William Southerne was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1987.

Life

An alumnus and priest of the English College at Douai, he worked on the English mission mainly at Baswich

Baswich

Baswich is an estate in the south eastern side of Stafford in the parish of Berkswich. It is situated next to Weeping Cross but should not be confused with Weeping Cross....

, near Stafford

Stafford

Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...

, which then belonged to a branch of the Fowler family. He was arrested while saying Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

, and committed by a neighboring justice to Stafford gaol.

He was immediately sentenced to death for being a Catholic priest and refusing to take the oath of allegiance

Oath of allegiance

An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...

. He remained in prison for six days after condemnation, while a hangman was found.