Thursday 18th April 2024

Home » saints » Currently Reading:

Catholic Heroes . . . St. Thomas of Hereford

September 29, 2015 saints No Comments

By CAROLE BRESLIN

During the High Middle Ages the power of kings began to disintegrate, as shown by the Magna Charta, which was established in 1215. Although neither party of the agreement held up to its commitments, the beginning of more democratic rule had arrived.
Three years later a noble family gave birth to a man who played a significant role in the conflict between the barons and the king of England. This man, St. Thomas de Cantilupe, was born in 1218 in Hambleden in Buckinghamshire in England, just northwest of London.
His father, William de Cantilupe, the second Baron Cantilupe, was a minister of King John while his mother, Millicent de Gournay, was also from an illustrious and influential family. The bishop of Worcester, Walter de Cantilupe, was his uncle. Thus, it follows that their son Thomas would play an important role with both the nobles and the Church.
Thomas’ education was overseen by his uncle at Oxford. Some years later, Thomas went to Paris and Orleans in France where he studied theology and canon law. While studying in Paris he completed his theological studies and was ordained. Then he attended the Council of Lyon in 1245.
This council had to be located outside the jurisdiction of the Holy Roman emperor who undermined the first attempt to hold a council. During the council, a bull deposed Emperor Frederick II who had broken the treaty with Rome and arrested cardinals to further his political objectives.
After the council, Thomas returned to Oxford where he taught canon law. He quickly gained favor as he maintained firm control over the unruly students with both his kindness and discipline. In 1262 he was elected to the post of university chancellor.
Nearly 50 years after the initial agreement of the Magna Charta, the barons of England rebelled against the king. King Henry III demanded funds from the barons to pay for his personal desires which had no benefit for the barons. He was deemed the least effective monarch of his times.
Because he constantly demanded more money, the barons went to war against him. In this War of the Barons (1262-1263) led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, Thomas sided with the barons against the king. In fact, he served as a delegate who went to King Louis IX in France to mediate the dispute; but after King Louis sided with King Henry, fighting broke out.
The barons wanted the king to be answerable to the country and wanted men of property to be allowed a voice in the government of the kingdom. Simon de Montfort led the forces, with Thomas at his side, and captured King Henry and Prince Edward. He then summoned England’s first real Parliament.
He appointed Thomas de Cantilupe to be chancellor of England on February 22, 1265.
In this position he became widely popular for his wisdom, being not only extremely fair but also filled with Solomon-like wisdom in his decisions at court.
When the king’s followers arose in revolt against the barons at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, Simon de Montfort was killed and Thomas was forced into exile.
He fled to Paris where he lectured on theology and Sacred Scripture from 1265 until 1272. It is interesting that, despite Thomas’ exile, King Henry III held him in great esteem.
Thomas returned to England where he again lectured at Oxford. In 1274 he returned to France to attend the Second Council of Lyon. This time the council focused on union with the Greeks in order to facilitate a crusade to the Holy Land and reform of the Church.
After Thomas came back to England, the Chapter of Hereford Cathedral elected him to be bishop of Hereford. Thomas declined at first but the chapter prevailed and finally persuaded him to accept the post. On the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, September 8, 1275, Thomas de Cantilupe was consecrated bishop of Hereford.
As bishop of Hereford, he was a trusted adviser of King Edward I, the son of King Henry III. From time to time Thomas disagreed with the king but the king never moved against him for such differences in opinion. King Edward even placed the palace of Earley in Berkshire at the service of Thomas whenever business required him to be in London. After Thomas died, both King Edward I and King Edward II petitioned the Pope for his canonization.
Thomas had little affection for the nobles of his diocese. Baron Gilbert de Clare, the “Red” Earl of Gloucester, presented one of his greatest challenges. The earl repeatedly usurped the lands of the bishop, claiming them for his personal hunting expeditions and confiscating the incomes produced on them.
Lord Clifford, because of his transgressions, had to perform the penance of walking through the streets of Hereford to the foot of the cathedral steps, where he suffered the bishop punishing him with a rod.
The sheep of Thomas’ flock loved and trusted him for his fairness and justice in dealing with unscrupulous lords. All men knew him to be holy, righteous, and upstanding.
The king appointed him to many positions, such as canon of York, archdeacon and canon of both Lichfield and Coventry, canon of London and Hereford, archdeacon of Stafford, and more. All of these positions provided an income which some men of the Church accepted in title only, neglecting their responsibilities.
Thomas took his responsibilities seriously, delegating the responsibilities to trustworthy men while visiting periodically to ensure that all was well.
At the end of his life, because of a conflict over visitations, the archbishop of Canterbury excommunicated him. Thomas undertook a trip to Rome to plead his case before Pope Martin IV. Although the Pope could not lift the ban of excommunication, he ordered that no delays should be tolerated in the archbishop’s lifting of it.
Thus, Thomas left Rome to return to England. However, on his way he contracted a fever and died in Orvieto where he evidently received absolution. He died on August 25, 1282.
Richard Swinfield, his lifelong friend and also his traveling companion on this last journey, collected the dried bones of Thomas and brought them back to England. When the remains were transported to the Cathedral of Hereford for internment, Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester touched them whereupon they immediately began to bleed fresh blood. From that moment Gilbert vowed to return all the lands he had seized from Bishop Thomas.
Swinfield testified to the purity and piety of Thomas. The tomb of the saint became the site of many miracles. The successor bishop of Hereford petitioned Rome for the canonization of St. Thomas. He was canonized in 1320 by Pope John XXII. His feast is celebrated on October 2.
Dear St. Thomas, so familiar with the conflicts not only between the Church and the state, but also between different governments, help us, we pray. Today the Church is persecuted in many ways around the globe. Pray for us that we may remain faithful to all the teachings of Christ. Amen.

