Edmund Sykes (born at

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

; executed at York Tyburn, 23 March 1587) was an English

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1987.

Life

He was a student at the English college at

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, where he was ordained 21 February 1581. He was sent to the English Mission on 5 June following.Whitfield, Joseph Louis. "Edmund Sykes." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 28 March 2016 Sykes worked in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, travelling around as a pilgrim for about three years when his health broke down. He worked primarily around Leeds, and it was there Arthur Webster, an apostate Catholic, took advantage of his illness to betray him. Sykes was committed to the York Kidcot by the Council of the North. He consented once to be present at a Protestant service; but he refused to repeat the act and remained a prisoner. After confinement for about six months, he was again brought before the council and sentenced to banishment. On 23 August 1585, he was transferred to Hull Castle, and within a week shipped beyond the seas. He made his way to Rome, where he was entertained at the English College, for nine days from 15 April 1586. He wanted to atone for his lapse by the pilgrimage, and he also entertained some thoughts of entering a religious order. He decided that it was God's will that he should return to the English mission, and reaching Reims on 10 June, he left again for England on 16 June. After about six months he was betrayed by his brother, to whose house in

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he had resorted, and was sent a close prisoner to York Castle by the council. He was arraigned at the Lent Assizes, condemned as a traitor on the score of his priesthood, and on 23 March 1587 was drawn on the hurdle from the castle yard to York Tyburn, where he suffered the death penalty. Bl. Edmund Sykes Parish, Leeds is named for him.Bl.Edmund Sykes Catholic Parish, Leeds
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References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **'Douay Diaries, Collectanea F', in Henry Foley, ''Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus'', III **'Diary of English College, Rome' in Henry Foley, ''Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus'', VI {{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Edmund 1587 deaths 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests English beatified people 16th-century venerated Christians Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales Year of birth unknown Clergy from Leeds

Life

See also

References