Blessed John Talbot
English Catholic recusant and martyr
Feast: 9 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
John Talbot was a married layman and lawyer born at Thornton-le-Street in England. With Blessed Thomas Palaser, a priest, and Blessed John Norton, he was condemned to death under Queen Elizabeth I for helping the priest, and he died on the gallows at Durham on 9 August 1600.
He is one of the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales whom John Paul II declared Blessed in Rome on 22 November 1987.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
An English layman who gave his life for sheltering a priest.
The cause
Blessed John Talbot has been beatified; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle: Blessed John Talbot.
Connected on this site
- John Norton Blessed“With Blessed Thomas Palaser, a priest, and Blessed John Norton, he was condemned to death under Queen Elizabeth I for helping the priest, and he died on the gallows at Durham on 9 August 1600.” — this site's research
- Thomas Palasor Blessed“He was condemned for being a priest and Norton and John Talbot for helping him; they could have saved their lives by conforming but would not.” — this site's research
- Conferenza Episcopale Italiana - Santo del giorno, 8 settembre (Martirologio Romano)
- Wikidata Q20713574 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — John Talbot (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.