The Catholic martyrs of England are men and women who died for the Roman Catholic faith in the years between 1534 and 1680. Certain of them have officially been recognised as martyrs by the Catholic Church.
Catholics in England and Wales were executed under treason laws. Legislation of the 16th century made treasonable refusing to assent to the royal supremacy over the Church that had been established by Henry VIII, or being or harbouring a Catholic priest. The standard penalty for all those convicted of treason at the time was execution by being hanged, drawn and quartered.
As early as the reign of Pope Gregory XIII (1572-85), authorisation was given for 63 recognised martyrs to have their relics honoured and pictures painted for devotion. These martyrs were formally beatified by Pope Leo XIII, 54 in 1886 and the remaining nine in 1895. Further groups of martyrs were subsequently documented and proposed by the bishops of England and Wales, and formally recognised by Rome:
- the 54 martyrs recognised as blessed equipollently on 29 December 1886
- the nine martyrs recognised as blessed equipollently on 13 May 1895
- the 136 martyrs beatified by Pope Pius XI on 15 December 1929
- the forty martyrs canonised by Paul VI on 25 October 1970
- the 85 martyrs beatified by John Paul II on 22 November 1987
- the 18 Carthusian Martyrs (some of whom are also among the groups of martyrs listed above)
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, catholic, martyrs, english and/or reformation:
“My list of things I never pictured myself saying when I pictured myself as a parent has grown over the years.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)
“Do your children view themselves as successes or failures? Are they being encouraged to be inquisitive or passive? Are they afraid to challenge authority and to question assumptions? Do they feel comfortable adapting to change? Are they easily discouraged if they cannot arrive at a solution to a problem? The answers to those questions will give you a better appraisal of their education than any list of courses, grades, or test scores.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“May they rest in peace.
[Requiescant in pace.]”
—Missal, The. Order of Mass for the Dead.
The Missal is book of prayers and rites used to celebrate the Roman Catholic mass during the year.
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)
“English literature is a kind of training in social ethics.... English trains you to handle a body of information in a way that is conducive to action.”
—Marilyn Butler (b. 1937)
“Go on then in doing with your pen what in other times was done with the sword; shew that reformation is more practicable by operating on the mind than on the body of man.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)