Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr
Feast Day (Traditional Calendar): December 29
Birth: circa 1118, London, England
Martyrdom: December 29, 1170, Canterbury Cathedral
Canonized: 1173 by Pope Alexander III
✦ Short Hagiography:
Saint Thomas Becket, once a close companion and chancellor to King Henry II of England, became one of the Church’s most courageous defenders against secular interference in ecclesiastical affairs. Born into a Norman family of merchants, he received an excellent education in both England and abroad, showing brilliance in administration and law.
Appointed Lord Chancellor in 1155, Thomas was a trusted friend of King Henry II. When the Archbishop of Canterbury died in 1162, the King, desiring greater control over the Church in England, saw in Thomas a potential ally and appointed him as archbishop. However, Henry had misjudged Becket’s conscience and spiritual resolve.
Upon his elevation to Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas underwent a profound interior conversion. Casting off the comforts of courtly life, he embraced austerity, wore a hairshirt beneath his episcopal robes, and became a fierce protector of the Church’s rights and freedom from royal encroachment. His resistance particularly focused on the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164), which sought to bring the Church under civil authority.
After years of conflict and exile in France, Becket returned to England in 1170, greeted with joy by the faithful but watched with growing suspicion by the crown. In a moment of royal fury, Henry II is said to have uttered the infamous words: “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Taking this as a command, four knights traveled to Canterbury and, on December 29, 1170, murdered Thomas in his cathedral while he was at Vespers.
He died with the words “For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death” upon his lips. His tomb quickly became a site of pilgrimage, and numerous miracles were reported there. The Canterbury Shrine of St. Thomas Becket became one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations in medieval Europe.
✦ Spiritual Themes:
- Defense of the Church’s Liberty: St. Thomas Becket is a towering figure of resistance against the encroachment of civil power into the spiritual realm. His martyrdom upholds the doctrine that Christ alone is the head of His Church, and His bishops serve not at the pleasure of princes but under divine authority.
- Conversion and Repentance: Becket’s shift from courtier to ascetic bishop reminds us that holiness often begins with interior transformation. He chose fidelity to Christ over worldly favor, a call echoed in every age.
- Martyrdom for Truth: His witness joins the ranks of countless martyrs who shed their blood rather than compromise the Faith. His death in the sanctuary, at the foot of the altar, is emblematic of offering one’s life in union with Christ’s Sacrifice.
✦ Commemoration in the Traditional Liturgy:
On December 29, the Church offers the Mass of a Martyr Bishop, with the Collect proclaiming:
O God, for the cause of the Church, Thou didst permit the glorious Bishop Thomas to fall by the swords of the wicked: grant, we beseech Thee, that all who implore his help may obtain the salutary effect of their petition.
The Breviary Lessons recount his confrontation with royal power, his exile, and the glory of his martyrdom. In medieval England, his feast was a major solemnity, and his shrine rivaled even that of St. James in Compostela.