Richard Leigh
English martyr
Feast: 30 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Richard Leigh of Cambridgeshire was ordained in Rome in 1587 and came to England, where he was arrested and banished.
Returning, he was sent to the Tower in 1588 and condemned for being a priest. He was executed at Tyburn on 30 August 1588 with four laymen and a woman.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A young priest who came back to England to die for the Faith.
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
- Edward Shelley Blessed“In the same place there suffered martyrdom with her Blessed Richard Leigh, priest, and the laymen Edward Shelley and Richard Martin, Englishmen, John Roche, an Irishman, and Richard Lloyd, a Welshman, the first because he was a priest, the others for having given hospitality to priests.” — this site's research
- John Roche Blessed“John Roche was a layman who was put to death at Tyburn on 30 August 1588, under Elizabeth I, together with Richard Leigh, Margaret Ward, Richard Martin and others condemned with them.” — this site's research
- Richard Lloyd Blessed“In the same place there suffered martyrdom with her Blessed Richard Leigh, priest, and the laymen Edward Shelley and Richard Martin, Englishmen, John Roche, an Irishman, and Richard Lloyd, a Welshman, the first because he was a priest, the others for having given hospitality to priests.” — this site's research
- Richard Martin Blessed“Richard Martin was a layman who was put to death at Tyburn on 30 August 1588, under Elizabeth I, together with Richard Leigh, Margaret Ward, John Roche and others condemned with them.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Richard Leigh
- Wikidata Q7327329 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Richard Leigh (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.