William Freeman
Beatified English priest
Feast: 13 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
William Freeman of Yorkshire, from a recusant family, conformed outwardly for a time. Moved by witnessing the martyrdom of Edward Stransham in 1586, he went to Reims and was ordained in 1587.
He worked for six years in Warwickshire. Arrested in 1595, he refused friendly offers to escape, not wishing to lose the chance of martyrdom, and was executed at Warwick on 13 August 1595.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A man moved by a martyr's death to follow him.
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 Stransham Blessed“Moved by witnessing the martyrdom of Edward Stransham in 1586, he went to Reims and was ordained in 1587.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - William Freeman
- Wikidata Q8009423 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — William Freeman (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.