Saint Who?
Saints Who Exemplify Devotion
to the Christ Child
Saint Robert Southwell
Priest and martyr († 1595) Feast: February 21
“This little Babe so few days old/ Is come to rifle Satan’s fold;/ All hell doth at his presence quake,/ Though He Himself for cold do shake;/ For in this weak unarmed wise/ The gates of hell He will surprise.” Robert Southwell was born to a Catholic family in Elizabethan England. He was sent to study in Douai, France, at the college established with the help of exiled Catholic scholars from Oxford. He decided to join the Jesuits there, and was admitted to the order in 1578 in Rome. He was ordained a priest six years later.
Inspired by the martyrdom of Edmund Campion, Southwell volunteered for the English mission. He eluded capture for six years, during which time he wrote extensively, both poetry and prose. After his martyrdom at the age of thirty-three, his work became very popular in England. He is sometimes considered to have been a significant influence on Shakespeare.
Among his works are several beautiful poems about the Infant Jesus. There is “The Burning Babe,” which the playwright Ben Jonson admired tremendously. He also wrote “New Heaven, New War” and “New Prince, New Pomp,” both set to music in the Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten. His poem “A Child My Choice” concludes thus: “Almighty Babe, whose tender arms can force all foes to fly,/ Correct my faults, protect my life, direct me when I die!”
Heavenly Father, pour out upon all artists, especially those who serve the Church, the truth and beauty of expression which graced your martyr Robert Southwell.