St. Anne Line statue at Church of St Etheldreda in London. (2012) (Photo by Marcin Mazur)
Anne Line
c. 1565-1601
February 27
Anne is one of three laywomen among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. Anne Heigham and her brother were disowned by their Protestant father for converting to Catholicism. She married another disinherited convert, Roger Line, who died in exile in Flanders in 1594. Left penniless and always in poor health, Anne began working with Jesuits in London, where she organized and operated safe houses for priests and embroidered vestments. She took voluntary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Within one month, February 1601, she was arrested, tried at the Old Bailey, convicted of hiding a priest, and hanged at Tyburn. Anne is a patron of the childless, widows and converts.
