Christopher Robinson (priest)

Christopher Robinson (died 19 August 1598) was an English Catholic priest and martyr, beatified in 1987.

Robinson was born at Woodside, near Westward, Cumberland. He was admitted to the English College at Reims in 1589, and was ordained priest and sent on the English mission in 1592. Two years later he was a witness of the condemnation and execution of John Boste at Durham, and wrote a graphic account. His labours seem to have been mainly in Cumberland and Westmoreland, though details are unknown.

Eventually he was arrested and imprisoned at Carlisle, by the Anglican Bishop John May. May's successor, Henry Robinson, who may have been a relative, did his best to persuade him to save his life by conforming to the Church of England. Under the anti-Catholic laws passed by Queen Elizabeth, which had outlawed Catholic priests from coming into the realm, he was condemned to death and executed.

He was beatified in 1987 by Pope John Paul II.

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