Feast of Saint Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket (about 1118-1170), chancellor of England andArchbishopof Canterbury, devoutly prays before the altar in CanterburyCathedralwhile three knights approach him from behind, one with his sword raised menacingly. Becket had been a trusted friend of Henry II, King of England, but they became entangled in a quarrel over the rights of the Church. That dispute ended bitterly in 1170 when a group of Henry’s knights, incited by their king’s anger at the archbishop, killed Becket at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral. Becket was officially proclaimed a saint within three years, and was heralded as a hero who had defied a tyrant for the Church. He remained one of the most popular English saints untilHenry VIII, during theProtestantReformation, desecrated his shrine, destroyed his bones, and ordered that all mention of his name be obliterated. (After Henry’s decree in 1532 Henry VIII broke with Rome and proclaimed…