+ + +

(Carole Breslin home-schooled her four daughters and served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for eight years. For over ten years, she was national coordinator for the Marian Catechists, founded by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)

Share Button

2019 The Wanderer Printing Co.

Vatican and USCCB leave transgender policy texts unpublished

While U.S. bishops have made headlines for releasing policies addressing gender identity and pastoral ministry, guidelines on the subject have been drafted but not published by both the U.S. bishops’ conference and the Vatican’s doctrinal office, leaving diocesan bishops to…Continue Reading

Biden says Pope Francis told him to continue receiving communion, amid scrutiny over pro-abortion policies

President Biden said that Pope Francis, during their meeting Friday in Vatican City, told him that he should continue to receive communion, amid heightened scrutiny of the Catholic president’s pro-abortion policies.  The president, following the approximately 90-minute-long meeting, a key…Continue Reading

Federal judge rules in favor of Gov. DeSantis’ mask mandate ban

MIAMI (LifeSiteNews) – A federal judge this week handed Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis another legal victory on his mask mandate ban for schools. On Wednesday, Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida denied a petition from…Continue Reading

The Eucharist should not be received unworthily, says Nigerian cardinal

Priests have a duty to remind Catholics not to receive the Eucharist in a state of serious sin and to make confession easily available, a Nigerian cardinal said at the International Eucharistic Congress on Thursday. “It is still the doctrine…Continue Reading

Donald Trump takes a swipe at Catholics and Jews who did not vote for him

Donald Trump complained about Catholics and Jews who did not vote for him in 2020. The former president made the comments in a conference call featuring religious leaders. The move could be seen to shore up his religious conservative base…Continue Reading

Y Gov. Kathy Hochul Admits Andrew Cuomo Covered Up COVID Deaths, 12,000 More Died Than Reported

When it comes to protecting people from COVID, Andrew Cuomo is already the worst governor in America. New York has the second highest death rate per capita, in part because he signed an executive order putting COVID patients in nursing…Continue Reading

Prayers For Cardinal Burke . . . U.S. Cardinal Burke says he has tested positive for COVID-19

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke said he has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. In an Aug. 10 tweet, he wrote: “Praised be Jesus Christ! I wish to inform you that I have recently…Continue Reading

Democrats Block Amendment Banning Late-Term Abortions, Stopping Abortions Up to Birth

Senate Democrats have blocked an amendment that would ban abortions on babies older than 20 weeks. During consideration of the multi-trillion spending package, pro-life Louisiana Senator John Kennedy filed an amendment to ban late-term abortions, but Democrats steadfastly support killing…Continue Reading

