Way, William, Bl.
WAY, WILLIAM, BL.
Priest, martyr; alias May, Flower; b. 1531, Exeter, England; hanged, drawn, and quartered at Kingston-on-Thames, Sept. 23, 1588. Following his ordination at Laon, France (Sept. 18, 1586), Fr. Way returned to England. He was arrested within six months (June 1587) and committed to the Clink. He was indicted for his priesthood at Newgate (September 1588), but declined to be tried by a secular judge. When he also refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the bishop of London and the supremacy of Queen Elizabeth in Church matters, he was condemned. He joyfully prepared for his martyrdom with fasting and mortification. Way was beatified by Pius XI on Dec. 15, 1929.
Feast: Feast of the English Martyrs, May 4 (England).
See Also: england, scotland, and wales, martyrs of.
Bibliography: r. challoner, Memoirs of Missionary Priests, ed. j. h. pollen (rev. ed. London 1924; repr. Farnborough 1969), I, 60. j. morris, ed., The Troubles of Our Catholic Forefathers Related by Themselves, 3 v. (London 1872–77), II, 234; III, 38. j. h. pollen, Acts of English Martyrs (London 1891) 287, 307.
[k. i. rabenstein]