NBC's New Timeless Show - Priest Holes

Timeless is a new show on NBC, and the second season is expected to start in January. If you are trying to play catch-up, here is a short review of the first few episodes. A history professor, a scientist, and a soldier are teamed together to go back in time to try to stop a time-traveling criminal, Flynn, from changing the past, and ultimately the future. In the first three episodes, the team traveled to the Hindenburg disaster, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and to Las Vegas in 1962, when atomic tests were common. In all three episodes, Flynn was able to change history, which changed the future for all. Pay close attention to episode four, “Party at Castle Varlar”. It took place in Germany during World War II. The team of heroes dress in Nazi uniforms and go to Germany to ensure that history does not change. What makes this episode unique is the knowledge of Lucy, the history professor, and her recognition of a Catholic symbol from long ago. She recognizes the symbol and realizes that it’s a secret passage to sneak priests out when Catholicism was banned in Germany. She doesn’t go into depth about the passage, but she probably found what is called a priest hole. Catholic Priest often hid in priest holes. These holes were often led into a secret room to keep Priest and clergymen safe from persecution. Adolf Hitler was raised Catholic but went against the Church in adulthood. The Catholic Church faced persecution in Nazi Germany during this time and Catholic schools and organizations were closed. Churches, monasteries and convents were also closed, and Priests were sent to concentration camps.

Priest Holes originated around the 16^th century in England. During this time, most of Europe looked to the Catholic Church for spiritual guidance, even Kings looked to the Pope for their spiritual needs. This all changed when King Henry VIII asked for an annulment from his wife, who failed to bring forth an heir. The Pope refused the annulment, and the King broke away from the Church and started the Church of England. Henry’s son, Edward, helped turn England into a Protestant state after Henry’s death. Mary, Edward’s half-sister, eventually took England back into the Catholic Church, and those who refused to give up their Protestant beliefs were burned at the stake, which is where Mary got her nickname, “Bloody Mary”. Mary was succeeded by Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth wanted England to have its own religion. The Act of Uniformity forced everyone to conform to the Church of Englan, and if they did not, they were put into prisons. This is where the Priest holes came about. To keep Catholicism alive in England, Priests hid in safe houses marked with secret symbols leading to the Priest holes. These holes were in case there was a raid. They were usually built in fireplaces, attics, and staircases. The Priest holes were small with no room to hardly move. Not much food or water were in the holes, and oxygen was on short supply, so Priests often died from having to stay in the hole so long during a raid. More times than not, these Priest holes saved many lives of Priesst and Clergymen, trying to fight the Protestant Reformation.