1478-1535, lawyer, author and Lord Chancellor of England. Although he was an important counsellor to Henry VIII, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and beheaded for refusing to sign The Act of Supremacy which declared the king to be the supreme head of the Church of England. While on the scaffold, he declared that he died 'the king's good servant, but God's first'. His feast day and that of St John Fisher is 22nd June.
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister during World War II wrote in The History of the English-Speaking Peoples: "The resistance of More and Fisher to the royal supremacy in Church government was a noble and heroic stand. They realised the defects of the existing Catholic system, but they hated and feared the aggressive nationalism which was destroying the unity of Christendom. More stood as the defender of all that was finest in the medieval outlook. He represents to history its universality, its belief in spiritual values and its instinctive sense of other-worldliness. Henry VIII with cruel axe decapitated not only a wise and gifted counsellor, but a system, which, though it had failed to live up to its ideals in practice, had for long furnished mankind with its brightest dreams".
It is thought that Thomas seriously considered a vocation to the priesthood. On that subject Erasmus, his friend and mentor wrote:
'Meanwhile he applied his whole mind to exercises of piety, looking to and pondering on the priesthood in vigils, fasts and prayers and similar austerities. In which matter he proved himself far more prudent than most candidates who thrust themselves rashly into that arduous profession without any previous trial of their powers. The one thing that prevented him from giving himself to that kind of life was that he could not shake off the desire of the married state. He chose, therefore, to be a chaste husband rather than an impure priest'.
An extract from a letter of St Thomas written in prison, to his daughter Meg:
'And finally, Margaret, this I know very well that without my fault he will not let me be lost. I shall therefore with good hope commit myself wholly to him. And if he suffer me for my faults to perish yet shall I then serve for a praise of his justice. But in good faith, Meg, I trust that his tender pity shall keep my poor soul safe and make me commend his mercy. And therefore, mine own good daughter, never trouble thy mind, for anything that shall keep me in this world. Nothing can come but that which God wills. And I make myself very sure that whatever that be, seem it never so bad in sight, it shall in deed be best'.
St Thomas More pray for us that we may treasure our faith as you did.
PS John (in UK) has been given a private visit to the tomb of St Thomas in the Tower of London
Further reading & viewing: Robert Bolt's play: A Man For All Seasons. The play also made it to film in two versions with Paul Scofield and Charlton Heston as More - the Scofield release is superior.
John Guy: A Daughter's Love, Thomas & Margaret More, Harper Collins 2008. A scholarly work by Guy shows the tremendous influence of Meg on her father. The book releases previously unpublished correspondence between the two. Add it to your spiritual reading!
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