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William Carter
English Roman Catholic printer and martyr
BlessedResearchedKingdom of England
Feast: 11 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
1548
verified
Died
11 January 1584
verified
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
—
not yet
Who they were
William Carter, a London printer, served as secretary to the imprisoned Archdeacon Harpsfield and later set up his own press, printing Catholic books.
Imprisoned and racked, he was condemned for treason because a book he printed spoke of pious Judith slaying Holofernes, twisted into an incitement against the queen. He was executed at Tyburn on 11 January 1584.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A printer who died for spreading the Catholic faith.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - William Carter
- Wikidata Q357410 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — William Carter (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.