Pope St. Paul VI declared, "In [St. Oliver Plunkett’s] pastoral activities, his exhortation had been one of pardon and peace. With men of violence he was indeed the advocate of justice and the friend of the oppressed, but he would not compromise with truth or condone violence: he would not substitute another gospel for the Gospel of peace. And his witness is alive today in the Church, as he insists with the Apostle Peter: ‘Never pay back one wrong with another’ (1 Petr. 3,9). O what a model of reconciliation: a sure guide for our day!"
By Kimberly Bruce
“He displayed such a serenity of countenance, such a tranquility of mind and elevation of soul, that he seemed rather a spouse hastening to the nuptial feast, than a culprit led forth to the scaffold.”
So observed John Brenan, the archbishop of Cashel, Ireland, of his friend and fellow archbishop, Oliver Plunkett (feast day: July 1), before he was martyred for the Catholic faith.
Though little known in this country, St. Oliver Plunkett (1625-1681), archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, is revered for rebuilding the Catholic Church in his homeland after the Calvinist ruler of England, Oliver Cromwell, set out to destroy it.
Revival of priesthood
Oliver Plunkett was born in 1625 in County Meath. Ordained to the priesthood in 1654 after studies in Rome, he was appointed by the Irish bishops to be their representative to the Holy See. He worked tirelessly to defend those suffering in the Church following the conquest of Ireland by Cromwell.
He returned to Ireland in 1670 as the newly-appointed archbishop of Armagh to find churches and seminaries destroyed, Church lands confiscated, and a lax priesthood. The latter was his first priority. He began by establishing new schools and seminaries for proper training. Becoming aware of abuses amongst the clergy, he dismissed clerics with questionable morals and character.
Addressing drunkenness among the clergy, he wrote, “Let us remove this defect from an Irish priest, and he will be a saint.”
Ordinations to the priesthood flourished. Meanwhile, as archbishop he confirmed more than 48,000 people in four years! He did this through great personal sacrifice, braving harsh weather and traveling great distances. He established a high school in Drogheda and filled it with 150 boys, 40 of whom were sons of Protestant nobility.
Saving souls
A man of mercy who sought salvation of souls and peace did something else quite extraordinary. The Tories, Catholic politicians who were banned from office and had their lands taken under Oliver Cromwell in Ireland under the Act of Settlement in 1652, went about plundering to support themselves. Anyone found harboring a Tory was to be executed; likewise, those who refused to shelter them found themselves killed by the Tories.
Archbishop Plunkett took it upon himself to seek the Tories out. Knowing their souls were in jeopardy, due to the life they were living and the fact that they induced fear amongst the Irelanders, he made it his mission to confront them, at great peril to his own life. His concern for their souls was not unlike St. Faustina’s for those she, too, worried about, as noted in her Diary:
I fervently asked the Lord to grant them grace, and the Lord answered me, I am granting them not only necessary graces, but special graces as well. I understood that the Lord would call them to a greater union with Him (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 401).
His companion, John Brenan, the archbishop of Cashel, said of Archbishop Plunkett:
During the twelve years of his residence here he proved himself vigilant, zealous, and indefatigable, nor do we find, within the memory of those of the present century, that any primate or metropolitan visited his diocese and province with such solicitude and pastoral zeal as he did, — benefiting, as far as was in his power, the needy; wherefore he was applauded and honored by both clergy and people.
Persecution
Anti-Catholic persecution struck hard again in Ireland in 1673. Priests were again exiled. Schools were closed. Archbishop Plunkett would not abandon his flock, and was forced to go into hiding. An order was out for his arrest. He went about in disguises to conceal himself. He often hid in places that were freezing cold, without even a chimney to warm himself, so as not to be discovered nor endanger those who harbored him.
Finally seized and thrown into Dublin Castle on Dec. 6, 1679, the archbishop was subjected to a completely perjurious trial with false accusations and false witnesses, saying he was involved in a plot to assassinate the new English king, Charles II, and wage war against English Protestants. He was found “not guilty” as no jury in Ireland would accept the testimony of such known-to-be liars.
Unbelievably and wrongly, however, his trial was then transferred to England! There he was sentenced, on July 1, 1681, to death for high treason by being hanged, drawn, and quartered for “promoting the Catholic faith.”
Before he died, he asked forgiveness of his sins and forgave his persecutors. Said the archbishop of Cashel, “Because he displayed such a serenity of countenance, such a tranquility of mind and elevation of soul, that he seemed rather a spouse hastening to the nuptial feast, than a culprit led forth to the scaffold.”
Archbishop Plunkett’s remains were ultimately transferred to a Benedictine monastery in Germany, but his head was given to the Dominican nuns in Drogheda. Pilgrims today visit this convent in remembrance of him and report many miracles through his intercession.
Peace and reconciliation
Oliver Plunkett was beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920 and canonized by Pope St. Paul VI in 1975. The Holy Father declared at his canonization:
In [St. Oliver Plunkett’s] pastoral activities, his exhortation had been one of pardon and peace. With men of violence he was indeed the advocate of justice and the friend of the oppressed, but he would not compromise with truth or condone violence: he would not substitute another gospel for the Gospel of peace. And his witness is alive today in the Church, as he insists with the Apostle Peter: ‘Never pay back one wrong with another’ (1 Petr. 3,9). O what a model of reconciliation: a sure guide for our day!
In 1997 St. Oliver Plunkett was made a patron saint for peace and reconciliation in Ireland. Today, in this turbulent world, may he truly guide us as individuals, in our communities, and in our nations to foster peace, charity, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
Saint Oliver Plunkett, pray for us!
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