The Feast of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher

At the turn of the 16th century, Thomas More was a lawyer in London, a member of Parliament on his way to becoming Lord Chancellor, and deeply opposed to the Protestant Reformation. 

He was also a devout Catholic wary of the persistent challenges to Papal authority that so often came from the British Royalty and particularly his longtime friend, King Henry VIII. 

The King wanted two things; complete control of the Catholic Church in England, and Church approval of his divorce of Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Ann Boleyn. 

More refused to publicly support the King’s divorce and denied any authority of the Church short of the Pope. 

After defending himself brilliantly in a trial whose judges included Ann Boleyn’s father, brother, and uncle, he was convicted and executed in 1535. 

John Fisher was the Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge. Like More, he was expected by King Henry VIII to approve of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon and agree to his supreme authority over the Catholic Church in England. 

He refused to do either and, in defense of Catherine’s marriage to Henry VIII, said that, like John the Baptist, he was ready to give his life, which he did, a month before Thomas More in 1535. 

St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, please pray for us.