Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

Who were the 40 Martyrs?

The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales were a group of men and women who were tortured and executed for their faith during a period of anti-Catholicism from 1535 to 1679. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2473) defines a martyr as “a witness to the truth of the faith, in which the martyr endures even death to be faithful to Christ.” These martyrs were priests, religious, and lay people from England and Wales who did not seek martyrdom, but intimately knew Christ, and knowing Him in divine friendship, they were able to live out perfectly Christian virtue, even unto death.

“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” -Matthew 16:25

Resources

ZOOM GUIDE
Download the material that has been prepared (you will find the link at the bottom of this post. If you are unsure about using Zoom, you can find a simple guide here. Invite parishioners and friends to the Zoom meeting. Be relaxed and enjoy the opportunity for people to be together in faith. Welcome each person individually and ask them to introduce themselves to the group.

GROUP REFLECTION
A group reflection can be found here. This reflection was created using excerpts from the homily given by Pope Saint Paul VI at the canonisation Mass, at which the Archbishop of Canterbury and other members of the Anglican church were present. For the full text of the homily, click here.

FAMILY OBJECT LESSON
A family-friendly object lesson can be found here. This object lesson helps impart the lesson of putting God first, which may or may not be related to the 40 Martyrs. A parent can lead the lesson but the whole family can participate.

How To Facilitate

Assign different people to the various parts.

Begin with a prayer.

Suggested prayer:
Dearest Jesus, we thank You for the courage of the martyrs and for their witness of faith. We ask for their intercession, that we may always put You first in our lives. Amen.

Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by Daphne Pollen

Selected Biographies & Full List of Martyrs

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines a martyr as “a witness to the truth of the faith, in which the martyr endures even death to be faithful to Christ.” (CCC, 2473) Though a person should not seek martyrdom, the 40 Martyrs knowingly risked their lives in order to defend Catholicism in England. There are close to 300 martyrs from the Reformation period who have been beatified or canonised, such as St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, though they are not included among the 40 Martyrs. You are invited to read a few selected biographies and the entire litany of the 40 Martyrs below.

St. Richard Reynolds
Born in Devon and educated at Cambridge, St. Richard Reynolds joined the Brigettine order at Syon Abbey, Isleworth in 1513. He was martyred at Tyburn, near Hyde Park, after refusing to swear the oath within King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy.

St. Margaret Clitherow
A wife, mother, and pregnant when she was martyred in 1586. She was executed by being stripped of her clothing then crushed to death, being guilty of converting to Catholicism, harbouring priests, and allowing Masses to be celebrated in her house.

St. John Jones
Born in Clynog Fawr, Gwynedd, Wales, he traveled to Rome where he joined the Franciscans. He was ordained a priest and returned to England in 1592, fully aware that he would likely be killed for being a Catholic priest. He was eventually discovered and sent to the Tower of London. The hangman forgot his rope at the execution and St. John took the opportunity to preach to the crowd while they waited for the rope to arrive. He was then hanged, drawn, and quartered.

St. Nicholas Owen
A lay man and master carpenter, he famously constructed many priest holes in houses all over England (a priest hole was a very small hidden chamber which would be undetectable if the house was searched and raided by authorities). The number of priest holes is still unknown because St. Nicholas never revealed the number nor locations to anyone, despite being tortured to the point of death. St. Nicholas is also believed to have helped a priest escape the Tower of London.

St. Edmund Arrowsmith
As it was illegal to study for the priesthood in England, St. Edmund received his training in France. He secretly returned in 1613 and served the people of Lancashire until he was betrayed in 1628. St. Edmund’s joy at his execution confused the onlookers, with one man shouting, “"You've got to die, do you realize?" St. Edmund calmly responded, "So have you, so have you, my good man."

St. Margaret Ward
She helped a priest escape the Tower of London by sneaking him a rope then procuring a boat for him. St. Margaret was eventually found out, flogged, tortured to the point of paralysis, and then offered a release if she would convert to Protestantism. She refused, and was consequently hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn.

St. John Kemble
He was a priest who refused to go into hiding, “I'm too old now and it is better for me to spend the rest of my life suffering for my religion". He was caught, arrested, and executed at the age of 80. The executioner happened to be an old friend of his and was overcome with emotion and hesitated. St. John then encouraged him, saying "My good Anthony, do what you have to do. I forgive you with all my heart… I die only for professing the old Roman Catholic religion, which first made this kingdom Christian."

The 40 Martyrs of England & Wales
St. John Almond
St. Edmund Arrowsmith
St. Ambrose Barlow
St. John Boste
St. Alexander Briant
St. Edmund Campion
St. Margaret Clitherow
St. Philip Evans
St. Thomas Garnet
St. Edmund Gennings
St. Richard Gwyn
St. John Houghton
St. Philip Howard
St. John Jones
St. John Kemble
St. Luke Kirby
St. Robert Lawrence
St. David Lewis
St. Anne Line
St. John Lloyd

St. Cuthbert Mayne
St. Henry Morse
St. Nicholas Owen
St. John Payne
St. Polydore Plasden
St. John Plessington
St. Richard Reynolds
St. John Rigby
St. John Roberts
St. Alban Roe
St. Ralph Sherwin
St. Robert Southwell
St. John Southworth
St. John Stone
St. John Wall
St. Henry Walpole
St. Margaret Ward
St. Augustine Webster
St. Swithun Wells
St. Eustace White