These two great English martyrs did not both die on the same day but they were canonized together in 1935 and their joint feast day is celebrated today.

John Fisher was chaplain to King Henry VII’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. King Henry VII and Lady Margaret both died in 1509 and he preached classic orations at their funerals. The new king, Henry VIII declared him to be the most distinguished prelate in any kingdom. But his popularity was to turn. An act of Succession was passed in 1534 requiring all the kings subjects to recognise the children of Henry and his new wife Anne Boleyn as successors to the throne. Fisher refused the oath and his fate was sealed. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and charged with treason.

Thomas Moore like Fisher was also drawn into the question of the kings divorce. He could not avoid counselling against Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn and was forced to resign as Lord Chancellor after only three years in the post. He also refused to take the oath and he too was imprisoned in the tower and executed four days later.