Saint Thomas More

Image: Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein 1527.

The 22nd of June is the feast day of Saint Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535). He is the patron saint of adopted children; civil servants; court clerks; difficult marriages; large families; lawyers, politicians, and statesmen; stepparents; widowers; Ateneo de Manila Law School; Diocese of Arlington; Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee; Kerala Catholic Youth Movement; University of Malta; and the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters.

Saint Thomas More lived between 1478 and 1535 and was born in London to a lawyer and a judge. Educated in the finest schools, he became an English statesman. He served in many positions in public administration, including in the King’sCouncill and as a diplomat. A Catholic, husband and a father, he was known for his moral integrity, humour and learning. He became a Lord Chancellor, as he was promoted by King Henry VIII. However, he resigned from his high post when the king divorced from his wife and declared himself sovereign of the Church in England. Saint Thomas More was then imprisoned in the Tower of London by King Henry, after he refused to to approve of the king’s decision to defy the Catholic Church. More testified that the Church had autonomy over the state, that the Pope is the head of the Church and that marriage was indissoluble in the eyes of God. He was condemned and beheaded, a martyr for the faith.