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Here in the Welsh calendar St. Margaret Mary shares the day with St. Richard Gwyn.Born in Llandiloes, he spent time at Oxford and Cambridge. His education was interrupted when his sponsor Dr. Bulloch was dismissed from the university after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I (because he was a Catholic...)
Gwyn returned to Wales as a schoolteacher in the Wrexham area, married Catherine and had 6 children with her.
Under pressure he attended a Protestant service but was harangued by crows as he left the door! He suffered such a troubled conscience that he fell ill. After being reconciled to the Catholic Church, he grew in his faith and in his stature as a schoolteacher. He had to move school and home several times to avoid fines and arrest for his Catholic faith.
Eventually, he was caught and taken in chains to a Protestant service. During the sermon he rattled his chains so loud that the preacher could not be heard! Another time a Protestant minister came to his cell and dangled some keys in his face, whilst claiming to have the same 'powers of the keys' as did St. Peter. Gwyn wittily replied 'There is this difference, namely, that whereas Peter recieved the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, the keys you received were obviously only those of the beer cellar!'
St. Richard Gwyn was hanged, drawn and quartered for the One True, Holy and Apostolic Catholic Faith in the Beast Market at Wrexham in 1584. His last words were spoken in Welsh;'Iesu, trugarha wrthyf - Jesus have Mercy on Me.'
What a great Welsh saint to pray for us in our present trials and battles - and what a glorious example of why and how we must keep the faith and not compromise with false teaching, evil or sin. We must have Christ in our hearts who brings us that deep sense of love, hope and joy.
St. Richard Gwyn - Holy Martyr of Wales - Pray for the reconversion of Wales and all of Great Britain back to Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church!
