William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blessed William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford

Martyr
Born	November 30, 1614
Died	December 29, 1680, London, England
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	1929, Rome, Italy by Pope Pius XI
Feast	December 29
Attributes	Layman, Martyr
Saints Portal

Blessed William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford (November 30, 1614 - December 29, 1680) was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, and his wife, the former Alethea Talbot. He is regarded as a Roman Catholic martyr.

Lord Stafford supported the Royalist cause. In 1637 he married Mary, sister of Henry Stafford, 5th Baron Stafford, and was allowed to take the title of Baron Stafford when the male line of his wife's family died out, whilst Mary became Baroness in her own right. He was raised to a viscountcy by King Charles I in 1640. In 1642, he went into exile with the royal family. Throughout the decade following his father's death in 1646, he was involved in financial wrangling with the rest of his family. In 1678, he was implicated in the Popish Plot fabricated by anti-Catholics during the reign of King Charles II, and was sent to the Tower of London. He was later falsely convicted of treason and executed. The viscountcy was never revived.