Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Teachers
Saint Richard Gwyn
Martyr († 1584) Feast: October 17
Richard Gwyn was born in Wales just when King Henry VIII was asserting control of the Church in England. Richard’s family was not wealthy, but he was a good enough student to study at Oxford and Cambridge. There he began to question his Protestant faith, so he quietly returned to Wales and became a schoolteacher.
He met and married his wife in the village of Overton-on-Dee, and they had six children. In his small town, it soon became obvious that Richard was not attending Anglican services each Sunday, as was required by law. As his private qualms about the Church of England became more public, he decided to become Catholic.
Richard was fined, imprisoned, and even put in the public stocks. Passersby ridiculed him. But Richard had a great sense of humor and laughingly poked fun at those who came to poke fun at him. One Sunday morning, six sheriffs brought him to an Anglican church, even though they had to physically drag him there, as most of the congregation chuckled. After being arrested eight times, he was no longer able to pay his fines, and the authorities bribed a witness so they could condemn him to death. When Richard was taken to the scaffold, he blessed his wife, forgave the executioner, and asked the pardon of anyone he had offended, particularly by his jokes.
Heavenly Father, give us a sense of humor
about our difficulties.
