Mathew Flathers
English martyr
Who they were
Matthew Flathers of Yorkshire was ordained at Arras in 1606 and caught almost at once on the English mission. Condemned, his sentence was commuted to banishment.
He came back undaunted to minister in Yorkshire, was taken again, and refused his life at the price of the new Oath of Allegiance. He was executed with great brutality outside Micklegate Bar, York, on 21 March 1607, moving even the Protestant crowd to pity.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A young priest who returned from exile to die for his people.
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 - Matthew Flathers
- Wikidata Q6787013 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Mathew Flathers (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.