Answer: Thomas More was beheaded July 06, 1535, but was not canonized as a saint until 1935. During the Papal Mass in St. Peter’s for the canonization of St. Thomas More Pope Pius XI stated: "Endowed with the keenest of minds and supreme versatility in every kind of knowledge, he enjoyed such esteem and favour among his fellow-citizens that he was soon able to reach the highest grades of public office. ... When he saw that the doctrines of the Church were gravely endangered, he knew how to despise resolutely the flattery of human respect, how to resist, in accordance with his duty, the supreme head of the State when there was [a] question of things commanded by God and the Church, and how to renounce with dignity the high office with which he was invested. It was for these motives that he too was imprisoned, nor could the tears of his wife and children make him swerve from the path of truth and virtue."

See:
 • Pope Pius XI Homily at the Canonization of St. Thomas More: By Pope Pius XI The Remnant (https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/3302-homily-at-the-canonization-of-st-thomas-more-by-pope-pius-xi)
 • James C. Hamilton, St. Thomas More: A Man for All Seasons
Vatican Notes Volume 69, Issue 387, 2021, Page: 36-39
 • Michael Siegfried, Thomas More Martyr And Saint
Vatican Notes Volume 49, Issue 4, 2001, Pages 7 & 10
 • Thomas I. Crimando, St. Thomas More
Vatican Notes, Volume 34, Issue: 2, 1985, Pages 10-12


Thomas More - Scott #755-577 (1985)