About Today
Monday 4 May 2026
Monday of the 5th week of Eastertide
The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: White.
Other saints: The English Martyrs
England
On 4 May 1535, at Tyburn in London, there died three Carthusian monks, the first of many martyrs of the English Reformation. Of these martyrs, forty-two have been canonized, and a further 242 have been declared Blessed; but the true number of those who died on the scaffold, perished in prison, or were tortured or persecuted for their faith cannot now be reckoned. The persecution lasted a hundred and fifty years and left a permanent mark on English culture: to this day Catholics continue to suffer certain minor disabilities under English law.
The martyrs celebrated today came from every walk of life. There were rich and poor; married and single; men and women. They are remembered for the example they gave of constancy in their faith and courage in the face of persecution.
From 2001, there are also celebrated on this day the forty martyrs of England and Wales who were canonized on 25 October 1970 and formerly celebrated on that day. They include Saints Cuthbert Mayne, John Houghton, Edmund Campion, and Richard Gwynn, as well as Saints John Roberts and Ambrose Barlow from the Benedictine monastery of St Gregory at Douay (now at Downside Abbey in Somerset),
Other saints: Saint Conleth (- 519)
Ireland
He was an Irish hermit and metalworker who was persuaded by St Brigid to act as priest for her monastic community in Kildare, and he became the first Bishop of Kildare in around 490. In 519 he set out on pilgrimage to Rome but was attacked by wolves in the forests of Leinster and died on 4 May 519. See the article in Wikipedia.
Other saints: The Beatified Martyrs of England and Wales
4 May (where celebrated)
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries innumerable men and women from England and Wales suffered persecution for the ancient faith of their country. Many gave their lives for the supremacy of the Pope, the unity of the Church, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Of these martyrs, forty-two have now been canonized. Some one hundred and sixty others have been declared Blessed, and their common celebration is kept on this day. The following have connections with Wales:
William Davies (b. in North Wales, probably Croes yn Eirias, Denbighshire, date uncertain; executed at Beaumaris Castle, 27 July 1593) was a Welsh Roman Catholic priest. There is a chapel in Anglesey built as a memorial to him.
Charles Mahoney (Mahony; alias Meehan) (b. after 1639; executed at Ruthin, Denbighshire, 12 August 1679) was an Irish Franciscan.
Richard Flower (or Lloyd), a Welsh layman, aged 22, executed at Tyburn, 1588.
Humphrey Pritchard, a Welsh serving man arrested with Thomas Belson in Oxford 1589, and executed there.
Roger Cadwallador (b. at Stretton Sugwas, near Hereford, in 1568; executed at Leominster, 27 August 1610) was an English Roman Catholic priest.
Nicholas Wheeler, seminary priest from Herefordshire, executed at Tyburn 1586, aged 36.
Other saints: Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis (1840 - 1912)
Canada
Other saints: St José Maria Rubio (1864-1929)
Other saints: Bl Angel Prat Hostench and Companions (d.1936)
Other saints: Bl. Emily Bicchieri OP (1238 - 1314)
4 May (where celebrated)
Feast of The English Martyrs
Today's days gospel: Matthew 10:17-22
At that time: Jesus instructed his Apostles: ‘Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.’
Reflection on the painting
Today we celebrate the Feast of the English Martyrs. Our painting, The Martyrs’ Picture, was painted in 1583 by Durante Alberti, shortly after the foundation of the Venerable English College in 1579, where the work still hangs today. It presents the Blessed Trinity above, with two great English martyrs below: Saint Thomas of Canterbury (on the left) and Saint Edmund, King of East Anglia (on the right). At the centre, a burst of divine light radiates behind God the Father, marked by a triangular halo, a symbol of the Trinity, more commonly seen in later Eastern iconography, sometimes bearing the inscription HO ON (“The One Who Is”). Christ, with arms outstretched, is held by the Father. His wounds pour blood down onto a map of the British Isles, a striking image of grace flowing into a land where so many martyrs shed their own blood, as Catholic priests were persecuted and put to death for their faith. Above, a cherub lifts the College motto: Ignem veni mittere in terram - “I have come to cast fire upon the earth.” Tradition tells us that students would gather before this image to sing the Te Deum whenever news arrived that a former student had been martyred back in England. Forty-four of those alumni have since been recognised as saints.
This painting belongs to a wider moment in the Church’s history, shaped by the reforms following the Council of Trent under Pope Gregory XIII. At a time when Catholics in England and Wales could no longer train for the priesthood at home, seminaries like the English College in Rome became lifelines; places where young men were formed in faith, knowing full well that returning home might cost them their lives. Originally a hospice for pilgrims,the building was soon transformed into a seminary under Jesuit care, sending priests back into a hostile environment where fidelity to the Catholic faith was often met with persecution and death. The painting is therefore not simply decorative: it is formative, a visual reminder of the cost of discipleship and the fire of mission.
The martyrs we honour today gave their lives in witness to Christ, living the words of the Gospel with the Spirit of the Father speaking through them. For many of us, the idea of laying down our lives for the faith feels distant. And yet, their witness is not confined to history. Even today, across the world, there are Christians who suffer and die quietly for their faith, unseen and unheard. They are the hidden martyrs of our own time. When Pope Paul VI canonised the English Martyrs in 1970, he recalled the words of Tertullian:
“The blood of Christians is the seed that is sown as it was with the shedding of Christ's own blood, so it is with the sacrificial offering of her Martyrs in union with His: a source of life and of spiritual fecundity for the Church and the entire world.”
The Martyr's Picture, Painted by Durante Alberti (1556-1623), Oil on canvas,Painted in 1581© The Venerable English College, Rome
Monday of the 5th week of Eastertide
The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: White.
