Maurus Scott - Early Life and Conversion

Early Life and Conversion

Scott was born in Chigwell, Essex around 1579, and was baptised into the Church of England. He was sent to school in London, and entered the University of Cambridge during Lent term 1593-94. At first he joined Trinity College, however, after a year he decided to migrate to Trinity Hall, which at the time was particularly noted for its excellence in the field of civil law, which Scott described as "a branch of study which was more comformable with my disposition and interested me more". He received the degree of LL.B. in 1600, and proceeded to London and the Inner Temple to train as a barrister.

It was at this time that he began to seriously consider his religious faith. He had been firmly of the position that Catholicism and its claims were both false and treasonable, however, while visiting a Catholic friend, he began casually flicking through a book of theology and was struck by the force of an argument he read there. This caused him to enter into a period of intensive study and prayer, and it was only after two years of intellectual and spiritual struggle that he finally decided to be received into the Catholic Church.