Transgender student wins as U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs bathroom appeal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to a transgender former public high school student who waged a six-year legal battle against a Virginia county school board that had barred him from using the bathroom corresponding…Continue Reading

New York priest accused by security guard of assault confirms charges have now been dropped

NEW YORK, June 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A New York priest has made his first public statement regarding the dismissal of charges against him.  Today Father George W. Rutler reached out to LifeSiteNews and other media today with the following…Continue Reading

21,000 sign petition protesting US Catholic bishops vote on Biden, abortion

More than 21,000 people have signed a letter calling for U.S. Catholic bishops to cancel a planned vote on whether President Biden should receive communion.  Biden, a Catholic, supports abortion rights and has long come under attack from some Catholics over that…Continue Reading

Bishop Gorman seeks candidates to fill two full time AP level teaching positions for the 2021-2022 school year in the subject areas of Calculus/Statistics and Physics

Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Regional Catholic School is a college preparatory school located in Tyler, Texas. It is an educational ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler led by Bishop Joseph Strickland. The sixth through twelfth grade school provides a…Continue Reading

Untitled 5 Untitled 2

Attention Readers:

  Welcome to our website. Readers who are familiar with The Wanderer know we have been providing Catholic news and orthodox commentary for 150 years in our weekly print edition.


  Our daily version offers only some of what we publish weekly in print. To take advantage of everything The Wanderer publishes, we encourage you to su
bscribe to our flagship weekly print edition, which is mailed every Friday or, if you want to view it in its entirety online, you can subscribe to the E-edition, which is a replica of the print edition.
 
  Our daily edition includes: a selection of material from recent issues of our print edition, news stories updated daily from renowned news sources, access to archives from The Wanderer from the past 10 years, available at a minimum charge (this will be expanded as time goes on). Also: regularly updated features where we go back in time and highlight various columns and news items covered in The Wanderer over the past 150 years. And: a comments section in which your remarks are encouraged, both good and bad, including suggestions.
 
  We encourage you to become a daily visitor to our site. If you appreciate our site, tell your friends. As Catholics we must band together to rediscover our faith and share it with the world if we are to effectively counter a society whose moral culture seems to have no boundaries and a government whose rapidly extending reach threatens to extinguish the rights of people of faith to practice their religion (witness the HHS mandate). Now more than ever, vehicles like The Wanderer are needed for clarification and guidance on the issues of the day.

Catholic, conservative, orthodox, and loyal to the Magisterium have been this journal’s hallmarks for five generations. God willing, our message will continue well into this century and beyond.

Joseph Matt
President, The Wanderer Printing Co.

Untitled 1

Catechism

Today . . .

Kamala Harris Heads to Arizona to Promote Abortions Up to Birth

Kamala Harris is visiting Arizona today to showcase the Biden-Harris Administration’s radical support of unlimited abortion. “Kamala Harris has become the abortion czar of the Biden Administration,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee. “Instead of joining with the pro-life movement to build programs and safety nets to help promote real solutions for women and their preborn children, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have engaged in fearmongering and propaganda,” Tobias continue

May Everyone Have a Blessed and Joyful Easter

Is Easter being replaced with the ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’?

Two observances — Easter and the recently contrived “International Transgender Day of Visibility” — fall on Sunday, March 31 this year, causing some to wonder “Is Easter being replaced with the ‘Transgender Day of Visibility?’” It’s a valid question. For more than a few, it certainly will. Others might dismiss this as nothing more than a coincidence. That would be a mistake. On the last day of this month, we will witness a clash of religions as…Continue Reading

Abortion Advocates No Longer Consider It “A Necessary Evil,” They Celebrate Killing Babies

Last week, Kamala Harris became the first vice president in U.S. history to make a public visit to an abortion clinic. Though the Democratic party’s support for abortion is nothing new, Harris’ Planned Parenthood appearance does illustrate how that support has become a flagrant celebration of abortion as a public and personal good, essential to both “freedom” and to “healthcare.” At the appearance, Harris proclaimed,  It is only right and fair that people have access…Continue Reading

Wisconsin Supreme Court says Catholic charity group cannot claim religious tax exemption

