Friday 26th September 2025
The Martyr-Saints of the North-West
Recordings of the five talks given by Mgr John Allen on the Reformation-era martyrs of the north-west region of England.
Born and brought up in Greater Manchester, Mgr John Allen trained for the priesthood at the Venerable English College, studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He served as archivist at the Venerabile and trained in the Scuola Vaticana di Paleografia e Diplomatica at the Vatican Archives. Present in St Peter’s at the opening of the Second Vatican Council on 11 October 1962, he was ordained priest that same month.
He has served in the diocese of Salford as curate and parish priest and for eighteen years was secretary to Bishop Thomas Holland. Pope St Paul VI appointed him a papal chaplain in 1977. In 1982 Pope St John Paul II named him a prelate of honour. Elected to the Old Brotherhood of the English Secular Clergy in 1999, he has been president since 2014.
Mgr Allen’s publications include The English Hospice in Rome (ed.), The International Eucharistic Congresses: A Spiritual Odyssey 1881-2016, Palazzola 1920-2020, A Popular History of the Salford Diocese and Pilgrims of Hope: Out and About in the Salford Diocese.
England, Salford and the Monasteries
This talk sets the scene with pre-Reformation England, the diocese of Salford and the state and function of the monastic communities.
Catholic Lancashire & the Reformation
A closer look at the particularities of Catholic Lancashire and the context in which its confessors and martyrs emerged.
Lancashire Seminarians and Priests
Examining Lancashire’s response to the Reformation, especially in terms of vocations to the priesthood.
Lancashire Catholic Families
Mgr Allen explores some of the stories of Catholic individuals and families who suffered for the Catholic Faith.
Then and Now: Witnessing to the Faith
Mgr Allen considers the lessons from the Protestantisation of England for the present time.