Richard Langley
16th-century Roman Catholic martyr
Feast: 1 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Richard Langley, a Yorkshire gentleman with a wife, a son and four daughters, gave his energy and much of his fortune to helping persecuted priests, and built a hidden refuge for them.
Betrayed, he was seized in 1586 with two priests found in his house. He remained steadfast in his faith and was executed at York on 1 December 1586.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A gentleman who spent his fortune sheltering priests.
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 - Richard Langley
- Wikidata Q7327251 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Richard Langley (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.