St John Rigby’s life is well-known to you. In 1600 while working as a steward for Sir Edmund Huddleston of Sawston Hall in Cambridgeshire, he was sent to the sessions house of the Old Bailey to plead illness as the reason for the absence of Sir Edmund’s daughter, the widow Mrs Fortiscue, who had been summoned on a charge of recusancy. He was then questioned about his beliefs and acknowledged he was a Catholic and did not attend Anglican services. He was sent to Newgate prison. The next day he confessed that he had been reconciled to the Catholic faith by Fr (now St) John Jones OFM who had been executed two years earlier. This act was treasonable; he could have left it to the prosecution to prove this fact but said the truth and implicated himself. The Jesuit Fr John Gerard in his autobiography writes that St John Rigby spoke of St John Jones, who had already been executed, as a way of protecting Gerard himself. Rigby and Gerard had probably met at Sawston Hall. He would also have heard of St Nicholas Owen because he had built a priests’ hiding-hole at Sawston. He was sent back to Newgate, and later to the harsh gaol of the White Lion Inn. Twice he was given the opportunity to recant and twice he refused. He wanted to stand up for faith and was ready to die for it.

It is recorded that he gave the executioner, who helped him onto the cart, a piece of gold saying, ‘Take this in token that I freely forgive thee and others that have been accessory to my death’.  He forgives like St. Stephen, and of course, Jesus. He is also well-known for his saying in reply to the question of whether he was married, that ‘he was a bachelor and a maid’ (and so recognising his stewardship and service). The sentence to death was carried out at St Thomas Waterings on the Old Kent Road on 21 June 1600. Being cut down too soon, he landed on his feet but was thrown down and disembowelled. Bishop Richard Challoner (1691 – 1781) comments that many said it was a very brutal and harsh death.

St. John Rigby’s life and death show his faith and courage lived in adversity, being ready to stand up for his Catholic faith – the papacy and the sacraments, and know that it was the most important gift he had received. Whilst his father outwardly conformed, his mother was probably a secret Catholic and he was brought up in the Catholic faith. There must have been some hesitancy which led to his reconciliation in 1598 but then he remained fervent and dedicated to the end. His example later brought his father’s reconciliation to the Catholic faith.

Jesus’ instruction in today’s gospel tells us not to fear the world but to savour what is eternal. The Father in his mercy knows the number of the hairs on your head, and the worth of even the sparrows of the earth. Jesus tells his friends, ‘Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.’ Such words must have given the young St John Rigby courage in his faith. He was also given courage by the examples of Catholics he met and who secretly lived their Catholic lives – his mother, the Huddleston family, Fr John Gerard SJ and St John Jones as well as St. Nicholas Owen. The faith was handed on and preserved by the complex network of families and priests who looked after one another for the sake of the Catholic Church. While we focus on the martyrs, we must also remember the fines, deprivations and losses which the recusant families suffered.

I am sure that St John Rigby would have known well the words of the second reading which invite trust in God. The confidence that St Paul has in the power of Christ shines through his suffering and persecutions, ‘For I am sure that neither death nor life, not angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height not depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Through his suffering, he identifies with the cross and knows the ultimate victory and triumph of the power of the cross over evil. St. John Rigby carries his cross in prison, on the executioner’s cart, to his death and imitates the hope of Christ on the cross who prayed ‘Into your hands O Lord, I commend my spirit’.

In a similar way the reading from the Book of Sirach, a Jewish text of wisdom, gives hope in suffering and the praise of God in adversity, ‘I looked for human help, and there was none. Then I remembered your mercy, O Lord, and your kindness from of old, that you deliver those who wait for you and save them from the hand of their enemies’. St John Rigbye waited in patience for his God to save him.

Today’s memory of St John Rigbye reminds us of the many Christians, our brothers and sisters, who continue to suffer for their faith today and face discrimination, persecution, suffering and death.

We continue to pray for freedom of conscience in faith and morals in our own country where Catholic doctrine often clashes with secular values; for example, healthcare professionals refusing to assist abortion, opposing assisted suicide, and challenges to family and the meaning of gender.

More globally, Aid to the Church in Need (2025)  quotes that up to 340 million Christians globally face high levels of persecution, discrimination, or cannot freely exercise their faith. This number is difficult to grasp but a stark reminder of the extent of the suffering of our brothers and sisters for the faith. Pope Leo said to diplomats at the beginning of this year, ‘Here, I would especially call to mind the many victims of violence, including religiously motivated violence in Bangladesh, in the Sahel region and in Nigeria, as well as those of the serious terrorist attack last June on the parish of Saint Elias in Damascus.  Nor do I forget the victims of jihadist violence in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique,’ .

More globally, across all religious faiths, Aid to the Church in Need reports that 62 countries are classified as experiencing either religious persecution or discrimination. Together, they are home to approximately 5.4 billion people, representing 64.7 percent of the global population. This means that almost two out of every three people worldwide live in countries where religious freedom is seriously restricted.

These infringements signal a broader assault on the rights enshrined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Today, this fundamental right is not merely under pressure, it is increasingly disappearing.