St. Alban is considered the first British martyr, and his story dates back to the first centuries of the Church.

He was a prominent citizen of the Roman empire living in what is now England. Though he was a pagan, he sheltered a priest who was fleeing Christian persecution. During the priest’s stay, Alban was impressed with his faith, converted, and asked the priest for baptism.

Soon, the local authorities caught wind of the priest’s location, and went to Alban’s home. Alban helped the priest escape by switching clothes with him. When the soldiers arrived, they arrested Alban and took him to the judge.

The judge was furious that the priest escaped, and condemned Alban to torture and execution. It is said that the guard who marched Alban to his death was converted by the saint’s witness, and was also executed for professing his faith.

A church was built around St. Alban’s tomb in 429, and over the years a much larger church was built on the site. A famous Benedictine abbey named after St. Alban was also built there. This image of that abbey comes from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art on campus—it is part of the collection there as an image from the very early history of photography.

The icon of St. Alban above comes from Catholic.org and is used with permission.

St. Alban, the first British martyr who was killed for trading places with a condemned priest, pray for us!

Photo credit:

James Valentine (Scottish, 1815-1879), St. Alban’s Abbey, Hertfordshire, about 1868, albumen print. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Gift of John Horne, 1980.121.003.H.