Edmund Campion
English Jesuit priest, martyr and saint
Feast: 1 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Edmund Campion, son of a London bookseller, was born on 25 January 1540. A brilliant scholar and fellow of St John's College, Oxford, admired even by Queen Elizabeth, he left Oxford, was reconciled to the Church and studied at Douai, then walked barefoot to Rome to join the Jesuits. He was ordained at Prague in 1578.
He returned to England on the English mission with Fr Robert Parsons, strengthening wavering Catholics, winning Protestants and writing his famous Decem Rationes. Betrayed by a spy at Lyford Grange on 17 July 1581, he was executed at Tyburn on 1 December 1581, praying for 'your Queen and my Queen'.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A brilliant scholar who gave up every honour to die a priest for the Faith.
Connected on this site
- Cuthbert Mayne 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
- Henry Walpole Saint“Henry Walpole, born in Norfolk in 1558 and educated at Cambridge and Gray's Inn, was converted by the death of St Edmund Campion.” — this site's research
- Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel Saint“Hearing St Edmund Campion's disputations in the Tower was the first step in his conversion.” — this site's research
- Thomas Ford Blessed“Arrested with St Edmund Campion in 1581, he was tortured three times and condemned on an absurd charge of conspiracy.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Blessed Edmund Campion
- Wikidata Q547042 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Edmund Campion (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.