Pedro Higgins
Peter Higgins
Feast: 30 October (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Peter Higgins was an Irish priest of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). He returned to Ireland in 1630 and became prior of the community at Naas.
He was arrested and led to execution, and before dying declared his innocence, recalled that he had helped many Protestants, and said he was condemned only for his faith. He then showed a letter from the King's deputy promising to spare his life if he gave up his faith, which he refused to do. He was put to death on 23 March 1642.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
An Irish Dominican prior who refused an offer of life in exchange for abandoning his faith; one of the Irish martyrs beatified in 1992.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Peter Higgins
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - beatification of 27 September 1992
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 84 (1992), pp. 391-394 - Decree on the martyrdom of Dermot O Hurley, Margaret Bermingham, Francis Taylor and 14 companions, 6 July 1991
- Wikidata Q21879800 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.