Tortured, Defiant, and Just 21

On 28th August 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada, a young Franciscan friar named Thomas Felton was hanged near Brentford, Middlesex.

Felton’s “crime”? His Catholic faith, and his refusal to acknowledge Elizabeth I as head of the Church.

The son of Blessed John Felton (executed in 1570 for posting the papal bull of Elizabeth’s excommunication), young Thomas endured brutal imprisonment and torture — confined in the Little Ease, flogged, and even hanged by his hands until they bled. Yet he refused to betray his faith or the priests who sheltered English Catholics.

He was just 21 years old when he went to the gallows — turning down a pardon rather than compromise his beliefs.

In this podcast, I, Claire Ridgway, historian and author, share the tragic yet inspiring story of Thomas Felton, and why his courage deserves to be remembered.

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