Ambrose Barlow

Ambrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B. (1585 – 10 September 1641) was an English Benedictine monk. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Early life and education

Ambrose was born at Barlow Hall, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near Manchester in 1585. He was the fourth son of the nobleman Sir Alexander Barlow (who was knighted on the accession of James I) and his wife Mary Brereton, who was daughter of Sir Urian Brereton of Handforth Hall and his second wife, Alice Trafford On the maternal side of his family, he was part of the wider Brereton family, who generally leaned towards the reformed faith. The paternal side of his family, the Barlows, had been reluctant converts to the Church of England following the suppression of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Ambrose's paternal grandfather died in 1584 whilst imprisoned for his beliefs, and his father had two-thirds of his estate confiscated for refusing to conform to the rules of the newly established religion. On 30 November 1585, Ambrose was baptised at Didsbury Chapel. His baptism entry reads "Edwarde, legal sonne of Alex' Barlowe, gent' 30". thumb

In 1597, at the age of twelve, Edward entered the household of a Protestant cousin, Sir Urian Leigh of Adlington, Cheshire, to serve an apprenticeship as a page. His cousin was the son of his maternal aunt, Sibila (Brereton) Leigh, the half-sister of Barlow's mother, Mary (Brereton) Barlow. Barlow adhered to the Anglican faith until 1607, when he converted to Roman Catholicism after a friend brought him back to Catholicism.

After completing his apprenticeship, Barlow realised that his true vocation was for the priesthood, so travelled to Douai in France to study at the English College there before attending the Royal College of Saint Alban in Valladolid, Spain. In 1613, on a visit to England, Barlow was imprisoned for his beliefs for several months; however, after being released, he returned to Douai in 1615, where he joined the community of English Benedictine monks at St. Gregory's (now Downside Abbey), where his brother Rudesind Barlow was prior. He became a member of the Order of Saint Benedict, taking the name Ambrose in place of his baptismal name of Edward. He was ordained as a priest in 1617. For twenty-four years, he laboured in south Lancashire, which, fortunately for Barlow, was not overly hostile territory for Catholics or their priests. Sir Thomas' grandmother had arranged for a pension to be made available to the priest, which would enable him to carry out his priestly duties amongst the poor Catholics within his parish.

From there, he secretly catered to the needs of Catholic 'parishioners', offering daily Mass and reciting his Office and Rosary for over two decades. Resembling Thomas More in his wit and mildness, Barlow was greatly loved by the poor, whom he also entertained at his house on the great feasts. To avoid detection by the Protestant authorities, he devised a four-week routine: he travelled throughout the parish for four weeks, then remained within the Hall for five weeks. He would often visit his cousins, the Downes, at their residence of Wardley Hall and conduct Mass for the gathered congregation. King Charles I signed a proclamation on 7 March 1641, which decreed that all priests should leave the country within one calendar month or face being arrested and treated as traitors, resulting in imprisonment or death. Ambrose's parishioners implored him to flee, or at least to go into hiding, but he refused. Their fears were compounded by a recent stroke which had resulted in the 56-year-old priest being partially paralysed. "Let them fear that have anything to lose which they are unwilling to part with", he told them.

Hagiography and relics

Challoner (see below) compiled Barlow's biography from two manuscripts belonging to St Gregory's Monastery, one of which was written by his brother Rudesind Barlow, president of the English Benedictine Congregation. A third manuscript, titled "The Apostolical Life of Ambrose Barlow", was written by one of his pupils for Rudesind Barlow and is in the John Rylands Library, Manchester; the Chetham Society has printed it.

Two portraits of Barlow and one of his father, Sir Alexander, are known to exist. There is another church dedicated to him in the Greater Manchester area, St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic church in Astley. Another church, Saint Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic Church, is dedicated to him in Hall Green, Birmingham.

Schools named after Barlow include St Ambrose RC Primary School, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, The Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Didsbury, St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Swinton near Manchester, St Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School in Netherton, Merseyside, and St Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary School in Hall Green, Birmingham. One of the boarding houses at Downside School is named Barlow in his honour.

An Oblate Chapter (association of secular Benedictines) of Douai Abbey, meeting at St Anne's Roman Catholic Church in Ormskirk, has Ambrose Barlow as its patron.