‹ The Bishops
Counter-Reformation · Saint
St John Fisher
Bishop of Rochester
MartyrReformerConfessor
1469 – 1535
1491
Ordained
1504
Consecrated Bishop
Rochester
Diocese
England
Country
The Life
Born in Yorkshire around 1469, John Fisher was a distinguished theologian and Chancellor of Cambridge before being consecrated Bishop of Rochester in 1504. A leading scholar of the Catholic Reform, he wrote against Lutheran teaching and championed learning.
He alone among the English bishops refused to accept Henry VIII's claim to be Supreme Head of the Church of England. Created a cardinal in 1535, he was beheaded that same year and canonized, with St Thomas More, by Pius XI in 1935.
Notable Actions
- Consecrated Bishop of Rochester (1504), the poorest English see, which he refused to leave
- A leading theologian of the Catholic Reform; wrote against Luther and defended Catherine of Aragon
- Refused the Oath of Supremacy and rejected Henry VIII as head of the Church
- Created a cardinal by Paul III in 1535, to Henry's fury
- Martyred 22 June 1535; canonized with St Thomas More by Pius XI in 1935
Christian people, I am come hither to die for the faith of Christ's Holy Catholic Church.
Words on the scaffold, 22 June 1535Portrait: Hans Holbein the Younger / Wikimedia Commons