St. Anne Line: Fearless English Catholic Martyr {martyred 27th February 1601}

Hidden Catholic ^ | Lauren Heithaus

[Cronos]

If there’s an English martyr whose story deserves more attention, it’s St. Anne Line. She wasn’t a priest or a noblewoman, but an ordinary woman who showed extraordinary courage. Her life was full of sacrifice, danger, and ultimately, incredible faith. And the best part? You can still visit places in London connected to her inspiring story.

Anne Line (née Heigham) was born in Essex in the 1560s into a well-off Protestant family. But, like a true rebel (or maybe just someone searching for truth), she converted to Catholicism as a teenager. Her father, not exactly thrilled about this decision, disowned her. That would have been enough hardship for most, but Anne wasn’t done yet.

She married Roger Line, another Catholic convert, but their happiness was short-lived. Roger was arrested simply for attending Mass and exiled to Flanders – they would never meet again. Being an exiled Catholic, he received a small allowance from the King of Spain, which he sent a portion to Anne in England. He died in 1594. So, by her early twenties, Anne was a penniless Catholic widow in a country where her faith was illegal. And what did she do? She doubled down.

A Secret Mission: Hiding Priests in London Instead of laying low and despite chronic ill health, Anne became deeply involved in London’s underground Catholic network. These weren’t just small gatherings—Anne was running a full-on secret operation, making sure priests had safe places to stay and that Mass could still be celebrated in private homes. One priest, Fr. Mark Barkworth, later described Anne as a woman of “great comfort to Catholics.”

At one point, she ran a safe house for a Jesuit priest named Fr. John Gerard, who was a key figure in England’s Catholic Underground. After his arrest and escape from prison, she gave up managing the house and had to move because by then she was becoming well known and it became unsafe.

Arrest, Trial, and Legacy Anne’s work came to an end on February 2, 1601, when her safe house was raided during a secret Mass. There was a large crowd gathered for Candlemas and neighbors called the constable. The priest managed to hide, but she was arrested and thrown into Newgate Prison, where she was charged with the “crime” of harboring Catholic priests.

Anne was so weak from fever that she was carried to her trial in a chair. During her trial, instead of pleading for mercy, she boldly declared: “I am sentenced to die for harboring a Catholic priest, and so far am I from repenting for having so done that I wish, with all my soul, that where I have entertained one, I could have entertained a thousand.”

What courage! She was found guilty and sentenced to death. On February 27, 1601, Anne was taken to Tyburn and hanged. She was one of the very few female martyrs of her time.

In 1970, Anne was officially canonized as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Today, she is honored as the patron saint of widows and those who help persecuted Christians. Her feast day is February 27.

Anne Line’s bravery wasn’t about leading armies or fighting battles—it was about standing firm in her faith, even when the world was against her. And that’s why she remains one of the most inspiring figures in London’s Catholic history.

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TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; History
KEYWORDS:

[NorthMountain]

Thank you for posting.

“Faith of the martyrs, holy faith,
we will be true to thee till death.”
-Frederick William Faber

[an amused spectator]

Perfidious Albion.

Now, they’re gargling the packages of Paki wankers.

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

And it took our courageous bishops until 1979, 370 years, to muster the faith...that she had in spades.

Where DO we get such men.

[Cronos]

Oh, the Church survives and endures DESPITE her bishops. Looking at them historically one can say they are proof that the Church survives only through the grace of God as if it were just due to the actions of men.....