In   the   years   after   his   death,   Father   John   Ogilvie   was   revered as   a   martyr   throughout   Europe,   wherever   his   storywas   told. The    Scripture    scholar    Cornelius    a    Lapide,    whohad    known Ogilvie   at   Jesuit   College,   wrote:   "It   is   clearfrom   the   account   of his   martyrdom   that   he   astonished   the   Calvinists,   for   although unconquered   by   torture   and   still   bold   and   ready   in   debate,   he opened not his mouth against his tormentors." In   a   testimony   in   1629   to   Catholic   Church   authorities   who were   considering   whether   John   Ogilvie   had   died   a   martyr, William     Sinclair,     an     Edinburgh     lawyer     who     had     been banished,   wrote   of   what   he   had   heard   from   fellow   prisoners and    others    who    had    witnessed    the    execution:    “I    know    for certain   that   he   persevered   in   his   Catholic   faith   up   to   the   last moment   of   his   life,   in   a   devout,   pious   and   steadfast   manner.   On the    night    before    his    death,    he    devoted    all    the    time    that    he possibly    could    to    prayer    and    spiritual    meditation,    and    they further   add   that   he   did   the   same   before   ascending   the   steps themselves,   calling   both   God   and   his   fellow   men   to   witness   that he    died    in    the    Roman    Catholic    faith.    His    piety    and    also    his constancy   were   proved   by   his   readiness   to   forgive   all   those   who had   trespassed   against   him   just   as   he   prayed   God   to   forgive   him, and   by   embracing   and   kissing   the   scaffold   and   finally   bidding the   hangman   to   be   of   good   heart   and   by   pardoning   him   also.   It is impossible that he did not die as a martyr..........” Following   the   Reformation,   the   Catholic   Church   had   almost died   out   –   but   it   stayed   alive   in   corners   of   Scotland,   not   least in    parts    of    the    North-east    and    especially    in    John    Ogilvie’s homeland   of   Banffshire.   At   Scalan,   in   Glenlivet,   a   seminary operated   from   1716-32,   producing   priests   who   headed   out   to all   parts   of   the   country   to   minister   in   secret.   These   brave men   were   following   in   the   footsteps   of   the   likes   of   Ogilvie. Scalan   had   been   attacked   and   burned   by   government   troops, but   the   staff   and   students   returned   from   hiding   to   rebuild and   prepare   to   set   out   to   keep   our   faith   alive.   In   the   latter half   of   the   1700s,   the   Penal   Laws   were   relaxed   and   in   1793 they   were   largely   abolished,   allowing   Catholics   once   again   to practise their religion openly and free of fear.