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St. Margaret Clitherow, c. 1553-1586
Margaret Clitherow was martyred under the Elizabethan persecution at the age of 33. She chose a more painful death to spare her family. In 1970, she was canonzied as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales. Here is the story of her life, her devotion to the Eucharist, and her staunch faithfulness to the Catholic Faith.
106 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 3, 2021
She was merely Blessed Margaret Clitherow when this book was first published in 1947 (my copy is 1948), her canonisation came in 1970. This was deserved if Margaret Munro’s book is anything to go by. She is of course very partial in her writing. The style is somewhat dated but it remains very readable and shocking. Married to a wealthy York butcher, ostensibly a Protestant, Margaret converted to Catholicism three years after her marriage. Mass was said in her home and she provided a hiding place for the priest. The young mother of four refused to plead when accused of illegally practising her religion, seen as a treasonous activity. The evidence against her was very weak and by refusing to plead she ensured that her children were spared from having to give evidence against her. However this meant a particularly horrible execution by being crushed, pressed to death under a heavily weighted door as opposed to death by hanging.
I read much of this on Good Friday and reflected on the similarities between her ‘trial’ and death and that of Christ’s. I subsequently read that Saint Margaret C. was put to death on Good Friday, 25th March 1586 , Lady Day and the first day of the new year, under the old calendar.
Her 2 sons subsequently became Catholic priests and one of her daughters a nun.
I read much of this on Good Friday and reflected on the similarities between her ‘trial’ and death and that of Christ’s. I subsequently read that Saint Margaret C. was put to death on Good Friday, 25th March 1586 , Lady Day and the first day of the new year, under the old calendar.
Her 2 sons subsequently became Catholic priests and one of her daughters a nun.
March 17, 2019
I loved this short little book. I had heard of Margaret Clitherow somewhere before. Even though I am Catholic, I really only knew very much about Saints Thomas More, John Fisher and Margaret Pole.
This was a later martyrdom under Queen Elizabeth.
If you love reading the biographies of the Saints this short one is excellent.
Indeed, I feel it is extremely inspirational!
This was a later martyrdom under Queen Elizabeth.
If you love reading the biographies of the Saints this short one is excellent.
Indeed, I feel it is extremely inspirational!
April 25, 2021
This was an excellent little book, and I am pleased to have picked it up. It is very detailed yet also succinct. I am grateful to have learned more about such a courageous saint.
April 18, 2021
A short biography (clocking in at around 100 pages with the intro), Margaret Monro concisely steps us through St Margaret's life and death in Elizabethan England. The writers does a good job detailing the wit, charity, and charm of the Saint, even in so brief a work.
Monro does tend to make certain assumptions without giving good reason (believing that St Margaret would have been older than others recorded, maintaining that she did not marry until 18 while some traditions put the age a few years earlier, as well as maintaining that the less sophisticated country priests were easily bamboozled by the Tudor church, while the city priests were better able to confront the spreading schism). But the great details of her life are related with ability - her family background, the Middleton's sympathies with the Church, her betrayal by a child, her bench "trial," the motivations for wishing to avoid a jury trial, her charity to Protestants, her undying devotion and cheer, and, lastly, her brutal 15-minute execution, whereby she was pressed to death beneath eight-hundred pounds of weight. Also startling is the fact that she may have been in the early stages of pregnancy at the time, which caused some to push for a stay in execution according to ancient custom. However, from sentencing to death was a scant 10 days, and the authorities declined to wait any longer.
St Margaret's body was recovered after execution, and hidden so well that it is lost to the public at the present time. The only relic remaining is a severed hand of the sainted martyr.
Monro does tend to make certain assumptions without giving good reason (believing that St Margaret would have been older than others recorded, maintaining that she did not marry until 18 while some traditions put the age a few years earlier, as well as maintaining that the less sophisticated country priests were easily bamboozled by the Tudor church, while the city priests were better able to confront the spreading schism). But the great details of her life are related with ability - her family background, the Middleton's sympathies with the Church, her betrayal by a child, her bench "trial," the motivations for wishing to avoid a jury trial, her charity to Protestants, her undying devotion and cheer, and, lastly, her brutal 15-minute execution, whereby she was pressed to death beneath eight-hundred pounds of weight. Also startling is the fact that she may have been in the early stages of pregnancy at the time, which caused some to push for a stay in execution according to ancient custom. However, from sentencing to death was a scant 10 days, and the authorities declined to wait any longer.
St Margaret's body was recovered after execution, and hidden so well that it is lost to the public at the present time. The only relic remaining is a severed hand of the sainted martyr.
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April 15, 2022Read during the three hours of silence on Good Friday in remembrance of the approximate time Christ died on the cross.
June 17, 2017
A beautiful little biography on the Saint. Concise and to the point. No pontificating or tangential nonsense. Just the facts, and enough explanation of them to understand context.
February 11, 2025
The story of Saint Margaret Clitherow is a heroic one. She was a faithful Catholic wife and mother living in Protestant, Elizabethan England. She came from a prominent family in York, as her stepfather was the Lord Mayor of York, and Margaret herself was well known and admired by Catholics and even some Protestants.
