St Thomas Becket and St Thomas More had strikingly similar personal histories, but one was in the time of Henry II and the other in Henry VIIIth's time.
Both faced the same dilemma - concede to a human power, or stick to what they knew was right. Let us pray that inspired by them both, we might always choose the path of truth.
He was born in London and became a close friend of King Henry II. He was only a deacon when he was appointed chancellor of England. When he was ordained as archbishop of Canterbury, he underwent an abrupt conversion of life and began to defend the Church’s rights against the king. He had to take refuge in a French monastery for six years, and when he returned to his diocese four knights, inspired by careless words from the king, assassinated him in his cathedral on 29 December 1170. He was immediately acknowledged as a martyr and the king later did penance and endowed his shrine. He is remembered for his courage in defence of the rights of the Church.