The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales (Welsh: Deugain Merthyr Lloegr a Chymru) comprise a group of Catholic men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679. Many were sentenced to death at show trials, or with no trial at all. This religious repression existed in part because faithful Roman Catholics were encouraged to rebel against the English Crown by papal bulls such as Pope Pius V's Regnans in Excelsis in 1570. They are considered by the Catholic Church to be Christian martyrs.
The martyrs
id="Canonization_process">Canonization process
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, and Catholics began to pray specifically to this group of martyrs to obtain favours from God. Out of 20 candidate cases for recognition as answered prayers, the alleged cure of a young mother from a malignant tumour was selected as the clearest case. 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.
Liturgical feast day
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.
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. 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.
See also
- List of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation
- List of Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation
- English Saints and Martyrs of the Reformation Era, a Church of England commemoration-day for all martyrs of the English Reformation era
- Catholic Church in England and Wales
- Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales, a list of eighty-five beatified by the pope to represent those executed during the English Reformation
References
External links
- Catholic Forum: Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
- Sermon of Paul VI on the occasion of the canonization of forty martyrs from England and Wales, 25 October 1970 (largely in Italian)
- Description of each of the Forty Martyrs
- Molinari, Paolo, S.J., "Canonization of 40 English and Welsh Martyrs", L'Osservatore Romano, 29 October 1970
- Cuthbert Mayne and 39 Companions: Martyrs of England and Wales
