St. John Fisher

St. John Fisher was born in 1469 at Beverley in Yorkshire, England, and rose to become one of the most learned churchmen of his age, a renowned theologian, chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and from 1504 bishop of Rochester. A friend of the humanist Erasmus and a defender of the faith against the errors of the Reformation, he was esteemed throughout Europe for his learning and the austerity of his life.

When King Henry VIII sought to annul his marriage and to make himself supreme head of the Church in England, Fisher stood almost alone among the bishops in resolute opposition, defending the indissolubility of marriage and the authority of the pope. Imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing the Oath of Supremacy, he was created a cardinal by the pope while a prisoner, which only hardened the king against him. He was beheaded on Tower Hill on 22 June 1535, some days before his friend St. Thomas More. Canonized in 1935, he is celebrated with More on 22 June.