04/05/2026
The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales were a group of men and women who were tortured and executed for their faith during a period of anti-Catholicism from 1535 to 1679. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2473) defines a martyr as “a witness to the truth of the faith, in which the martyr endures even death to be faithful to Christ.” These martyrs were priests, religious, and lay people from England and Wales who did not seek martyrdom, but intimately knew Christ, and knowing Him in divine friendship, they were able to live out perfectly Christian virtue, even unto death.
“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” -Matthew 16:25
