William Patenson
English Roman Catholic priest and martyr
Feast: 22 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
William Patenson was ordained at Reims in 1587 and sent to England. Surprised after saying Mass at Clerkenwell in 1591, he was condemned.
The night before his martyrdom he converted six of the seven felons in the condemned cell with him; for this he was cut down still conscious at Tyburn on 22 January 1592.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A priest who won condemned men to God on his last night.
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 - William Patenson
- Wikidata Q8016623 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — William Patenson (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.