Robert Johnson
Catholic priest and martyr (died 1582)
Who they were
Robert Johnson was born in Shropshire and entered the German College in Rome in 1571. Ordained priest at Brussels in 1576 for the English College of Douai, he went straight to England, and after a pilgrimage to Rome in 1579 returned again in 1580.
Arrested that July, he was taken to the Tower in December, cruelly racked and thrown into an underground dungeon, and condemned in November 1581. He was put to death at Tyburn on 28 May 1582 with Thomas Ford and John Shert.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
An English priest racked in the Tower and put to death at Tyburn in 1582.
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
- John Shert Blessed“He was put to death at Tyburn on 28 May 1582 with Thomas Ford and John Shert.” — this site's research
- Thomas Ford Blessed“He was put to death at Tyburn on 28 May 1582 with Thomas Ford and John Shert.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Bl. Robert Johnson
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - English Confessors and Martyrs (1534-1729)
- Roman Martyrology, 28 May (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q7346151 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Robert Johnson (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.