Saint of the week-- St Thomas A' Becket

           

St Thomas started out studying at Merton Priory, in Surrey, England. He studied law at London and later in Paris. In about 1141 he joined the household of Archbishop Theobold of Canterbury. The Archbishop sent him on several missions to Rome, and in 1144 he was sent to Bologna and Auxerre to study Canon Law. He was ordained a Deacon in 1154 and was later nominated to be Archdeacon by Archbishop Theobold.  He became a favorite of Henry of Anjou after opposing the claim of the son of King Stephen of Blois, Eustace, to the throne of England, and convincing Pope Eugene III. Henry later became King Henry II of England. Thomas was  appointed Chancellor of England in 1155. He was the second most powerful man in England, next to the King. He became known for the extravagance of his lifestyle. He accompanied Henry, on a military expedition, to Toulouse, in 1159, with his own army behind him. When Archbishop Theobald died in 1161, King Henry nominated Thomas as Theobald's successor. Thomas objected to the nomination, but was elected in 1162. He resigned as Chancellor, was ordained a Priest the day before his consecration, and became Archbishop of Canterbury. Upon consecration, he completely changed his lifestyle, becoming very austere. Soon, he was at odds with the king over Church and clerical rights. In 1164 Thomas had a falling out with the king over the Constitutions of Clarendon, which denied clerics the right to be tried in an ecclesiastical court and to appeal to Rome. As a result, he was forced to flee to France. He appealed to Pope Alexander III, who was then at Sens. Alexander didn't want to get on Henry's bad side and so refused to support Thomas. When both Henry and Thomas stayed firm in their opinions, Alexander suggested that Thomas enter the Cistercian abbey at Pontigny, which he did. In 1166 Henry threatened to expel all Cistercians from England, Thomas went to St. Columba Abbey, near Sens, which was protected by King Louis VII of France. Thanks to the efforts of King Louis, Henry and Thomas came to a peaceful agreement, at Normandy, in 1170. Thomas then returned to England. Peace didn't last long, soon they were at odds again, when Thomas refused to lift  an excommunication on the Archbishop of York, and on other Bishops who had participated in the coronation of Henry's son. The coronation had gone ahead without Thomas's approval and was an infringement of the rights of the Archbishop of Canterbury, unless they swore allegiance to the Pope. Henry threw a fit and in his anger he spoke rashly, saying that he wished he was rid of the "Troublesome Prelate". Four knights took his words literally and murdered Thomas, in his cathedral, on December 29, 1170. This shocked the whole of Europe. Thomas was proclaimed a martyr, and he was declared a saint in 1173, by Pope Alexander III. Henry did public penance in 1171. His feast is the date of his martyrdom, December 29.