Almighty and eternal God,
to John Ogilvie you gave wisdom to defend his faith
and courage to face a martyr’s death;
mercifully hear our prayers
that we your children may reap a rich harvest of faith, hope and love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This Scottish Jesuit priest and martyr was canonized in 1976. He was a native of Banff, born in 1580, but converted to Catholicism on the Continent in 1596. In the now Czech city of Brno he joined the Jesuits in 1599, proceeding at their bidding to Vienna and then to Paris where he was ordained priest in 1610. He returned to Scotland in 1613 and travelled under the guise of a soldier or dealer in horses. Arrested in Glasgow, he was examined for treason by means of a list of questions apparently drawn up by James I (VI) himself, whom he recognized as King of Scotland but to whom he could not accede as a spiritual ruler. Found guilty, he was put to death in 1615.