Day 288 -- Blessed William Exmew

Blessed William Exmew studied at Christ's College, Cambridge and was a classical scholar. He was a Carthusian monk at the London Charterhouse where he was the vicar of the house and worked with Blessed John Houghton. He became procurator of the house in 1534; his vicar was Blessed Humphrey Middlemore. On May 6, 1535 they were denounced as traitors for loyalty to the pope. They and Blessed Sebastian Newdigate were arrested, chained to posts in prison for a few days. They were then moved to the Tower of London. The three of them, with Saint John Fisher, were tried for treason on June 11, 1535 when they insisted the pope was the head of the Church. They were all condemned to death on June 19, 1535 in Tyburn, England.