It is told that on December 29th 1170, King Henry II of England exclaimed in a burst of anger and in the presence of four faithful knights, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” The knights interpreted the King’s words as an order to execute the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, who had been disturbing the King’s peace by insisting on the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the independence of the church from the king.
By evening, the four knights arrived to Canterbury Cathedral as the monks gathered to pray Vespers. They knocked on the door which connected the monastic cloister and the church. As soon as the door was opened, they drew their swords and executed the archbishop.
The execution of the beloved Thomas proved tragic to Henry’s reputation. Thomas was immediately hailed a martyr and the king had to do public penance by walking to Canterbury in sack cloth and ashes. A beautiful shrine was built at Canterbury Cathedral to entomb Thomas’ remains and the mother church of England became a major pilgrimage site. This beautiful shrine was the destination of the pilgrims of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
After the dissolution of all monasteries in England ordered by King Henry VIII in the 16th century, the shrine to Saint Thomas Becket was vandalized and his remains scattered. Henry, who wished to consolidate all secular and religious power in himself, wished to erase all memory of Saint Thomas Becket portraying him as a disobedient English subject who dared to defy the king. Today only a marker and a candle stand where once the magnificent shrine stood in the apse of the cathedral.
Saint Thomas Becket, pray for us!
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