1-152-175 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

William Allen (1532-1594), English prelate. A Catholic, after the accession of Elizabeth I Allen fled England and went into exile in Flanders. He founded English colleges to train missionaries to reconvert England to Roman Catholicism. Pope Sixtus V him a Cardinal in 1587. After the execution of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, Allen encouraged Philip II of Spain to launch an expedition against England to punish Elizabeth and restore Catholicism. He also wrote works urging the English to rise up in revolt and overthrow the Queen. He died in Rome in 1594.