John Forest was a 15th-century English Franciscan friar and provincial superior of the Observant Friars. Born in Oxford, he eventually served as the confessor to Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. Because he refused to recognize the king's supremacy over the church, he faced significant persecution during the English Reformation. After being imprisoned and writing a defense of papal authority, he was ultimately executed in London for heresy and high treason.
Life and death
Forest studied theology in Oxford before joining the Franciscan Order in Greenwich. He became a prominent preacher and defender of the Catholic Church, specifically opposing the King's divorce and his attempts to control religious institutions. Despite an initial recantation, he was re-imprisoned for his refusal to swear the Oath of Supremacy. He was eventually burned at the stake at Smithfield in 1538, making him the only Catholic martyr to die by fire during this period of the Reformation.
Veneration
He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 alongside fifty-three other English martyrs. His memory is preserved through various religious artworks, including a statue in St. Ethelreda's Church in London and a mosaic in Manchester. He is also depicted in stained glass windows in Cambridge and Shrewsbury Cathedral.