionary, he strongly attracted many souls, while some found him unconciliatory. Portraits of him are preserved at Rome and Valladolid.References
*John Morris, "Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers", II (1875), contains a translation of Weston, "Autobiography". The conclusion, which is there missing, is in "Catholic Record Society", I;
*Peralta, Puntos cerca la santa vida del P. Guillermo Weston (1615);
*MS. at Rome;
*Law, Jesuits and Seculars in the Reign of Elizabeth (1889);
*Bartoli, Inghilterra (1668);
*More, Historia provinciae anglicanae(1660);
*Pollen in "The Month " (July, 1912).
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