Blessed William Harcourt

Also known as: William Barrow
William Waring
Memorial: 20 June
Profile: Studied at the Jesuit College, Saint Omers. Joined the Jesuits at Wattan in 1632. Priest. Returned to England in 1644 to minister to covert Catholics. Worked in London for 35 years, using the names William Harcourt and/or William Waring. Jesuit superior for London in 1678. Arrested in May 1678, accused of being part of the Titus Oates Plot; lodged in Newgate prison. He, Blessed Thomas Whitebread, Blessed John Fenwick, Blessed John Gavan, and Blessed Anthony Turner went to trial on 13 June 1679, but since the verdict was already decided, and since the judge announced that no Catholic witness could be believed, they were all quickly convicted. Martyr.
Born: 1610 in Kirkham, Lancashire, England
Died: hanged, drawn, and quartered on 20 June 1679 at Tyburn, London, England
Venerated: 8 December 1929
Beatified: 15 December 1929
Canonized: pending if you have information relevant to the canonization of Blessed William, contact
   Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
   39 Eccleston Square
   London SW1V 1BX, UNITED KINGDOM
Additional Information: New Catholic Dictionary
Catholic Encyclopedia, by Sydney F Smith
Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
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