James Bell
priest and martyr at Lancaster
Feast: 20 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
At Lancaster in England, Blesseds James Bell and John Finch, martyrs: the first, a priest, after twenty years spent in another confession, was reconciled with the Catholic Church at the urging of a devout woman; the other, a father of a family, a farmer and a catechist, endured for his faith many years of prison, hunger and other sufferings; both came together to everlasting joy under Queen Elizabeth I.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 20 April as a priest who returned to the Catholic Church after twenty years in another confession and was martyred at Lancaster under Queen Elizabeth I.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Connected on this site
- John Finch Blessed“John Finch was a layman who was put to death at Lancaster on 20 April 1584, under Elizabeth I, together with the priest James Bell.” — this site's research
- Roman Martyrology, 20 April (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q13522450 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.