St. Thomas More
Feast day: June 22
Born in London in 1478, Thomas was the son of John More, a lawyer and judge. Thomas studied at Oxford, received admission to the bar and then entered Parliament. He married and had four children. King Henry VIII took Thomas into his service in 1518, knighted him and named him lord chancellor. But Thomas broke with King Henry when the king divorced Catherine of Aragon and set himself up as supreme head of the Church in England. In 1532, Thomas resigned his post, and in 1534, he was arrested when he refused to take the Oath of Succession. Imprisoned for more than a year in the Tower of London, he was convicted of treason and beheaded. Thomas was canonized in 1935. He is patron of adopted children, lawyers and widowers.
Collect
O God, who in martyrdom
have brought true faith to its highest expression,
graciously grant
that, strengthened through the intercession
of St. Thomas More,
we may confirm by the witness of our life
the faith we profess with our lips.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.