CatholicSaints.Info

Memorial

• 21 June
• 25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

Profile

Lancashire gentleman. Raised Protestant but converted to Catholicism. Converted others, including his father.

Imprisoned at Newgate for his faith, and for refusing to acknowledge the Queen as head of the Church. Did time with Saint John Jones. Tortured and executed by order of Justice Guady for refusing to attend Protestant services. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

As part of the paperwork before his execution, he was asked his marital status. John replied he was “both a bachelor and a maid,” the latter apparently referring to his job as a servant in the household of the avid Protestant Sir Edmund Heddleston.

Born

• 1570 at Harrack Hall, Wigan, Lancashire, England

Died

• 21 June 1600 at Southwark, London, England
• his body was chopped up and scattered around Southwark

Venerated

• 8 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI (decree of martyrdom)

Beatified

• 15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Canonized

• 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI

Patronage

• bachelors
• torture victims

MLA Citation

• “Saint John Rigby“. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 November 2023. Web. 3 May 2024. <>