Ralph Sherwin
English Roman Catholic martyr and saint (1550-1581)
Feast: 1 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Ralph Sherwin, a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, and an excellent scholar, fled abroad in 1575, was ordained at Douai in 1577 and studied at the English College in Rome. Setting out for England in 1580, he preached before St Charles Borromeo at Milan.
Imprisoned in November 1580, he converted many fellow prisoners. Racked in the Tower and laid out in the snow, he lay five days afterwards as if asleep before Christ on the Cross. Condemned on an absurd charge of conspiracy, he died bravely at Tyburn on 1 December 1581, his last words 'Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, be to me a Jesus!'
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A brilliant scholar and first martyr of the English College in Rome.
Connected on this site
- Charles Borromeo Saint“Setting out for England in 1580, he preached before St Charles Borromeo at Milan.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Ralph Sherwin
- Wikidata Q4523041 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Ralph Sherwin (priest) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.