John Southworth
English martyr
Feast: 28 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
John Southworth, of the Lancashire Southworths, was ordained at Douai and sent on the mission in 1619. Condemned in 1627, imprisoned and deported, he kept returning.
In 1636 he went often into the plague-stricken homes of Westminster to convert the dying. Arrested repeatedly, he finally insisted on pleading guilty to being a priest, and was executed at Tyburn on 28 June 1654.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle. Canonised among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Why that counted as sanctity
A priest who served the plague-stricken and would not deny his priesthood.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - John Southworth
- Wikidata Q3055096 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — John Southworth (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.