Other saints: The English Martyrs
England
On 4 May 1535, at Tyburn in London, there died three Carthusian monks, the first of many martyrs of the English Reformation. Of these martyrs, forty-two have been canonized, and a further 242 have been declared Blessed; but the true number of those who died on the scaffold, perished in prison, or were tortured or persecuted for their faith cannot now be reckoned. The persecution lasted a hundred and fifty years and left a permanent mark on English culture: to this day Catholics continue to suffer certain minor disabilities under English law.
The martyrs celebrated today came from every walk of life. There were rich and poor; married and single; men and women. They are remembered for the example they gave of constancy in their faith and courage in the face of persecution.
From 2001, there are also celebrated on this day the forty martyrs of England and Wales who were canonized on 25 October 1970 and formerly celebrated on that day. They include Saints Cuthbert Mayne, John Houghton, Edmund Campion, and Richard Gwynn, as well as Saints John Roberts and Ambrose Barlow from the Benedictine monastery of St Gregory at Douay (now at Downside Abbey in Somerset),
Other saints: Saint Conleth (- 519)
Ireland
He was an Irish hermit and metalworker who was persuaded by St Brigid to act as priest for her monastic community in Kildare, and he became the first Bishop of Kildare in around 490. In 519 he set out on pilgrimage to Rome but was attacked by wolves in the forests of Leinster and died on 4 May 519. See the article in Wikipedia.
Other saints: The Beatified Martyrs of England and Wales
4 May (where celebrated)
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries innumerable men and women from England and Wales suffered persecution for the ancient faith of their country. Many gave their lives for the supremacy of the Pope, the unity of the Church, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Of these martyrs, forty-two have now been canonized. Some one hundred and sixty others have been declared Blessed, and their common celebration is kept on this day. The following have connections with Wales:
William Davies (b. in North Wales, probably Croes yn Eirias, Denbighshire, date uncertain; executed at Beaumaris Castle, 27 July 1593) was a Welsh Roman Catholic priest. There is a chapel in Anglesey built as a memorial to him.
Charles Mahoney (Mahony; alias Meehan) (b. after 1639; executed at Ruthin, Denbighshire, 12 August 1679) was an Irish Franciscan.
Richard Flower (or Lloyd), a Welsh layman, aged 22, executed at Tyburn, 1588.
Humphrey Pritchard, a Welsh serving man arrested with Thomas Belson in Oxford 1589, and executed there.
Roger Cadwallador (b. at Stretton Sugwas, near Hereford, in 1568; executed at Leominster, 27 August 1610) was an English Roman Catholic priest.
Nicholas Wheeler, seminary priest from Herefordshire, executed at Tyburn 1586, aged 36.
Other saints: Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis (1840 - 1912)
Canada
Other saints: St José Maria Rubio (1864-1929)
Other saints: Bl Angel Prat Hostench and Companions (d.1936)
Other saints: Bl. Emily Bicchieri OP (1238 - 1314)
4 May (where celebrated)
Feast of The English Martyrs
Today's days gospel: Matthew 10:17-22
At that time: Jesus instructed his Apostles: ‘Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.’
Reflection on the painting
Today we celebrate the Feast of the English Martyrs. Our painting, The Martyrs’ Picture, was painted in 1583 by Durante Alberti, shortly after the foundation of the Venerable English College in 1579, where the work still hangs today. It presents the Blessed Trinity above, with two great English martyrs below: Saint Thomas of Canterbury (on the left) and Saint Edmund, King of East Anglia (on the right). At the centre, a burst of divine light radiates behind God the Father, marked by a triangular halo, a symbol of the Trinity, more commonly seen in later Eastern iconography, sometimes bearing the inscription HO ON (“The One Who Is”). Christ, with arms outstretched, is held by the Father. His wounds pour blood down onto a map of the British Isles, a striking image of grace flowing into a land where so many martyrs shed their own blood, as Catholic priests were persecuted and put to death for their faith. Above, a cherub lifts the College motto: Ignem veni mittere in terram - “I have come to cast fire upon the earth.” Tradition tells us that students would gather before this image to sing the Te Deum whenever news arrived that a former student had been martyred back in England. Forty-four of those alumni have since been recognised as saints.
This painting belongs to a wider moment in the Church’s history, shaped by the reforms following the Council of Trent under Pope Gregory XIII. At a time when Catholics in England and Wales could no longer train for the priesthood at home, seminaries like the English College in Rome became lifelines; places where young men were formed in faith, knowing full well that returning home might cost them their lives. Originally a hospice for pilgrims,the building was soon transformed into a seminary under Jesuit care, sending priests back into a hostile environment where fidelity to the Catholic faith was often met with persecution and death. The painting is therefore not simply decorative: it is formative, a visual reminder of the cost of discipleship and the fire of mission.
The martyrs we honour today gave their lives in witness to Christ, living the words of the Gospel with the Spirit of the Father speaking through them. For many of us, the idea of laying down our lives for the faith feels distant. And yet, their witness is not confined to history. Even today, across the world, there are Christians who suffer and die quietly for their faith, unseen and unheard. They are the hidden martyrs of our own time. When Pope Paul VI canonised the English Martyrs in 1970, he recalled the words of Tertullian:
“The blood of Christians is the seed that is sown as it was with the shedding of Christ's own blood, so it is with the sacrificial offering of her Martyrs in union with His: a source of life and of spiritual fecundity for the Church and the entire world.”
The Martyr's Picture, Painted by Durante Alberti (1556-1623), Oil on canvas,Painted in 1581© The Venerable English College, Rome