John Plessington was a 17th-century English Catholic priest who was executed for violating laws against the presence of Catholic clergy in the kingdom. Born in Garstang, Lancashire, he received his education from the Jesuits and at seminaries in Spain and France. After his ordination in 1662, he returned to England to serve local Catholics in Cheshire and Holywell, often using the alias John Scarisbrick to avoid detection. He was eventually arrested during the Popish Plot period and executed in Boughton, Cheshire.
Life and death
Plessington was the son of a Royalist Catholic family, which led to persecution for both their political and religious views. Following his studies abroad, he served as a tutor and minister to hidden Catholic communities. In 1679, he was captured in Chester and sentenced to death. Before his execution, he defended the legitimacy of his priesthood by noting the historical links between Protestant bishops and the Roman Catholic Church.
Veneration and legacy
He was beatified in 1929 and later canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. His feast day is observed on July 19. He is remembered through a memorial in Chester and a school in Wirral named in his honor. Some human remains found in Wales are believed by some to potentially be his.