A portrait of St. Nicholas Owen
St. Nicholas Owen
c. 1562 – 1606
Feast
March 22 · XVII c.
Patron of
Illusionists · Escape artists · English martyrs
Order
Religious / Jesuit Brother / Martyr
English Jesuit lay brother (c. 1562-1606), "Little John," carpenter who for over twenty years built scores of priest-holes in Catholic recusant houses, saving uncounted Catholic lives during the Elizabethan and Jacobean persecution. Captured after the Gunpowder Plot, tortured to death in the Tower. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized 1970 by Paul VI.
Life & Times
Born: c. 1562 · Died: 1606 · From: England.
Patronage
St. Nicholas Owen is invoked as the patron of illusionists, escape artists, english martyrs. Those in these callings or circumstances often turn to this saint in prayer.
Shop St. Nicholas Owen Products
Devotional items honoring St. Nicholas Owen, from our Sancta Lumina collection and beyond.
About Catholic Saints
Catholic saints, including St. Nicholas Owen, are Christians whom the Catholic Church has formally recognized as having lived lifes of heroic holiness and who now dwell with God in heaven, offering an example of faith for those still on their earthly journey. Catholics don't worship saints, but ask them to pray to God with us and for us — much as one might ask a trusted friend to pray for them — trusting that those closest to God can join their voices to ours before Him. Discover more saints in the Catholic Shop Saints section.