Roman martyrology:  In London, England, St. Alban Roe, of the Order of St. Benedict and forty other martyrs during the reign of Charles I gave their lives for Christ, being hanged in Tyburn after spending years in jail. (1642).

Canonization date:  October 25, 1970 by Pope Paul VI

SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Alban born on 1583 in Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Convert to Catholicism. Studied at the English College at Douai, France, but was dismissed for an infraction of discipline. Benedictine priest in 1612 at Dieulouard, France. Missionary to England. He was arrested and exiled in 1615 for his work. Returning to England in 1618, he was arrested again. He sat in prison until 1623 when the Spanish ambassador obtained his release on condition that Alban leave England.

Soon after, Alban returned to his homeland and continued his covert ministry. Arrested again in 1625, he lay in prison for 17 years before being tried and condemned to death for the crime of priesthood. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, dying with Blessed Thomas Reynolds.
He was hanged, drawn, and quartered on  January 21, 1642 at Tyburn, London, England.