Venerable William Spenser

24 September is the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Venerable William Spenser, priest.

Fr. William was "born in the Craven district of York, . . .was educated by his maternal uncle, Horn, a Marian priest, at his benefice near Chipping Norton." He became a fellow of Trinity College, Oxford and eventually through study convinced himself of the truth of the Catholic faith. He left Oxford for Rheims were he was eventually ordained and returned to England as a priest. "His first care was the conversion of his parents, whom he contrived after much difficulty to meet in a field, disguised as a labourer, with the result that they were both reconciled." His uncle, also, through Fr. William's influence resigned his Anglican benefice and found a home in a Catholic household.

In the end, Fr. William was captured, tried, and convicted of being a priest. He was executed on the 6th anniversary of his ordination with the Venerable Robert Hardesty, a layman who had harboured him.

[Quotations are from Mementoes of the Martyrs and Confessors of England and Wales.]