St Thomas More was born in 1478 to a well-off London family. His father was a lawyer, and Thomas followed in his footsteps with a deep respect for law and a precise mind. As a boy he was a page to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and in his studies was caught up in the excitement of the rediscovery in Europe of classical literature and style. He made friends with the best literary scholars in England and elsewhere, notably Erasmus. He then studied law and became a barrister in 1502.
He was a devout Catholic, and was briefly attracted to become a monk at the beginning of his legal career. Throughout his life he continued to observe some monastic ascetical practices. As he took his place in public life, he took on administrative responsibilities, found time to marry, and entered politics as the representative for London. He displayed gifts of judgment and intelligence in government administration. He also had the courage of his convictions: he opposed a money bill that gave to the King more money than he was legally entitled.
When Henry VIII became king he made More a Privy Counsellor, made him a knight and sent him on missions to the Pope. In 1529 Thomas was made Lord Chancellor, and so responsible for the administration and interpretation of law. In that position he had to deal with people who had become Protestants, won over by Luther and Calvin. More believed them to be mistaken, disloyal and a threat to society in England. He had some condemned to death by being burned at the stake.
In 1531 the Parliament passed a law that declared the primacy of the King over the Pope in England. More could not accept this, and also refused to sign a letter asking the Pope to annul Henry’s marriage. After the English bishops accepted the law that all clergy should swear to acknowledge the supremacy of Henry over the Pope, More could not agree with it and resigned his post. The issue came to a head when Henry married Anne Boleyn, and More declined to attend their marriage. He was accused of various crimes, and finally put on trial, and despite refusing to be drawn on his judgment of the marriage, was sentenced to death for refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy and of the succession of Anne Boleyn to the throne. He responded with his habitual grace and generosity, ‘I die the King’s good servant, and God’s first.’
St Thomas More is remembered most of all for his loyalty to the Pope and resistance to the King’s will. To our world he also is an example of integrity in public life and his attention to his family as well as to the work. He taught his daughters Greek and Latin, rare at that time wrote affectionate and considerate letters to them, and was both gracious and careful in his writing and speaking. He was the model humanist, the model Christian and the model husband and father, always attending gracefully to others. His reported conversation with a distraught executioner was typical, disarming him by asking him to spare his beard because it had not offended the king.
SAINT THOMAS MORE
7 February 1478-6 July 1535
Reformation martyr, scholar
Feast day: 22 June
Patron: Statesmen and politicians, lawyers