Feast day: 22 June
Saint Thomas More
Humanist, lawyer, author of Utopia, husband and father, Lord Chancellor of England, beheaded for refusing to accept Henry VIII's claim to headship of the Church — 'the king's good servant, but God's first'.
Celebrated with Saint John Fisher.
- Born
- 7 February 1478, London (England)
- Died
- 6 July 1535, Tower Hill, London (England)
- Canonization
- Beatified 1886 by Leo XIII; canonized 19 May 1935 by Pope Pius XI. Declared patron of statesmen and politicians by John Paul II in 2000.
- Country
- England
Biography
Lawyer and humanist
Son of a London judge, More studied at Oxford and Lincoln's Inn, lived four years near the Carthusians of the London Charterhouse discerning a monastic vocation, then married Jane Colt and later, widowed, Alice Middleton. He educated his daughters, especially Margaret, in Greek and Latin, scandalising his age. His friend Erasmus called his home 'a school of Christian life'.
Chancellor
He rose through royal service to become Lord Chancellor in 1529, the first layman in that office for centuries, admired for the speed and integrity of his justice. When Henry VIII sought to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and to be declared Supreme Head of the Church in England, More resigned in 1532 and withdrew into silence.
Trial and death
He refused the oath of the Act of Succession in 1534 and was imprisoned in the Tower for fifteen months, where he wrote the Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation. Convicted of treason on perjured testimony, he was beheaded on 6 July 1535, asking the people to pray for him and declaring that he died the king's good servant, and God's first.
Timeline
- 1478 — Born in London
- 1516 — Publishes Utopia
- 1529 — Appointed Lord Chancellor
- 1532 — Resigns the chancellorship
- 1534 — Imprisoned in the Tower of London
- 1535 — Beheaded on 6 July
- 1935 — Canonized by Pius XI
Dates marked ~ are traditional or debated among historians.
Symbols
Chain of office (SS collar) — His high public service, laid down for conscience.
Axe and block — His martyrdom.
Book — Utopia and his prison writings.
Virtues & spiritual lessons
Integrity of conscience, wit and cheerfulness under threat, moderation in power, and family love that never opposed itself to fidelity to God.
Importance in the Church
Patron of statesmen and politicians, and the classic Catholic witness that conscience formed by truth stands above the state.
Quotes
“I die the king's good servant, and God's first.”
Words on the scaffold, 6 July 1535
“Give me the grace, good Lord, to set the world at naught.”
Godly Meditation, written in the Tower
Writings
Utopia (1516) — His Latin masterpiece of political imagination.
A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation (1534–1535) — Written in the Tower awaiting death.
Prayers
Prayer of Saint Thomas More for good humour
Grant me, O Lord, good digestion, and also something to digest. Grant me a healthy body, and the necessary good humour to maintain it. Grant me a simple soul that knows to treasure all that is good, and does not frighten easily at the sight of evil, but rather finds the means to put things back in their place. Amen.
Prayer attributed to Thomas More in a long devotional tradition.
Places
Tower of London and Tower Hill — His prison and place of execution.
Church of Saint Dunstan, Canterbury — Where his head is buried in the Roper vault.
Entries are drawn from the Roman Martyrology, the General Roman Calendar, canonization records of the Holy See, and the saints' own writings. Where a date, quotation or attribution is uncertain, it is marked as such. (63 saints)