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Blessed Thomas Holford
Catholic priest martyred during the English Reformation
BlessedResearched
Feast: 28 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
1541
Died
28 August 1588
verified
Beatified
—
not on record
Canonised
—
not yet
Who they were
Thomas Holford was a priest who was put to death at Clerkenwell on 28 August 1588, under Elizabeth I. He was one of eight men condemned together who all suffered on that same day in different parts of London.
In 1913 the Catholic Encyclopedia counted him among the English martyrs whose cause had been admitted at Rome, who were then styled Venerable.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
One of the English martyrs who died for the Catholic faith under Elizabeth I.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - English Confessors and Martyrs (1534-1729)
- Roman Martyrology, 28 August (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q4926301 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Thomas Holford (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.