Saint Alban: “First of Britain’s sons to die”

England’s first martyr left behind no writings or foundations, yet his witness of faith and sacrifice has endured for more than sixteen centuries

Andrew Cusack

Now are the shades of evening falling upon the earth

R. Jared Staudt

The angelic man

David Hahn

The terrifying majesty of the angels

4 min read

SAINT OF THE WEEK: June 20 – Saint Alban

During the brief part of my education that took place in Argentina, I attended a splendid little school that considered itself an outpost of English civilisation. Named after St Alban, the school song described its patron as “Valiant soldier, noble martyr: first of Britain’s sons to die”. That is about as apt a summary of the life of Alban as you can get. We do not know a terrible lot about him, but his martyrdom around the year 300 – though possibly as early as 209 – was such that it has still left an imprint 16 centuries later.

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