Richard Reynolds was a Bridgettine monk of the
Syon Abbey, founded in
Twickenham by Henry V. He was born in Devon in 1492, educated at
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and joined the Abbey in 1513.
Reginald Pole is quoted as saying that Reynolds was the only English monk well-versed in the three principal languages of
Latin,
Greek and
Hebrew. Dom Hamilton is of the opinion that as Reynolds was the most renowned spiritual counsellor of the
Syon community, he would have likely been consulted by
Elizabeth Barton, the Holy Maid of Kent, who had been executed at
Tyburn almost a year prior for speaking out against the king's marriage to
Anne Boleyn. Reynolds had previously arranged a meeting between
Elizabeth Barton and
Thomas More. It was his connection to Barton that particularly compromised Reynolds in the view of the Crown officers.
Robert Lawrence and
Augustine Webster (a monk of
Sheen Priory in
Richmond). All four were tried for the denial of the
royal supremacy. Against Reynolds, there was the additional charge of attempting to dissuade people from submitting to the king's authority. A witness claimed that Reynolds had stated that the "Dowager Princess" (
Queen Catherine) was the true queen. Reynolds denied that he had declared an opinion against the king, except in confession, as compelled thereto. The practice of suborning penitents to accuse their confessors was in vogue at that time. According to the book
The Angel of Syon, Reynolds said before his execution, "... after a sharp breakfast, they should have a sweet supper." Coincidentally,
Blessed John Sugar is recorded having said the same phrase before his execution in 1604, but the author of the book, Dom Adam Hamilton, is uncertain if it originated with Reynolds. ==Veneration==