Laurence Humphreys
English Catholic martyr
Feast: 7 July (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Laurence Humphreys was a layman from Hampshire, England, who left heresy and became a Catholic. In 1591 he was hanged and cut down with the knife for his faith.
Pius XI declared him Blessed among the martyrs of England on 15 December 1929.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
An English convert who died for the Catholic faith in 1591.
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.
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 22 (1930), p. 14 - Apostolic letter of Pius XI declaring Thomas Hemerford and companions, martyrs of England, Blessed, 15 December 1929
- Wikidata Q6500656 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Laurence Humphreys (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.