Edmund Gennings: The Hunted Priest

The Hunted Priest: Saint Edmund Gennings:

The Hunted Priest is the story of a 16th century missionary priest, Saint Edmund Gennings, who entered England in disguise after having been secretly trained as a Catholic priest abroad. He travelled England offering the outlawed Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and bringing the illegal Catholic Sacraments to the persecuted Elizabethan people of England while evading a great army of Elizabethan priest hunters and spies with the notorious Richard Topcliffe at their head.

His early life was one of grace and devotion; he converted to the Catholic Faith due to the example of his employer when he served in the house of a recusant Catholic as a page. His years in seminary were difficult due to his ill health and for a time he feared he would not fulfil his calling to the Sacred priesthood. His seminary companion was Saint Polydore Plasden who would be his friend and fellow English Martyr in England.

Saint Edmund Gennings showed special concern for his brother who had conformed to the Protestant religion but would convert to the Catholic Faith after Saint Edmund’s execution. Saint Edmund Gennings was only 24 years old when he was captured and arrested by Richard Topcliffe while celebrating Mass in a Secret Mass Room in the home of Saint Swithun Wells with Saint Polydore Plasden.

He was paraded through the London streets while still wearing his vestments and thrown in the Tower of London, suffering questioning, torture and confinement in a tiny cell where he could neither sit nor stand.

Yet he cheerfully accepted his death sentence and was a strong example of calm, peace and devotion as he stood beneath a make-shift gallows in front of the house of Saint Swithun Wells where he had been captured. Topcliffe especially despised Saint Edmund Gennings, infuriated by his youth and devotion and his Catholic priesthood. Saint Edmund Gennings was hanged, drawn and quartered on 10th December 1591 and is one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales.

Learn about the life, mission and witness of Saint Edmund Gennings, the Hunted Priest, in this film which has been internationally praised for not only presenting details, information and facts but a prayerful and spiritual film experience.

Length and Format:

The Hunted Priest: Saint Edmund Gennings runs for 30 minutes and is available worldwide on Region Free DVD.