© Lorem ipsum dolor sit Nulla in mollit pariatur in, est ut dolor eu eiusmod lorem 2013
John
was
born
into
a
well-connected
family
in
1579;
the
son
of
Sir
Walter
Ogilvie,
baron
of
Drum-na-Keith,
whose
father,
James,
had
been
Treasurer
to
Mary
Queen
of
Scots.
His
mother
was
Lady
Agnes
Elphinstone,
who
died
in
1582,
when
John
was
only
3
years
old.
The
family
tree
is
said
to
have
stretched
back
to
William,
King
of
Scotland,
and
Queen
Margaret,
herself
later
to
be
made
a
Saint.
Like
many,
the
Ogilvies
were
once
staunch
Catholics
but
the
Reformation
of
1560
had
changed
the
face
of
Scotland.
Just
20
years
before
John
Ogilvie’s
birth,
John
Knox
had
succeeded
in
switching
Scotland’s
state
religion
from
Catholicism
to
Calvanism,
later
known
as
Presbyterianism,
and
there
were
fierce
purges
to
stamp
out the Catholic faith.
The
saying
of
Mass
was
outlawed,
priests
were
banished,
and
anyone
suspected
of
being
a
Papist
could
be
thrown
into
prison.
Even
being
found
with
a
rosary
or
crucifix
would
lead
to
punishment.
And,
yet,
brave
souls
were
still
prepared
to
risk
danger,
imprisonment and death to practise their faith in secret.
Although
some
of
the
nobility,
particularly
in
the
northern
part
of
the
country,
may
have
retained
Catholic
leanings
few
were
willing
to
show
them
for
fear
of
losing
their
lands, their wealth, and their status. So, young Ogilvie was brought up a Calvinist.
Such
was
the
fear
of
the
influence
from
still
Catholic
Europe
that
permits
had
to
be
granted
for
travelling
abroad,
and
Sir
Walter
Ogilvie
obtained
one
for
his
son,
who
set
off
from
home
in
1592,
aged
13,
to
further
his
education,
his
experience
of
life,
so
he
would
be
better
equipped
to
play
what
his
father
hoped
would
be
a
prominent
role
in
Scottish
affairs
for
his
first
born.
He
travelled
with
his
Uncle
George
Elphinstone.
But
the path of life that John was to take was not the one that his family had planned.
He
travelled
widely
and
studied,
in
France,
Germany
and
Italy,
and
listened
to
scholars
both
Calvinist
and
Catholic
discussing
religion.
That
proved
a
source
of
inspiration,
and
at
the
age
of
17
he
converted
to
Catholicism.
It
was
the
first
of
many
brave moves.
We
can
only
imagine
the
torment
this
must
have
caused.
How
had
he
broken
the
news
to
his
family?
It
must
have
caused
him
great
anguish
and
led
to
all
financial
support to him being cut off. It is not thought he ever saw them again.
The Early Years
St. John Ogilvie
© Lorem ipsum dolor sit Nulla in mollit pariatur in, est ut dolor
eu eiusmod lorem 2013
St John Ogilvie
The Early Years
John
was
born
into
a
well-connected
family
in
1579;
the
son
of
Sir
Walter
Ogilvie,
baron
of
Drum-na-Keith,
whose
father,
James,
had
been
Treasurer
to
Mary
Queen
of
Scots.
His
mother
was
Lady
Agnes
Elphinstone,
who
died
in
1582,
when
John
was
only
3
years
old.
The
family
tree
is
said
to
have
stretched
back
to
William,
King
of
Scotland,
and
Queen Margaret, herself later to be made a Saint.
Like
many,
the
Ogilvies
were
once
staunch
Catholics
but
the
Reformation
of
1560
had
changed
the
face
of
Scotland.
Just
20
years
before
John
Ogilvie’s
birth,
John
Knox
had
succeeded
in
switching
Scotland’s
state
religion
from
Catholicism
to
Calvanism,
later
known
as
Presbyterianism,
and
there
were
fierce
purges
to
stamp
out the Catholic faith.
The
saying
of
Mass
was
outlawed,
priests
were
banished,
and
anyone
suspected
of
being
a
Papist
could
be
thrown
into
prison.
Even
being
found
with
a
rosary
or
crucifix
would
lead
to
punishment.
And,
yet,
brave
souls
were
still
prepared
to
risk
danger,
imprisonment
and
death
to
practise their faith in secret.
Although
some
of
the
nobility,
particularly
in
the
northern
part
of
the
country,
may
have
retained
Catholic
leanings
few
were
willing
to
show
them
for
fear
of
losing
their
lands,
their
wealth,
and
their
status.
So,
young
Ogilvie
was
brought up a Calvinist.
Such
was
the
fear
of
the
influence
from
still
Catholic
Europe
that
permits
had
to
be
granted
for
travelling
abroad,
and
Sir
Walter
Ogilvie
obtained
one
for
his
son,
who
set
off
from
home
in
1592,
aged
13,
to
further
his
education,
his
experience
of
life,
so
he
would
be
better
equipped
to
play
what
his
father
hoped
would
be
a
prominent
role
in
Scottish
affairs
for
his
first
born.
He
travelled
with
his
Uncle
George
Elphinstone.
But
the
path
of
life
that
John
was
to
take
was
not
the
one
that
his
family had planned.
He
travelled
widely
and
studied,
in
France,
Germany
and
Italy,
and
listened
to
scholars
both
Calvinist
and
Catholic
discussing
religion.
That
proved
a
source
of
inspiration,
and
at
the
age
of
17
he
converted
to
Catholicism.
It
was
the first of many brave moves.
We
can
only
imagine
the
torment
this
must
have
caused.
How
had
he
broken
the
news
to
his
family?
It
must
have
caused
him
great
anguish
and
led
to
all
financial
support
to
him
being
cut
off.
It
is
not
thought
he
ever
saw
them again.
