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Edmund
Campion was born on January 25, 1540 in
London, where his father ran a bookshop. Young Edmund was very talented and
did brilliantly, first as a schoolboy,
and later on as a student of St. John’s
College, Oxford. He was repeatedly
chosen to speak in the name of his
school and his college on formal public
occasions. After obtaining his doctorate he
lectured in Oxford with such eloquence
that even Queen Elizabeth went to hear
him and was taken up so much by his
elegance and forceful speech that he
became her favorite. Soon he acquired fame as a great
educationist and became one of the most
sougth-for lecturers of the famous
Oxford University.
However, he aimed at higher things
and he left for Rome on foot to join the
Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius
of Loyola, about the time of his birth.
He spent some time working in
Bohemia, then returned to London as part
of a Jesuit missions, crossing the
Channel disguised as a jewel merchant,
and worked with Jesuit brother Saint
Nicholas Owen. There he wrote a
description of his new mission in which
he explained that his work was
religious, not political; it became
known as Campion’s Brag. Widely
distributed, it encouraged many
Catholics to remain loyal to their
faith. It also led to Edmund’s arrest,
imprisonment and torture in the Tower of
London, and martyrdom.
Fr. Edmund Campion, the celebrated
patron of Campion Schools died most
gloriously being hanged at Tyburn,
London, on December 1, 1581.
Our school is dedicated to his name,
it is our earnest hope that the students
of our institution inspired by his
invincible courage and glowing faith
will walk in his footsteps and add
luster to his name. |