Forty Martyrs of England and Wales "Cuthbert Mayne and Thirty-Nine Companion Martyrs" | |
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Died | between 4 May 1535 (John Houghton and three companions) – 27 August 1679 (David Lewis), within England and Wales, many at Tyburn |
Martyred by | Monarchy of England |
Means of martyrdom | Two died in prison, one was pressed to death, the rest were hanged, drawn and quartered |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church 3 were also honored in the Anglican Communion |
Beatified | 11 were beatified on 29 December 1886 by Pope Leo XIII 29 were beatified on 15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI |
Canonized | 25 October 1970, Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, by Pope Paul VI |
Feast | 4 May (England) 25 October (Wales) Various dates for individual martyrs |
Attributes | Martyr's palm Knife in chest Noose in neck Book or Bible Crucifix Chaucible Eucharist Various religious habits Crown of martyrdom |
Patronage | United Kingdom |
Notable martyrs | Edmund Campion, S.J. Margaret Clitherow |
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The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales [1] or Cuthbert Mayne and Thirty-Nine Companion Martyrs are a group of Catholic, lay and religious, men and women, executed between 1535 and 1679 for treason and related offences under various laws enacted by Parliament during the English Reformation. The individuals listed range from Carthusian monks who in 1535 declined to accept Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy, to seminary priests who were caught up in the alleged Popish Plot against Charles II in 1679. Many were sentenced to death at show trials, or with no trial at all.
The first wave of executions came with the reign of King Henry VIII and involved persons who did not support the 1534 Act of Supremacy and dissolution of the monasteries. [2] Carthusian John Houghton and Bridgettine Richard Reynolds died at this time.
In 1570 Pope Pius V, in support of various rebellions in England and Ireland, excommunicated Queen Elizabeth, absolving her Catholic subjects of their allegiance to her. The Crown responded with more rigorous enforcement of various penal laws already enacted and passed new ones. The Treason Act 1571 made it high treason to affirm that the queen ought not to enjoy the Crown, or to declare her to be a heretic. The Jesuits, etc. Act 1584, the statute under which most of the English martyrs suffered, made it high treason for any Jesuit or any seminary priest to be in England at all, and a felony for any person to harbour or aid them. [3] All but six of the forty had been hanged, drawn and quartered, many of them at Tyburn. [4]
Following beatifications between 1886 and 1929, there were already numerous martyrs from England and Wales recognised with the rank of Blessed. The bishops of the province identified a list of 40 further names; reasons given for the choice of those particular names include a spread of social status, religious rank, geographical spread and the pre-existence of popular devotion. The list of names was submitted to Rome in December 1960. In the case of a martyr, a miracle is not required. For a martyr, the Pope has only to make a declaration of martyrdom, which is a certification that the Venerable died voluntarily as a witness of the Catholic faith or in an act of heroic charity for others.
The Archbishop of Westminster, then Cardinal William Godfrey, sent a description of 24 seemingly miraculous cases to the Sacred Congregation. Out of 20 candidate cases for recognition as answered prayers, the alleged cure of a young mother from a malignant tumor was selected as the clearest case. In light of the fact that Thomas More and John Fisher, belonging to the same group of Martyrs, had been canonized with a dispensation from miracles, Pope Paul VI, after discussions with the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints, considered that it was possible to proceed with the Canonization on the basis of one miracle. [5]
Pope Paul VI granted permission for the whole group of 40 names to be recognised as saints on the strength of this one miracle. The canonization ceremony took place in Rome on 25 October 1970. [6] [7]
In England, these martyrs were formerly commemorated within the Catholic Church by a feast day on 25 October, which is also the feast of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, but they are now celebrated together with all the 284 canonized or beatified martyrs of the English Reformation on 4 May. [8]
In Wales, the Catholic Church keeps 25 October as the feast of the Six Welsh Martyrs and their companions. The Welsh Martyrs are the priests Philip Evans and John Lloyd, John Jones, David Lewis, John Roberts, and the teacher Richard Gwyn. [9] The companions are the 34 English Martyrs listed above. Wales continues to keep 4 May as a separate feast for the beatified martyrs of England and Wales. [10]
William Gibson was a layman from Ripon in Yorkshire, England, a member of a noble Scottish family, who was executed at York for professing the Roman Catholic faith. He is honoured as a martyr by the Catholic Church.
