St John Ogilvie

Father Ogilvie was finally put on trial for treason on March 10, 1615, at the Tolbooth in Glasgow’s Square. Facing the charges, he declared that he would “die in defence of the King’s civil authority, but he could not obey him on spiritual matters”.

Two hours after the trial began, the jury found him guilty, and he was condemned to be hanged and quartered that afternoon.  Father Ogilvie spent three hours in prayer while the judges and jury went to lunch.  Then, at 4pm, the sheriff came to escort him from the Trongate to the public square for execution.  Holding the rosary, the Jesuit mounted the scaffold and prayed briefly.

A last-minute reprieve of his life and the promise of a substantial sum of money were refused. He declared his loyalty to the King, and made it clear he was dying "for religion alone", adding: "For that, I am prepared to give even a hundred lives."  Father Ogilvie threw his rosary into the crowd.  It struck a Hungarian merchant visiting the city, and became the instrument of his conversion. The hangman tied the priest’s hands, led him up the ladder and pushed him off. He did not die immediately, so the executioner grabbed his legs and pulled him down to end his agony.

The crowd murmured against the injustice of the execution, and instead of the body being quartered, it was spirited away to be buried secretly in a criminal’s plot on the outskirts of Glasgow.