Michael Alford was born in London in 1587. He entered the novitiate at Louvain in 1607. he studied philosophy at
Seville and theology at
Leuven. Subsequently, he was assigned to be a minister to English gentry, merchants, and sailors in
Naples. From there he was sent to Rome. Around August 1621 he became
rector at the Jesuit college in
Ghent. Late in 1628 or perhaps the subsequent year, he was sent to the English mission. Thomas Campbell says that Alford's real name was Griffith, and that he passed as John Flood, the aliases being used to escape detection. Upon landing at
Dover he was mistakenly arrested on suspicion of being
Father Richard Smith,
Bishop of Chalcedon, for whose apprehension the government had offered a reward. A copy of Thomas s Kempis'
Imitation of Christ was found on his person, thus arousing suspicion of his being a priest. His captors conveyed him to London, "but as his person in no respect corresponded with the description of the bishop, he was restored to liberty through the mediation of
Queen Henrietta Maria". ==Notes==