St. Thomas A Becket

Thomas a Becket was born in London on December 21 about the year 1118. His parents were from Normandy and had come to England several years before their son was born. After finishing his studies in Paris, Thomas became secretary to a nobleman and then to a relative, Osbert Huitdeniers, Justiciar of London. Around 1141 Thomas became secretary for Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop trusted Thomas with the most important matters and sent him to study canon and civil law in Italy. Thomas was ordained a deacon in 1154. At age thirty-six, Thomas became Chancellor for King Henry II. He agreed with Henry in many matters and at this point in his life even enjoyed the royal pomp and circumstance. He fought in the king’s wars, although he was already a deacon, but when the king’s actions opposed Church teaching, Thomas disagreed with him. Henry wanted to appoint Thomas as Archbishop of Canterbury when Theobald died, but Thomas was completely opposed to such a move, for he knew that in conscience he would have to defend the Church rather than obey his friend the king. At the urging of Cardinal Henry of Pisa, he finally agreed to accept the position. He was ordained a priest June 2, 1162 and consecrated as bishop the very next day. From the outset, Thomas tried to live a saintly life as a priest. He gave up the luxuries he had been accustomed to and he gave himself more to prayer and penance, already knowing that he would need the strength that comes from God to stand up to the king. The king was immediately upset when Thomas resigned the chancellorship. Henry was also angry when Thomas opposed his move to take a voluntary contribution made for the sheriffs and put it in the royal treasure. Thomas seems to a have won this round, but things became heated when he insisted that the Church alone had the right to try clerics accused of criminal charges. He did not want to be lenient with any cleric who had committed a criminal offense; however, he saw it as a matter of principle that the Church retain the right to deal with clerics accused of crimes. Things became so heated that Thomas fled to France for four years and upon his return to England, things were more difficult between him and Henry, although the people of Canterbury welcomed their archbishop with joy. In exasperation, Henry is reported to have expressed a wish to be rid of the Archbishop, but whether he actually meant for Thomas to be killed is not known. Four knights from France, angry that the Archbishop refused to absolve two bishops he had excommunicated, stormed into the church where Thomas was praying on December 29, 1170 and tried to drag him outside; failing to do so, they struck him a fatal blow to the head. Popular devotion to the martyred archbishop quickly spread. He was canonized two years after his death and in 1174, Henry II had himself whipped at the archbishop’s tomb, in public penance for his part in the murder. St. Thomas Becket's feast is December 29.