John Fisher

Patron ofDiocese of Rochester

SituationsConscience, Defense of the Faith, Persecution

ProfessionsBishops, Theologians, University Faculty

Why this patronage

Saint John Fisher is honored as patron of the Diocese of Rochester, the see he governed for over thirty years as a model bishop — learned, austere, and devoted to his poor flock — refusing wealthier appointments to stay with them. He is invoked for conscience and the defense of the faith because he stood utterly alone: the only one of England’s bishops to refuse Henry VIII’s claim to headship of the Church, he chose the scaffold over a lie. Pope Paul III named him cardinal as he sat imprisoned in the Tower; Henry, enraged, swore the hat would have no head to sit on, and had him beheaded on June 22, 1535. Bishops, theologians, and university teachers claim him as their own, for he was Chancellor of Cambridge and among the foremost scholars of his age.

Life

Saint John Fisher was the Bishop of Rochester and one of the foremost Catholic scholars of Tudor England. Born in 1469 in Beverley, Yorkshire, he served as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and was renowned for his learning, piety, and pastoral care. He was the only English bishop to refuse King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy. Pope Paul III created him cardinal in recognition of his courage, but Henry had him beheaded on Tower Hill on June 22, 1535 — a fortnight before his friend Thomas More suffered the same fate.

Prayer

Into Thy Hands (In Manus Tuas)

In te, Dómine, sperávi;

In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped;

non confúndar in aetérnum:

let me never be confounded:

in iustítia tua líbera me.

in Thy justice deliver me.

Inclína ad me aurem tuam,

Bow down Thine ear to me,

accélera ut éruas me.

make haste to deliver me.

Esto mihi in Deum protectórem,

Be Thou unto me a God, a protector,

et in domum refúgii, ut salvum me fácias.

and a house of refuge, to save me.

Quóniam fortitúdo mea et refúgium meum es tu;

For Thou art my strength and my refuge;

et propter nomen tuum dedúces me et enútries me.

and for Thy name's sake Thou wilt lead me and nourish me.

Edúces me de láqueo hoc

Thou wilt bring me out of this snare

quem abscondérunt mihi,

which they have hidden for me,

quóniam tu es protéctor meus.

for Thou art my protector.

In manus tuas comméndo spíritum meum;

Into Thy hands I commend my spirit;

redemísti me, Dómine, Deus veritátis.

Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.