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ITI love documentaries about spies, espionage and covert ops. Today I want to tell you about one of the greatest underground smugglers you’ve never heard of: a guy named William Shakespeare. Yep, the same one!
Shakespeare was a Catholic through and through. Though he had to swear allegiance to the Protestant state religion, his plays are filled with nods to the original faith and subtle Catholic themes that were not lost on his audience. There are even records of his enemies outing him as an ardent papist who was given last rites at his death.
Near the end of his life, Shakespeare purchased blackfriar’s gatehouse just off the river Thames. It was a known safehouse for Catholic sympathizers, priests, and a port of entry for those persecuted by the crown. Shakespeare arranged private masses to be held there as well.
So when you’re watching Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet, think of Shakespeare answering a coded knock at the door for a secret mass or welcoming a boat full of Catholics under cover of night.
It’s okay to be Catholic.
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