John Payne
English Catholic priest and martyr
Feast: 2 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
John Payne was ordained at Douai in 1576 and came to England with St Cuthbert Mayne. He lived mostly with Lady Petre at Ingatestone in Essex, and reconciled and sent to Douai a deacon who became a priest.
Arrested in 1581 through the spy Eliot, who falsely accused him of plotting to kill the queen, he was racked twice in the Tower. Condemned at Chelmsford without any proof, he was executed there on 2 April 1582; the crowd would not let him be cut down alive.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A priest condemned on a false charge who died for the Faith.
Connected on this site
- Cuthbert Mayne Saint“John Payne was ordained at Douai in 1576 and came to England with St Cuthbert Mayne.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - John Payne
- Wikidata Q3809536 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — John Payne (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.