Why pilgrims come
What makes this Catholic place significant
The mother church of Catholics in England and Wales, preserving the bodily remains of St. John Southworth and two relics of the True Cross within its chapels.
Westminster Cathedral is not only London’s Roman Catholic cathedral: it is a pilgrimage church of the English martyrs. Pray at St. John Southworth’s shrine, visit the Chapel of St. George and the English Martyrs, and notice how the cathedral’s chapels preserve the memory of Catholic witness through the Reformation and penal centuries.
The sacred connection
People and objects remembered here
These relationships are part of the destination record, with feast days and catalog qualifications shown where available.
principal shrine and bodily remains
Feast: June 26Bodily remains · Ecclesiastically documented
At the saint’s shrine in the Chapel of St. George and the English Martyrs.Passion relics · Traditional ecclesiastical provenance
Traditionally venerated on September 14; confirm current arrangements with the cathedral.What to notice
Look closely at the place and its story
Shrine of St. John Southworth
Venerate the remains of the London priest-martyr who served the sick during plague outbreaks and was executed at Tyburn.
Chapel of St. George and the English Martyrs
The chapel gathers the cathedral’s memory of the Reformation martyrs around Southworth’s shrine.
Relics of the True Cross
The cathedral preserves two traditionally venerated Passion relics, associated especially with the September feast of the Holy Cross.
Mass and confession
Build the visit around the cathedral’s unusually full daily sacramental schedule.
Feasts, anniversaries & celebrations
How to read this page
Sources, tradition, and what is verified
No verification date is listed, so current visitor details should be confirmed directly.
This page records the site’s tradition as “Catholic.” That wording describes the nature of the claim and keeps devotional tradition distinct from independently verified history.