The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

 and related offences in the Kingdom of England

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

 between 1535 and 1679. They are considered by the Catholic Church to be Christian martyrs

Christian martyrs

A Christian martyr is one who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness."...

 and were canonized

Canonization

Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...

 on 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

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The Forty Martyrs, individually named

Saint John Almond Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Edmund Arrowsmith Saint Edmund Arrowsmith SJ is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. The main source of information on St Edmund is a contemporary account written by an eyewitness and published a short time after his death... Saint Ambrose Barlow Ambrose Barlow Ambrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B., was an English Benedictine monk who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.... Saint John Boste John Boste Saint John Boste is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, and one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Life:John Boste was born in Westmorland around 1544. He studied at Queen's College, Oxford where he became a Fellow. He converted to Catholicism in 1576... Saint Alexander Briant Alexander Briant Saint Alexander Briant was an English Jesuit and martyr, executed at Tyburn.He was born in Somerset, and entered Hart Hall, Oxford , at an early age... Saint Edmund Campion Edmund Campion Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn... Saint Margaret Clitherow Margaret Clitherow Saint Margaret Clitherow is an English saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. She is sometimes called "the Pearl of York".-Life:... Saint Philip Evans Philip Evans and John Lloyd Saints Philip Evans and John Lloyd were Welsh Roman Catholic priests, who died for their faith. They are both among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Father Philip Evans:... Saint Thomas Garnet Thomas Garnet Saint Thomas Garnet was a Jesuit priest. He is the protomartyr of Saint Omer and therefore of Stonyhurst College. He was executed at Tyburn and is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Thomas Garnet's family:Thomas Garnet was born into a prominent family... Saint Edmund Gennings Edmund Gennings Saint Edmund Gennings was an English martyr, who was executed during the English Reformation for being a Catholic priest. He came from Lichfield, Staffordshire. His name is sometimes spelled Jennings.... Saint Richard Gwyn Saint John Houghton Saint Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel Saint Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel was an English nobleman. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970, as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales... Saint John Jones

Saint John Kemble John Kemble (martyr) Saint John Kemble was an English Roman Catholic martyr. He was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Early years and ordination:... Saint Luke Kirby Luke Kirby Saint Luke Kirby was an English Catholic priest and martyr from the North of England, executed during the reign of Elizabeth I.... Saint Robert Lawrence Robert Lawrence (martyr) St. Robert Lawrence was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. After joining the Carthusians, he served as prior of the Beauvale Charterhouse, Nottinghamshire, at the time when King Henry VIII of England broke with Rome and launched the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Robert went with St... Saint David Lewis David Lewis (martyr) David Lewis was a Catholic priest and martyr. 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.- Early life :... Saint Anne Line Anne Line Saint Anne Line was an English martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I for harbouring a priest. She was born in 1567, the second daughter of Heigham, Esq., of Essex, a strict Calvinist, and was, together with her brother William, disinherited for converting to Catholicism... Saint John Lloyd Philip Evans and John Lloyd Saints Philip Evans and John Lloyd were Welsh Roman Catholic priests, who died for their faith. They are both among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Father Philip Evans:... Saint Cuthbert Mayne Cuthbert Mayne 'Saint Cuthbert Mayne was an English Roman Catholic priest and martyr of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.- Early life :... Saint Henry Morse Henry Morse Saint Henry Morse was one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Biography:Born a Protestant in 1595 at Brome, Suffolk, England, Morse converted to Roman Catholicism at Douai, 5 June, 1614, after various journeys was ordained at Rome, and left for the mission, 19 June, 1624... Saint Nicholas Owen Saint John Payne Saint Polydore Plasden Polydore Plasden St Polydore Plasden, one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. A native of London, he studied for the priesthood at Rheims and Rome and was ordained in 1586 before being sent back to England soon after.... Saint John Plessington John Plessington St John Plessington , also known as John Plesington, William Scarisbrick and William Pleasington, is one of the Roman Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.... Saint Richard Reynolds Saint John Rigby

Saint John Roberts Saint Alban Roe Alban Roe Saint Alban Roe was a Benedictine priest. He is remembered as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.... Saint Ralph Sherwin Ralph Sherwin Saint Ralph Sherwin was an English Roman Catholic martyr and saint. He was born at Rodsley, Derbyshire, and was educated at Eton College... Saint John Southworth Saint Robert Southwell Saint John Stone Saint John Wall Saint Henry Walpole Henry Walpole -Early life:He was born at Docking, Norfolk, in 1558, the eldest son of Christopher Walpole, by Margery, heiress of Richard Beckham of Narford, and was educated at Norwich School, Peterhouse, Cambridge, and Gray's Inn. Converted to Roman Catholicism by the death of Saint Edmund Campion, he went by... Saint Margaret Ward Margaret Ward Saint Margaret Ward was an English Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I for helping a priest to escape from prison. Her date of birth is unknown, but she was born in Congleton, Cheshire.... Saint Augustine Webster Augustine Webster Saint Augustine Webster was an English Catholic martyr.He was educated at Cambridge University. He became the prior of Our Lady of Melwood, a Carthusian house at Epworth, on the Isle of Axholme, in north Lincolnshire, in 1531... Saint Swithun Wells Swithun Wells Saint Swithun Wells was an English Roman Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I.Wells was born at Brambridge, Hampshire in 1536, and was christened with the name of the local saint and bishop Swithun. He was for many years a schoolmaster at Monkton Farleigh in Wiltshire... Saint Eustace White Eustace White St Eustace White, one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Born in Louth, Lincolnshire in 1559, he was a convert to Catholicism who travelled to Europe to study for the priesthood. He was ordained, probably at the Venerable English College, Rome in 1588, and returned to England for...

Liturgical Feast Day

In England, these martyrs were formerly commemorated by a feast day on 25 October, but they are now celebrated together with Beatified martyrs of England and Wales

Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales

The Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1584 and 1679...

 on 4 May.

In Wales, 25 October is kept as the feast of the 'Six Welsh Martyrs and their companions'. The Welsh Martyrs are the priests Philip Evans and John Lloyd

Philip Evans and John Lloyd

Saints Philip Evans and John Lloyd were Welsh Roman Catholic priests, who died for their faith. They are both among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.-Father Philip Evans:...

, John Jones, David Lewis

David Lewis (martyr)

David Lewis was a Catholic priest and martyr. 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.- Early life :...

, John Roberts, and the teacher Richard Gwyn. 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

Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales

The Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1584 and 1679...

.

See also

• List of Catholic martyrs of England
• English Saints and Martyrs of the Reformation Era, a Church of England
  Church of England
  The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
  
   commemoration-day for Roman Catholic and Church of England martyrs of the English Reformation
  English Reformation
  The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
  
  
• Catholic Church in England and Wales
• Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales
  Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales
  The Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1584 and 1679...
  
  , a list of eighty-five beatified by the pope to represent those executed during the English Reformation

External links

• Catholic Forum: Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
• Sermon of Paul VI on the occasion of the canonisation of forty martyrs from England and Wales, 25 October 1970 (largely in Italian)
• Description of each of the Forty Martyrs