St. John Ogilvie

Scotland's Only Canonized Post-Reformation Martyr

Son of a Scottish laird, John Ogilvie was brought up in a Calvinist family.

Sent to France to be educated, he ultimately converted to Catholicism. Becoming acquainted with the Jesuit Order, he requested admission, was accepted, and was ordained in 1610 in Paris.

After meeting two Jesuits who had undertaken clandestine missionary work in Scotland (since 1560 Catholicism was outlawed in the British Isles) he offered himself for the perilous mission. With orders to proceed to Scotland, he travelled under the name of John Watson, horse dealer.

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