English Martyrs of 1895

The nine martyrs can be grouped according to their place of ministry and the circumstances of their testimony of faith: 1. The martyrs of Reading Abbey (1539): - Hugh Faringdon (born Cook): Last abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Reading. Initially close to King Henry VIII, he firmly opposed the spoliation and dissolution of his monastery by royal commissioners. Arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London, he refused to take the oath of royal supremacy. He was convicted of high treason and executed on November 14, 1539, before the gates of his abbey. - John Rugg: Priest and former prebendary of Chichester, retired to Reading Abbey. He was accused of having hidden a famous relic of the abbey (the hand of Saint Anastasius) to keep it from the king's agents, and of having denied the sovereign's spiritual authority. He was executed alongside Abbot Faringdon. - John Eynon (or Onyon): Priest of the parish of Saint Giles in Reading and Benedictine monk. He opposed the surrender of his parish to royal authorities and was executed with Hugh Faringdon and John Rugg on November 14, 1539. 2. The martyrs of Glastonbury Abbey (1539): - Richard Whiting: Last abbot of the prestigious and wealthy Glastonbury Abbey. A man of great piety and considerable influence, he refused to sign the act of surrender of his monastery. Arrested on a charge of treason, he was tried at Wells and sentenced to death. On November 15, 1539, he was dragged on a hurdle to the top of Glastonbury Tor, where he was hanged, disemboweled, and quartered. - John Thorne: Benedictine monk and treasurer of Glastonbury Abbey. He was executed alongside his abbot, Richard Whiting, on November 15, 1539. - Roger James: Benedictine monk and sacristan of Glastonbury Abbey. He suffered the same martyrdom as Richard Whiting and John Thorne on November 15, 1539. 3. The martyr of Colchester Abbey (1539): - John Beche (alias Thomas Marshall): Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint John in Colchester. He publicly expressed his doubts about the legitimacy of the oath of supremacy and defended the memory of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More. Refusing to surrender his abbey to the king, he was arrested, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and then convicted of high treason. He was executed at Colchester on December 1, 1539. 4. The Knight of Malta (1539): - Adrian Fortescue: Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (Malta), Knight of the Bath, and Dominican tertiary. A cousin of Anne Boleyn, he nonetheless refused to support the religious reforms of Henry VIII. Condemned without trial by an act of attainder of Parliament, he was beheaded at Tower Hill, in London, on July 9, 1539. 5. The lay nobleman (1572): - Thomas Percy: 7th Earl of Northumberland. Under the reign of Elizabeth I, he led the Rising of the North (1569) aimed at restoring the Catholic faith in England. After the failure of the revolt, he fled to Scotland where he was captured, then handed over to the English government. He refused to save his life by abjuring his Catholic faith and was beheaded at York on August 22, 1572.

Following the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850, an effort of historical research was undertaken to document the lives and deaths of Catholics executed during the Reformation. In 1874, the Archbishop of Westminster submitted to Rome a dossier containing 360 names. Pope Leo XIII formally introduced the cause of 254 of them. A first group of 54 martyrs was beatified by equivalence in 1886. For the second group, composed of these nine martyrs, historical research demonstrated the existence of an ancient and uninterrupted cult, notably attested by the paintings at the English College in Rome and the continuous veneration of Adrian Fortescue within the Order of Malta. The decree confirming their cult was approved by Pope Leo XIII.

The beatification (by confirmation of cult) of the nine martyrs was officially pronounced by Pope Leo XIII on May 13, 1895. They are celebrated collectively on May 4 with all the martyrs of England and Wales. They are also the subject of individual or sub-group liturgical celebrations on the anniversary dates of their martyrdom: July 9 (Blessed Adrian Fortescue), November 14 (Blessed Hugh Faringdon, John Rugg, and John Eynon), November 15 (Blessed Richard Whiting, John Thorne, and Roger James), August 22 (Blessed Thomas Percy), and December 1 (Blessed John Beche).

The spiritual legacy of these nine martyrs rests upon their witness of conscience in the face of state absolutism. The abbots and Benedictine monks of Reading, Glastonbury, and Colchester embody the fidelity of the English monastic tradition, preferring the destruction of their secular monasteries and torture rather than breaking with the Apostolic See of Rome. Blessed Adrian Fortescue left an intimate spiritual testimony through the maxims he had written in his own hand on the flyleaves of his book of hours, insisting on the love of God above all else and daily spiritual vigilance. As for Blessed Thomas Percy, he remains a model of fidelity for the laity, having sacrificed his titles, his lands, and his life so as not to deny the Church.