William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford
English Royalist and Catholic martyr (1614-1680)
Feast: 29 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
William Howard, Viscount Stafford, grandson of St Philip Howard, was brought up a Catholic and lived happily with his large family, though troubled by family lawsuits.
Named by Titus Oates among the Catholic lords to be proscribed, he was tried before the House of Lords on perjured evidence and condemned by 55 votes to 31, most of his kinsmen voting against him. He was beheaded on Tower Hill on 29 December 1680.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Catholic nobleman condemned on false witness.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - William Howard
- Wikidata Q423078 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.