Litany of Saints
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Cuthbert Mayne

English Roman Catholic priest

SaintResearchedKingdom of EnglandPre-congregation

Feast: 30 November (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)

Born
1543
verified
Died
29 November 1577
verified
Beatified
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began

Who they were

Cuthbert Mayne, born near Barnstaple, was ordained a Protestant minister young and studied at Oxford, where he came to know Edmund Campion. Warned of arrest, he fled to Douai, was reconciled to the Church and ordained priest in 1575.

In 1576 he went on the English mission and lived with Francis Tregian in Cornwall, where he was arrested on 8 June 1577. After harsh imprisonment he was condemned, among other things for having said Mass, and executed at Launceston on 29 November 1577.

The miracles

As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.

Why that counted as sanctity

A convert who gave his life as a priest for the Faith he had found.

Connected on this site

  • Edmund Campion Saint
    “Cuthbert Mayne, born near Barnstaple, was ordained a Protestant minister young and studied at Oxford, where he came to know Edmund Campion.” — this site's research
  • John Payne Saint
    “John Payne was ordained at Douai in 1576 and came to England with St Cuthbert Mayne.” — this site's research
Sources

Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.

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