And what of the Catholic laity of England? Their dedication to the Mass and the Catholic Church meant that they would be fined for not attending Church of England services, and as the fines increased, they could also be imprisoned and their property confiscated. There were some who did offer an outward compliance by...
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Now there are several plotlines to follow in the story of Catholics as they went underground during the reign of Elizabeth I, all of them connected to the celebration of the Mass (and the other sacraments). The first plotline concerns Catholic rebellion against the Elizabethan religious settlement—and government reaction to that rebellion once it...
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Henry VIII, after asserting his own supremacy over the Church in England and denying the authority of Pope, still attended the Catholic Mass celebrated by validly ordained priests. He defended the doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as sternly as he did his claim to supremacy. On July 30, 1540,...
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