Ambrose Barlow

St. Ambrose Edward Barlow
Saint Ambrose Barlow, O.S.B.
Benedictine monk and martyr
Born	1585 Barlow Hall, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, Lancashire, England
Died	10 September 1641(1641-09-10) Lancaster, Lancashire, England
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	15 December 1929, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope Pius XI
Canonized	25 October 1970, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope Paul VI
Feast	10 September, 25 October

Ambrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B., (1585 – 10 September 1641) was an English Benedictine monk who is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Ambrose was born at Barlow Hall, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near Manchester in 1585. He was the fourth son of the nobleman Sir Alexander Barlow and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Uryan Brereton. The Barlow family had been reluctant converts to the Church of England following the suppression of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Ambrose's grandfather died in 1584 whilst imprisoned for his beliefs and Sir Alexander Barlow had two thirds of his estate confiscated as a result of his refusing to conform with the rules of the new established religion. On 30 November 1585, Ambrose was baptised at Didsbury Chapel and his baptism entry reads "Edwarde legal sonne of Alex' Barlowe gent' 30". Ambrose went on to adhere to the Anglican faith until 1607, when he converted to Roman Catholicism.

In 1597, Ambrose was taken into the stewardship of Sir Uryan Legh, a relative who would care for him whilst he served out his apprenticeship as a page. However, upon completing this service, Barlow realised that his true vocation was for the priesthood, so he travelled to Douai in France to study at the English College there before attending the Royal College of Saint Alban in Valladolid, Spain. In 1615, he returned to Douai where he became a member of the Order of Saint Benedict and was ordained as a priest in 1617.