July 6, 2005
Patron Saint of Lawyers
Did you know there is a Patron Saint of Lawyers?
In April, 1534, Sir Thomas More (1478 – 1535) refused to swear to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy, and was committed to the Tower of London on April 17. More was found guilty of treason and was beheaded on July 6, 1535. As the executioner made ready, the old man was offered a pardon if he would accede to the King's supremacy. His final words on the scaffold were: "The King’s good servant, but God’s first."
More was formally beatified by Pope Leo XIII, in the Decree of December 29, 1886. He was then canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935. St. Thomas More has long been identified as the patron saint of lawyers, and on October 31, 2000, Pope John Paul II signed a proclamation making Sir Thomas More the Patron Saint of Lawyers.
St. Thomas More’s day occurred on June 22nd, while I was in Los Angeles attending the West Coast edition of Legal Tech. My youngest brother, the attorney, Steve Collins (Burroughs Collins & Jabaley partner), reminded me of my oversight by sending me the above bit of lawyer history.
More information can be found on Thomas More at:
www.apostles.com/thomasmore.html
www.luminarium.org/renlit/tmore.htm
Related posts
Filed under Blog by Tom Collins