James Bell
priest and martyr at Lancaster
Feast: 20 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
At Lancaster in England, Blesseds James Bell and John Finch, martyrs: the first, a priest, after twenty years spent in another confession, was reconciled with the Catholic Church at the urging of a devout woman; the other, a father of a family, a farmer and a catechist, endured for his faith many years of prison, hunger and other sufferings; both came together to everlasting joy under Queen Elizabeth I.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 20 April as a priest who returned to the Catholic Church after twenty years in another confession and was martyred at Lancaster under Queen Elizabeth I.
Connected on this site
- John Finch Blessed“John Finch was a layman who was put to death at Lancaster on 20 April 1584, under Elizabeth I, together with the priest James Bell.” — this site's research
- Roman Martyrology, 20 April (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q13522450 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.