Margaret was denounced and condemned for “high treason” for having given shelter to priests in her house in York. At her trial she was humiliated and accused of all sorts of lies, including having been unfaithful to her husband. She accepted her condemnation with serenity and heroism. Her execution was a particularly gruesome and painful one. She was stripped naked, forced to lie down on the stone floor, a sharp stone the size of a fist was placed under her back, and a heavy wooden door was put on her body leaving her head exposed. On top of the door was placed hundreds of pounds of weights, crushing her to death. She died with the holy name of Jesus on her lips. Pope Paul VI canonized her in 1970 as one of the martyrs of England and Wales.
This short biography (just 80 pages) was written in 1946, but I don’t care for the style. The author includes too much of her own commentaries rather than letting the facts and the story speak for themselves. I find myself questioning some of the quotes she includes.
As an aside, my edition was published in 2003 by TAN books. It must be said that TAN, before they were bought by Saint Benedict Press in 2008, did a very poor job with the physical production of its paperback books. The binding is just a cheap glue that cracks and comes apart on the very first reading. It’s so frustrating, especially since the content of TAN books is usually very good. Thankfully, Saint Benedict Press, which owns the TAN imprint and continues to publish its rich collection of titles, has greatly improved binding quality.
Margaret was denounced and condemned for “high treason” for having given shelter to priests in her house in York. At her trial she was humiliated and accused of all sorts of lies, including having been unfaithful to her husband. She accepted her condemnation with serenity and heroism. Her execution was a particularly gruesome and painful one. She was stripped naked, forced to lie down on the stone floor, a sharp stone the size of a fist was placed under her back, and a heavy wooden door was put on her body leaving her head exposed. On top of the door was placed hundreds of pounds of weights, crushing her to death. She died with the holy name of Jesus on her lips. Pope Paul VI canonized her in 1970 as one of the martyrs of England and Wales.
This short biography (just 80 pages) was written in 1946, but I don’t care for the style. The author includes too much of her own commentaries rather than letting the facts and the story speak for themselves. I find myself questioning some of the quotes she includes.
As an aside, my edition was published in 2003 by TAN books. It must be said that TAN, before they were bought by Saint Benedict Press in 2008, did a very poor job with the physical production of its paperback books. The binding is just a cheap glue that cracks and comes apart on the very first reading. It’s so frustrating, especially since the content of TAN books is usually very good. Thankfully, Saint Benedict Press, which owns the TAN imprint and continues to publish its rich collection of titles, has greatly improved binding quality.
September 4, 2021
A secondhand account of the life of this ordinary saint of York, who was a mere housewife and yet attained holiness through her faithfulness in all small duties and love for her family.
It also appears that one of the opening lines that struck me most in the TV drama “Gunpowder” (2017)—a short series which re-presented the gunpowder plot from a pro-Catholic perspective—was originally said by this saint to the Protestant ministers who were presiding her execution for “treason” and begging her to pray with them to avoid the death sentence.
“I will not pray with you, nor shall you pray with me: neither will I say Amen to your prayers, nor shall you to mine.”
This ordinary saint’s heroic perseverance finally earned her the crown of martyrdom which the Protestant government tried very hard to refuse to grant. This short but lovely booklet accounts her whole life told by different sources and presented an ordinary housewife, with her merits and flaws, and her struggle to attain sanctity albeit amidst the persecution of Catholics in Protestant England. Her struggle still remains relevant to the contemporary Church Militant…
It also appears that one of the opening lines that struck me most in the TV drama “Gunpowder” (2017)—a short series which re-presented the gunpowder plot from a pro-Catholic perspective—was originally said by this saint to the Protestant ministers who were presiding her execution for “treason” and begging her to pray with them to avoid the death sentence.
“I will not pray with you, nor shall you pray with me: neither will I say Amen to your prayers, nor shall you to mine.”
This ordinary saint’s heroic perseverance finally earned her the crown of martyrdom which the Protestant government tried very hard to refuse to grant. This short but lovely booklet accounts her whole life told by different sources and presented an ordinary housewife, with her merits and flaws, and her struggle to attain sanctity albeit amidst the persecution of Catholics in Protestant England. Her struggle still remains relevant to the contemporary Church Militant…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2018
This Saint has definitely been a strong advocate for me to navigate the struggles of my business. I love her and this story gives me a good understanding of who she was.
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October 21, 2021Sad story
March 20, 2023
Inspirational, tragic, and made for self-reflection.
December 27, 2015
What a great Saint! So courageous and really knew what was important - getting to Heaven not pleasing others, including a government that imposes unjust laws. I only wish the book had a more details of her early life and her conversation (there's really nothing about that at all) although the author's explanation of many details being purposefully kept out of contemporary documents to protect others still living in danger at the time makes sense. I'm going to look for a longer bio of her life. She is truly an inspiration for our times.
June 23, 2014
This is one of my fave Saints. I had never heard of her before, but was so blessed and touched and inspired by her life, by what she'd gone through, her love for the Lord, what she went through and sacrificed, the great legnths she went through to make sure his children were reared in the Catholic Faith...and the great price she paid.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews