Thomas More

Saint Thomas More, born in London in 1478, was a major figure of the English Renaissance. A brilliant lawyer and humanist writer (author of 'Utopia'), he became Lord Chancellor of England under King Henry VIII. His unwavering loyalty to the Catholic faith and the Pope led him to refuse to swear the Oath of Supremacy, which declared the king supreme head of the Church of England. Accused of high treason, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and then beheaded on July 6, 1535. Beatified in 1886 and canonized in 1935, he was proclaimed the patron saint of statesmen and politicians by Pope John Paul II in 2000.