Picture: KenBailey · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
William Way
English Catholic martyr
SaintResearchedPost-1588
Feast: 23 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
—
unknown
Died
23 September 1588
verified
Beatified
—
not on record
Canonised
—
not on record
Who they were
William Way, of Exeter diocese, was ordained at Laon in 1586 and came to England, where he was imprisoned by 1587.
Indicted for being a priest, he refused to accept the Protestant bishop or the queen as head of the Church and was condemned. Given to fasting and austerity, he wept when he was not among the first to be tried. He was executed at Kingston-on-Thames on 23 September 1588.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A priest eager to give his life for Christ.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - William Way
- Wikidata Q8020104 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — William Way (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.