Which Jesuit priest was executed for involvement in the Gunpowder Plot?

The Jesuit priest executed for involvement in the Gunpowder Plot was Henry Garnet.

Garnet was the Jesuit superior in England and opposed violent attempts to overthrow King James I. In 1605, the priest Oswald Tesimond told him about Robert Catesby’s plan to blow up the House of Lords. Garnet said the information had been revealed under the seal of confession, which prevented him from reporting it directly to the authorities.

Instead, Garnet urged Catesby to abandon the plot and wrote to his Jesuit superiors in Rome, warning against violence. After the conspiracy failed, Garnet spent weeks in hiding before being captured at Hindlip Hall in Worcestershire on 27 January 1606. He was tried for high treason and convicted.

Garnet was executed at St Paul’s churchyard in London on 3 May 1606. He was hanged, drawn and quartered, the standard punishment for treason, although the crowd pulled on his legs so that he was cut down before the full sentence could be completed. His guilt and knowledge remain subjects of historical debate.