Forty martyrs of England and Wales;

by James Walsh

Paperback

About the author

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Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have become addicted to books and booklets from the Catholic Truth Society. I first really encountered them just over a year ago while doing research on a specific author. Since that time I have read and reviewed over 70 offerings from this publisher. There are many great books and many great series from CTS. This ‘Saints of the Isles’ series is one of my favourite series to date. This is the sixth book in this series from the Catholic Truth Society that I have read. I just love this series that focuses on the Saints of the Isles. It truly is inspiring, challenging, and encouraging to read about the Saints and Martyrs of the British Isles. I hold a religious studies degree, with a focus on Roman Catholic Thought, I had encountered saints from all over the world, and the great and lesser known saints of Europe. But this series is opening my eyes to Saints that are part of my heritage, saints from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. These are incredible books about amazing saints. It is a part of our history we need to be reminded of, and to be inspired by. But this book is different than any of the others in this series.

This book was compiled by Compiled by Father James Walsh, SJ, the Vice-Postulator for the Cause of the English Martyrs. It is a series of very brief introductions to the forty martyrs that were canonised by Pope Paul VI on the 25th of October 1970. Most of them are about one page in length. They are short, concise and to the point. They outline the individual’s background, conversion or ordination story, details of their arrest and trials, and their executions. They are:

Almond, John
Arrowsmith, Edmund
Barlow, Ambrose
Boste, John
Briant, Alexander
Campion, Edmund
Clitherow, Margaret
Evans, Philip
Garnet, Thomas
Gennings, Edmund
Gwyn, Richard
Houghton, John
Howard, Philip
Jones, John
Kemble, John
Kirby, Luke
Lawrence, Robert
Lewis, David
Line, Anne
Lloyd, John
Mayne, Cuthbert
Morse, Henry
Owen, Nicholas
Paine, John
Plasden, Polydore
Plessington, John
Reynolds, Richard
Rigby, John
Roberts, John
Roe, Alban
Sherwin, Ralph
Southwell, Robert
Southworth, John
Stone, John
Wall, John
Walpole, Henry
Ward, Margaret
Webster, Augustine
Wells, Swithun
White, Eustace

A few of these forty have books dedicated to them in this Saints of the Isles Series. These martyrs died because of a series of laws that banned and persecuted Catholics in England and Wales. There are others who suffered the same fate in Scotland. Those in this book were tried under several different laws and acts; from the act of treason, to acts specifically against the Jesuits. Most chapters focus on a single martyr. Except for the first chapter which profiles Saints John Houghton, Robert Lawrence, and Augustine Webster, as they were together martyred on May 4th 1535. They were the first to dies in this English Reformation. Much of this book is unpleasant to read, the tortures some of the people endured. Their brutal deaths. At times it is overwhelming. I am now almost done this book for a second time. And I have picked several of the Saints to research and find out more about.

I believe there are three printings of this booklet, 1970, 1972, and 1997, which ever version you can get your hands on it is worth the read! Reading the news about events in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, there are more martyrs today for being Christian or specifically being Catholic. In those cases it is not always the government or government sanctioned but it soon could be. This book will serve to remind us of those who have gone before us, and possibly strengthen us for what is yet to come. It is a book that will inspire, and hopefully also encourage and challenge.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by from the Catholic Truth Society.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2019 Catholic Reading Plan!