Richard Reynolds, O.Ss.S was an English Bridgettine monk executed in London for refusing the Oath of Supremacy to King Henry VIII of England. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970, among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Cuthbert Mayne was an English Catholic priest executed under the laws of Elizabeth I. He was the first of the seminary priests trained on the Continent to be martyred. Mayne was beatified in 1886 and canonised as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales in 1970.
Augustine Webster, O.Cart was an English Catholic martyr. He was the prior of Our Lady of Melwood, a Carthusian house at Epworth, on the Isle of Axholme, in north Lincolnshire, in 1531. His feast day is 4 May.
John Houghton, OCart was a Catholic priest of the Carthusian order and the first martyr to die as a result of the Act of Supremacy by King Henry VIII of England. He was also the first of the Carthusians to die as a martyr. As one of the Carthusian Martyrs of London he is among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Alexander Briant, SJ was an English Jesuit and martyr, executed at Tyburn.
John Jones O.F.M, also known as John Buckley, John Griffith, Godfrey Maurice, or Griffith Jones was a Franciscan friar, Roman Catholic priest, and martyr. He was born at Clynnog Fawr, Caernarfonshire (Gwynedd), Wales, and was executed 12 July 1598 at Southwark, England. He is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
William Exmew, O.Cart was an English Catholic priest and Carthusian hermit. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn and is honoured as a martyr by the Catholic Church. Exmew and his brother Carthusian martyrs were beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 9 December 1886.
Richard Gwyn, also known by his anglicized name, Richard White, was a Welsh teacher at illegal and underground schools and a Bard who wrote both Christian and satirical poetry in the Welsh language. A Roman Catholic during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Gwyn was martyred by being hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason at Wrexham in 1584. He was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Since its creation in 1987, St. Richard Gwyn has been the Patron Saint of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham. Along with fellow lay martyr St. Margaret Clitherow, Gwyn is the co-patron of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.
The Douai Martyrs is a name applied by the Catholic Church to 158 Catholic priests trained in the English College at Douai, France, who were executed by the English state between 1577 and 1680.
Robert Lawrence, OCart was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn for declining to sign the Oath of Supremacy. His feast day is 4 May.
David Lewis, S.J. was a Jesuit Catholic priest and martyr who was also known as Charles Baker. Lewis was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. His feast day is celebrated on 27 August.
This page is an index of lists of people considered martyrs. A martyr is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a belief or cause as demanded by an external party. This refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of the martyr by the oppressor.
The Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales, also known as George Haydock and Eighty-four Companion Martyrs, are a group of men who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1584 and 1679. Of the eighty-five, seventy-five were executed under the Jesuits, etc. Act 1584.
The Carthusian martyrs are those members of the Carthusian monastic order who have been persecuted and killed because of their Christian faith and their adherence to the Catholic religion. As an enclosed order the Carthusians do not, on principle, put forward causes for their members, though causes have been promoted by others on their behalf.
During the English Reformation, a number of believers were executed at Lancaster in England as a consequence of their Catholic faith. They are commonly referred to as the Lancaster Martyrs and are commemorated locally by the Lancaster Martyrs Memorial Stone which may be found close to the centre of Lancaster city.
John Haile was an elderly secular priest who was vicar of Isleworth Middlesex in the early 16th century; his significance in history, like that of many of the English martyrs, begins only with the events which led to his death.
Nine Martyrs of England and Wales, also known as Hugh Faringdon and Eight Companion Martyrs are a group of clergy and laypersons who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England. Eight of these occurred in 1539, during the reign of King Henry VIII, and one other in 1572. They are considered martyrs in the Roman Catholic Church and were beatified on 13 May 1895 by Pope Leo XIII.
One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales, also known as Thomas Hemerford and One Hundred and Six Companion Martyrs, are a group of clergy and laypersons who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1541 and 1680. They are considered martyrs in the Roman Catholic Church and were beatified on 15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Penal Laws". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.