CatholicSaints.Info

Memorial

• 24 September
• 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai
• 22 November as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales

Profile

Raised in an Anglican family. Studied at Trinity College, Oxford, England but left in 1580 and joined the Catholic Church in 1582. Studied at the seminary in Rheims, France. Ordained as a priest in the apostolic vicariate of England on 24 September 1583. Father William returned to England to ministery to covert Catholics on 29 August 1584 where he brought his family to the Church. For a while Blessed Robert Hardesty hid and supported him. William turned himself in to authorities in York for the crime of being a priest in England so he could minister to other prisoners. Martyr.

Born

• c.1555 in Gisburn, Lancashire, England

Died

• hanged on 24 September 1589 in York, North Yorkshire, England

Venerated

• 10 November 1986 by Pope John Paul II (decree of martyrdom)

Beatified

• 22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II

MLA Citation

• “Blessed William Spenser“. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 January 2022. Web. 25 April 2024. <>