Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

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English Roman Catholics

The Catholic Church in England and Wales (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica in Anglia et Cambria; Welsh: Yr Eglwys Gatholig yng Nghymru a Lloegr) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th century, when Pope Gregory I through the Benedictine missionary, Augustine of Canterbury, intensified the evangelization of the Kingdom of Kent linking it to the Holy See in 597 AD. This unbroken communion with the Holy See lasted until King Henry VIII ended it in 1534.For two hundred and fifty years the government forced members of the pre-Reformation Catholic Church known as recusants to go underground and seek academic training in Catholic Europe, where exiled English clergy set up schools and seminaries for the sons of English recusant families.

5 episodes

Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:

HistoryAnglican saintsEnglish male poetsBurials at Westminster AbbeyEnglish essayistsEnglish male non-fiction writersBritish male essayists20th-century English male writers20th-century English poetsPeople from the City of London18th-century English male writers20th-century English novelistsWomen mysticsWomen religious writers20th-century English LGBTQ peopleBisexual male writersBritish Army personnel of World War IDaughters of kingsEnglish Catholic poetsEnglish LGBTQ poetsEnglish religious writersHouse of TudorJames Tait Black Memorial Prize recipientsLGBTQ Roman CatholicsNeoclassical writersPeople with post-traumatic stress disorder15th-century English writers16th-century English women18th-century British essayists18th-century English non-fiction writers20th-century English memoiristsAnnulmentBisexual poetsDeaths from cancer in EnglandEnglish World War I poetsEnglish women non-fiction writersFreemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of EnglandMothers of English monarchsRoman Catholic mysticsRoman Catholic writersTranslators of HomerTuberculosis deaths in EnglandWar writers14th-century Christian mystics, 14th-century English women writers, 15th-century English women writers, 15th-century deaths, English Catholic mystics, Middle English literature15th-century English women, Founders of colleges of the University of Cambridge, Ladies of the Garter, People of the Wars of the Roses16th-century English nobility18th-century English poetsBisexual military personnelDaughters of queens regnantDeaths from stomach cancer in EnglandEnglish autobiographersEnglish bisexual men, English bisexual writers, Royal Welch Fusiliers officersFemale saints of medieval EnglandPeople educated at Marlborough CollegePre-Reformation Anglican saintsRecipients of the Military CrossRegents of EnglandTory poetsWriters from King's Lynn

  1. Catherine of Aragon

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Spanish Infanta so prized by the Tudors that, after her first husband the Prince of Wales died, she went on to marry his brother Henry VIII.

    13 February 2025

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    Featuring: Lucy Wooding, Maria Hayward, Gonzalo Velasco Berenguer

    wikipedia article ↗
     
    HistoryRegents of England16th-century English womenAnnulmentHouse of TudorDaughters of kingsEnglish Roman CatholicsDeaths from cancer in EnglandDaughters of queens regnantMothers of English monarchs16th centurySpain

  2. Margaret Beaufort

    Misha Glenny and guests discuss the resilience of the child bride who made it her mission to protect her son during the Wars of the Roses and helped him become the first Tudor king

    5 March 2026

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    Featuring: Joanna Laynesmith, Katherine Lewis, David Grummitt

    wikipedia article ↗
     
    History16th-century English womenAnnulmentHouse of Tudor16th-century English nobilityEnglish Roman Catholics15th-century English women, Founders of colleges of the University of Cambridge, Ladies of the Garter, People of the Wars of the RosesBurials at Westminster AbbeyMothers of English monarchs15th century16th century

  3. Margery Kempe and English Mysticism

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Margery Kempe (1373-1438), the English mystic who went to Jerusalem and dictated her life story, said to be the first autobiography in English.

    2 June 2016

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    Featuring: Miri Rubin, Katherine Lewis, Anthony Bale

    wikipedia article ↗
     
    HistoryAnglican saints15th-century English writersEnglish women non-fiction writersWriters from King's LynnRoman Catholic mystics14th-century Christian mystics, 14th-century English women writers, 15th-century English women writers, 15th-century deaths, English Catholic mystics, Middle English literaturePre-Reformation Anglican saintsEnglish Roman CatholicsWomen religious writersEnglish autobiographersWomen mysticsFemale saints of medieval EnglandEnglish religious writers14th century15th century

  4. Pope

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the satirist Alexander Pope. One of the greatest poets of the English language, his brilliant satires have made him popular in our age but not in his own.

    9 November 2006

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    Featuring: John Mullan, Jim McLaverty, Valerie Rumbold

    wikipedia article ↗
     
    18th-century English male writersBritish male essayistsEnglish essayists18th-century English non-fiction writersTranslators of HomerTuberculosis deaths in England18th-century English poetsEnglish Catholic poetsNeoclassical writersTory poetsFreemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of EnglandEnglish Roman CatholicsEnglish male non-fiction writersPeople from the City of LondonEnglish male poets18th-century British essayistsRoman Catholic writers18th century

  5. Siegfried Sassoon

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the war poet Siegfried Sassoon; a homosexual war hero who became a bitter opponent of the First World War and a devout Catholic.

    7 June 2007

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    Featuring: Jean Moorcroft Wilson, Fran Brearton, Max Egremont

    wikipedia article ↗
     
    Bisexual poetsRecipients of the Military CrossEnglish Catholic poetsEnglish World War I poets20th-century English memoirists20th-century English male writersPeople with post-traumatic stress disorderEnglish LGBTQ poetsJames Tait Black Memorial Prize recipientsEnglish bisexual men, English bisexual writers, Royal Welch Fusiliers officersEnglish Roman CatholicsPeople educated at Marlborough CollegeWar writersRoman Catholic writersBisexual military personnelDeaths from stomach cancer in EnglandBisexual male writers20th-century English novelistsBritish Army personnel of World War I20th-century English poetsLGBTQ Roman Catholics20th-century English LGBTQ people20th centuryWar