John Sandys
English Beatified priest
Who they were
John Sandys was born in the Diocese of Chester. He came to Reims in June 1583, was ordained priest there in the Holy Cross Chapel of the cathedral by the Cardinal of Guise, and was sent on the English mission in October 1584.
He was executed at Gloucester on 11 August 1586. He was cut down while still fully conscious and suffered terribly at the hands of an executioner with a rusty, jagged knife, but his last words were a prayer for his persecutors.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
An English priest executed at Gloucester in 1586, praying for his persecutors.
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.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Ven. John Sandys
- Wikidata Q6256646 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — John Sandys (priest) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.