On 25 April 1641, Ambrose Barlow celebrated a secret Easter Sunday mass at Morleys Hall near Astley in Greater Manchester.
But, by the end of the service, the building had been surrounded by a 400-strong armed group led by a local vicar.
“King Charles I issued a decree stating that all Catholic priests must leave within a month…and if they didn’t, they would face the consequences of treason,” said the Right Reverend John Arnold, the Bishop of Salford.
King Charles I wanted to prove that he supported the Protestant faith while keeping his political enemies at bay as parliament were suspicious of his Catholic wife.
The congregation urged Ambrose Barlow to hide but Arnold said he refused and instead ordered the doors to be opened and surrendered peacefully.
“He didn’t make any attempt to avoid arrest,” said Arnold.
“He was really concerned for the safety of the people attending mass – about 150 of them.”