William Southerne (executed at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 30 April 1618) was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1987.
Blessed
William Southerne
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Portrait in the Royal English College in Valladolid
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| Priest and Martyr | |
| Born | c. 1569 Ketton, near Darlington, County Durham, England |
| Died | 30 April 1618 (aged 48 - 49) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II |
| Feast | 30 April, 22 November, 29 October |
An alumnus and priest of the English College at Douai and the Royal English College, Valladolid, he was born at Ketton, near Darlington, County Durham, and ministered in Northumberland. He was sentenced to death for being a Catholic priest and refusing to take the oath of allegiance and was stripped, hung, drawn and quartered.
Some later accounts, such as Challoner's Missionary Priests (1741-2), give the place of execution as Newcastle-under-Lyme but they appear to confuse Blessed William Southerne with another priest of a similar name who ministered at Baswich, near Stafford, which then belonged to a branch of the Fowler family.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ven. William Southerne". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.