St. Thomas More
1478-1535
📅 Feast Day: Jul 6
📖 Life Timeline
1478
Born in February 1478 AD, London, England
1478
THOMAS MORE (St) M
1535
THOMAS MORE (St) M
1501
at the Inns of Court, being called to the bar in 1501
1516
and children, devout, cheerful and charitable
1529
vour with Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey, whom in 1529 he succeeded as Lord Chancellor
1535
Died — July 6, 1535 AD, Tower Hill, London (beheaded)
1935
Canonized — 1935 by Pope Pius XI
✝ Biography
THOMAS MORE (St) M. A.C. July 9 1478-1535. A native of London, More studied at Canterbury Hall, Oxford, and read Law at the Inns of Court, being called to the bar in 1501. He married twice and was the ideal husband, devoted to wife and children, devout, cheerful and charitable. In 1516 he published his Utopia, which gained for him a European reputation as a scholar and humanist. From this time he was more and more in favour with Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey, whom in 1529 he succeeded as Lord Chancellor. Soon, however, he found himself unable to support the king on the question of the royal divorce. He resigned the chancellorship and on refus- ing to take the oath of supremacy, de- claring the king supreme head of the Church in England, was imprisoned in the Tower. After fifteen months’ incarcera- tion he was beheaded on Tower Hill. In the decree of his canonization in 1925 Pius XI described him as the ‘Martyr of the Papacy.”
Cf. Holw. — Att. — Stanton — Baud.
THOMAS TUNSTAL (BI) M. O.S.B. A.C. July 13 d. 1616. Thomas Tunstal, alias Helmes, was born at Whinfell, near Kendal, Westmoreland. He was educated for the pr He served as Lord Chancellor of England and was martyred for his opposition to King Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church.
🛡 Patronage
Patron of: Statesmen, politicians, lawyers, and those who resist unjust laws.
💬 Words of the Saint
I am the King's good servant, but God's first.
📜 Key Facts
Born
July 9, 1478, London, England
Died
July 6, 1535 AD, Tower Hill, London (beheaded)
Feast Day
Jul 6
Canonized
1935 by Pope Pius XI
🕊 Legacy
Thomas More's 'Utopia' is one of the most influential books in Western political thought. His martyrdom for conscience is a model for all who resist unjust laws. Shakespeare, Greene, and Robert Bolt ('A Man for All Seasons') immortalized him.
📜 Personal Writings
Read excerpts from the saint's own words — their personal letters, spiritual writings, and teachings.
📖 Letter from the Tower
To His Daughter Margaret
I pray to God that it may please Him to give you grace to suffer patiently all such troubles and adversities as shall happen in this world, and that He will give you grace to bear them with a patient and thankful heart, and that He will give you grace to love Him above all things, and your neighbor as yourself for His love's sake.
— St. Thomas More
📖 Letter from the Tower
On Conscience and Authority
I am the King's good servant, but God's is the first. When the king commands me to do what is against God's law, I must obey God rather than men. My conscience is my guide, and I will not violate it for any temporal power. I am ready to suffer for the truth, for the truth will set me free.
— St. Thomas More
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