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a major Catholic charity group’s activities were not “primarily” religious under state law, stripping the group of a key tax break and ordering it to pay into the state unemployment system. Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB) last year argued that the state had improperly removed its designation as a religious organization.  The charity filed a lawsuit after the state said it did not qualify to be considered as an organization…Continue Reading

The King of Kings

Cindy Paslawski We are at the end of the Church year. We began with Advent a year ago, commemorating the time awaiting the coming of the Christ and we are ending these weeks later with a vision of the future, a vision of Christ the King of the Universe on His throne before us all.…Continue Reading

7,000 Pro-Lifers March In London

By STEVEN ERTELT LONDON (LifeNews) — Over the weekend, some seven thousand pro-life people in the UK participated in the March for Life in London to protest abortion.They marched to Parliament Square on Saturday, September 2 under the banner of “Freedom to Live” and had to deal with a handful of radical abortion activists.During the…Continue Reading

An Appeal For Prayer For The Armenian People

By RAYMOND LEO CARDINAL BURKE (Editor’s Note: His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke on August 29, 2023, issued this prayer for the Armenian people, noting their unceasing love for Christ, even in the face of persecution.) + + On the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, having a few days ago celebrated the…Continue Reading

Robert Hickson, Founding Member Of Christendom College, Dies At 80

By MAIKE HICKSON FRONT ROYAL, Va. (LifeSiteNews) — Robert David Hickson, Jr., of Front Royal, Va., died at his home on September 2, 2023, at 21:29 p.m. after several months of suffering and after having received the Last Rites of the Catholic Church. He was surrounded by friends and family.Robert is survived by me —…Continue Reading

The Real Hero Of “Sound of Freedom”… Says The Film Has Strengthened The Fight Against Child Trafficking

By ANA PAULA MORALES (CNA) —Tim Ballard, a former U.S. Homeland Security agent who risked his life to fight child trafficking, discussed the impact of the movie Sound of Freedom, which is based on his work, in an August 29 interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. “I’ve spent more than 20 years helping…Continue Reading

Advertisement

Our Catholic Faith (Section B of print edition)

Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This lesson on medical-moral issues is taken from the book Catholicism & Ethics. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. The email and postal addresses are given at the end of this column. Special Course On Catholicism And Ethics (Pages 53-59)…Continue Reading

Color Politics An Impediment To Faith

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The USCCB is rightly concerned about racism, as they should be about any sin. In the 2018 statement Open Wide Our Hearts, they affirm the dignity of every human person: “But racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart. This evil causes great harm to its victims, and…Continue Reading

Trademarks Of The True Messiah

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this essay on September 2, and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + In Sunday’s Gospel the Lord firmly sets before us the need for the cross, not as an end in itself, but as the way to glory. Let’s consider the Gospel in three stages.First: The Pattern That…Continue Reading

A Beacon Of Light… The Holy Cross And Jesus’ Unconditional Love

By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON Each year on September 14 the Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. The Feast Day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross commemorates the day St. Helen found the True Cross. It is fitting then, that today we should focus on the final moments of Jesus’ life on the…Continue Reading

Our Ways Must Become More Like God’s Ways

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 55:6-9Phil. 1:20c-24, 27aMatt. 20:1-16a In the first reading today, God tells us through the Prophet Isaiah that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, especially when we look at what the Lord…Continue Reading

The Devil And The Democrats

By FR. DENIS WILDE, OSA States such as Minnesota, California, Maryland, and others, in all cases with Democrat-controlled legislatures, are on a fast track to not only allow unborn babies to be murdered on demand as a woman’s “constitutional right” but also to allow infanticide.Our nation has gotten so used to the moral evil of killing in the womb that…Continue Reading

Crushed But Unbroken . . . The Martyrdom Of St. Margaret Clitherow

By RAY CAVANAUGH The late-1500s were a tough time for Catholics in England, where the Reformation was in full gear. A 1581 law prohibited Catholic religious ceremonies. And a 1584 Act of Parliament mandated that all Catholic priests leave the country or else face execution. Some chose to remain, however, so they could continue serving the faithful.Also taking huge risks…Continue Reading

Advertisement(2)