William Spenser
English Martyr
Who they were
William Spenser, a fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, was convinced of the Catholic faith and in 1582 left for Reims with other Trinity men. He was ordained in 1583 and sent to England in 1584.
He reconciled his parents and uncle to the Church, and voluntarily shut himself in York Castle to help the prisoners. Condemned merely for being a priest, he was executed at York on 24 September 1589.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A priest who went into prison by choice to serve the prisoners.
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 Spenser
- Wikidata Q8018655 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — William Spenser (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.