Thomas Cottam

Thomas Cottam (* 1549 in Lancashire, † May 30, 1582 in London, Tyburn ) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. Thomas Cottam was on December 29, 1886 by Pope Leo XIII. beatified, his feast is on December 1.

Cottam was born in 1549 in Lancashire, the son of Laurence Cottam of Dilworth and Anne Brewer. He studied at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he in 1568 the degree of Bachelor of Arts (BA ) acquired on July 14, 1572 and an MA degree. He then ran in London a grammar school. In London he met Thomas Pound, who converted him to Catholicism.

After his conversion from the Anglican to the Catholic faith he studied since 1575 in Douai philosophy and theology and became a deacon on April 8, 1579 Rome Jesuit. As a missionary, he wanted to go to the East Indies, but was due to his health condition considered unsuitable for this purpose, which is why he was sent to Douai and Reims. 1580 Cottam was ordained a priest and then sent to the mission to England.

June 1580 he went to Dover on land where he was betrayed by an English spy and arrested directly. He was first imprisoned in the Marshalsea, where he was transferred on December 4, 1580 in the Tower of London. On May 30, 1582, he was so executed along with other priests William Filby, Luke Kirby and Laurence Richardson in London on the gallows at Tyburn. All four were on December 29, 1886 by Pope Leo XIII. beatified.