Who Was St. Thomas More?

St. Thomas More was a devoted husband and father and a practicing lawyer. He was at the same time a dedicated statesman of his country and of his faith. Through study and hard work, More rose in prominence as a writer, lawyer, judge, diplomat, and member of Parliament, achieving the highest office of his country next to King Henry VIII. Nonetheless, St. Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor of England out of protest in defense of the Church and was eventually imprisoned and martyred. His last words have become iconic: "I die the King's good servant, and God's first." His religious convictions have led St. Thomas More to be heralded as a model for the defense of religious freedom.

St. Thomas More was born in England in 1478 and lived until his martyrdom in 1535. In his personal life, his wife died at a young age, leaving More to raise his four young children. He immediately remarried (within a month), gaining a stepchild. More ensured that his children and other children in his care were educated in his home, regardless of gender, and he ensured that tutors he hired were willing and able to educate all of them (an approach that was ahead of his time).

More was canonized in 1935 and Pope John Paul II proclaimed him the Patron of Statesmen in 2000. He is also the Patron of Lawyers.