A great tribulation befell the faithful of England and Wales when King Henry VIII broke away from the authority of Rome in 1531 and founded the so called “Church of England.” The situation worsened under the reign of Elizabeth I. Catholics were treated and persecuted as enemies of the state. With no Catholic bishops left, it was no longer possible to ordain Catholic priests. The Catholic Church, which had held a prominent position in England, seemed on the verge of extinction. However, God did not allow this to happen.
William Allen, a priest who had fled England, managed to found a seminary in Douai, France, to train priests who would be ordained and sent as missionaries to England. Their vocations had to be strong, as persecution and death awaited them in their homeland. William Allen himself wrote several books defending the true faith.