History

At 17 Margaret attended the Slade School of Art in Chelsea. She continued her studies in Paris and met students of other nationalities, which gave her the opportunity for long discussions with them about life, religion and politics. She later returned to Oxford where she felt a strong urge to fight for improved educational opportunities for women. The suffrage movement had begun, but she saw many dangers in it.

An avid reader, Margaret always searched for the Truth. The turning point came for her after reading the writings of St John of the Cross. Having sought the advice of a priest friend, she decided to become a Catholic, and was received into the Church on 9 September 1897. After this she took an active part in parish life and became friends with Mary Miller, who had travelled widely in Europe doing research work on Catholic secondary education for girls. It was from Mary that Margaret learned about a new Catholic organisation in Germany, established as an alternative to the secular National Council of Women.

Margaret’s social action within the Church began with the launching of a quarterly called ‘The Crucible’. This was aimed at rousing the interest of teachers and schools to get better social education for women. It ran for eight years, and in one of its last issues came the proposal for a league of Catholic women.

This League became a reality in 1906 with Margaret Fletcher elected as its first president. She saw the League as the voice of Catholic women in the social questions of the time, supportive of the good in the feminist movement but opposed to its more radical demands. In the following years the League movement grew throughout England and America, and in 1910 twelve national Leagues formed the International Federation of Catholic Women’s Leagues.

CWL needed women with “balanced commonsense”, who would “utilise the average woman in convincing the Catholic world that business-like methods and intellectual gifts are excellent weapons in the service of God”.

Margaret Fletcher

In 1558 the Elizabethan era saw a return to Protestantism and equally harsh penalties for disobedience, with Catholics now on the receiving end. This was the world Margaret Clitherow grew up in. At the age of eighteen she married butcher John Clitherow, a widower with two small sons. The family lived in his house, the front room of which was the butchery — in the bustling Shambles in the centre of York.

It was around this time she started to explore Catholicism. After much soul searching, during which she “found no substance, truth nor Christian comfort in the ministers of the new church, nor in their doctrine”, she entered into the Catholic church.

Over the next few years Margaret continued to defy the authorities over non-attendance of services, which resulted in her spending time in prison, during which it’s believed she gave birth to her third child, William. On her release she immediately arranged, along with some of her neighbours, to have Mass said at her home and give priests any protection needed.

Two years later, in March 1586, a young Flemish boy, terrified by threats of a beating, told the authorities where the secret room housing the chapel was located. Margaret was arrested and taken to the headquarters for questioning. When she refused to capitulate, she was thrown into a cell in the Castle prison. Margaret’s fate had been sealed. Her husband and children were not allowed to see her, so she died without ever setting eyes on them again.

On Friday the 25th of March 1586, Margaret Clitherow was taken to the Tolbooth on Ouse Bridge in York, where a small crowd awaited to witness her execution. On being told to confess that she died for treason, she answered that she died “for the love of my Lord Jesu”.

She then lay on the floor. A stone was placed under her back, a heavy door laid on top of her, and her arms stretched out and tied to two posts. Margaret’s last words were “Jesu! Jesu! Jesu! have mercy on me!” She died 15 minutes later, though her body lay there until midnight when it was removed and buried in a city rubbish dump. It took her friends several weeks to find it, but when they did, they went to great lengths to keep secret the place where she was given a Catholic burial. Even today it’s not known where Margaret Clitherow was laid to rest.

Originally published in the Marist Messenger (abridged).