Allen, William (1532-1594), a prominent English clergyman, defended Roman Catholic beliefs after the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558. He was soon forced into exile. In 1568, Allen founded a seminary in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) to provide priests for the English. In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth. She, in turn, made it a crime to become a Roman Catholic priest in England. But Allen’s seminary continued to supply priests for England, many of whom were executed. Allen was born in Lancashire, and became a Roman Catholic cardinal in 1587. He died on Oct. 16, 1594.
See also Elizabeth I .
