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Sir Thomas More was a writer, knight, lawyer, and Chancellor of England. He wrote the book Utopia and served as Speaker of the House of Commons and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was executed for refusing to swear on the Act of Succession and was later beatified and canonized as a saint.
Saint Thomas More, also known as Sir Thomas More, was born in London, England in 1478 to a solicitor, Sir John More, and his wife Agnes. During his lifetime, Thomas More was a writer, knight, lawyer and Chancellor of England, a position never held by a layman. More was executed on July 6, 1535 on Tower Hill in London. His body is buried in the Church of San Pietro.
As a youth, More attended St. Anthony’s School. At the age of thirteen, More entered the household of Archbishop Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop sent More to Oxford, where he studied Greek, French, Latin, history, music and mathematics.
After his studies at Oxford, Thomas More returned to London around 1494 to study law at Lincoln’s Inn. He became a well-known legal professor, but he also wrote poetry and gave a series of lectures, between 1499 and 1503, on the writings of Saint Augustine. According to some sources, More chose the life of a monk for a time. However, in the early 1500s, he chose a political career and entered Parliament.
Thomas More wrote Utopia, a novel, in 1515. His book describes an imaginary place where order and discipline predominate over liberty. In this utopian political system there is no private property or violence and religious tolerance is crucial. His novel is considered an important piece of literature and is often used as an inspiration for various social movements.
Although More’s father had been imprisoned by King Henry VII, Thomas More won favor with King Henry VIII. The younger More helped Henry VIII write the Defense of the Seven Sacraments. During the 1520s, More served as Speaker of the House of Commons and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Although More disagreed with the King’s plan to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, he was still appointed Lord Chancellor in 1529 to replace Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who was forced to resign.
More resigned his chancellorship in 1532 on the grounds of ill health. However, many believe the underlying reason was more likely that More did not approve of the king’s stance vis-à-vis the Roman Catholic Church, which increasingly denied the authority of the pope. In 1534, More was arrested for refusing to swear on the Act of Succession. After being found guilty of treason, he was beheaded. Considered a martyr, More’s last words were: “The good servant of the king, but the first of God.”
More was beatified in 1886. Pope Pius XI canonized More as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1935. Pope John Paul II later declared Thomas More the patron saint of politicians and statesmen. More’s feast day is June 22nd.
