Stone & Incense Search
Start hereCurious, or no faithEvangelical, Pentecostal or ProtestantFrom another faithSomeone I love is CatholicBecoming CatholicI was Catholic once Today in the ChurchLibraryHard questionsVoices of the revivalTake the next stepAboutSources & methodSupport the site
The saints

St. Thomas Becket

The king’s best friend, made archbishop, who chose God over the king and was cut down in his cathedral.

Feast: 29 December · 1118 to 1170 · The Middle Ages · London and Canterbury, England

Read the story 1 min read
A plain typographic plate: St. Thomas Becket, with the feast day.

Typographic plate by Stone & Incense: we found no public-domain image of this saint we could verify.

Home / The saints / St. Thomas Becket

Canterbury Cathedral, 1170

Thomas Becket was chancellor of England and the closest friend of King Henry II.1

Henry made him archbishop of Canterbury, expecting a loyal ally.1

Instead Thomas defended the Church’s rights against the king.

Patron of diocesan clergy1

01St. Thomas Becket

Murder in the cathedral

After years of conflict and exile, Henry shouted in anger, and four knights rode to Canterbury and killed Thomas in the cathedral.1

Pilgrims came from all over Europe to his tomb.1

Live it this week

Put God ahead of a friend

Thomas chose God over his best friend the king. This week, if a friend pressures you toward something wrong, say no clearly and kindly.

Notes

How we know · 1 source for this page
  1. Franciscan Media, Saint of the Day: “Saint Thomas Becket”. franciscanmedia.org. franciscanmedia.org

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain); Verse numbers are modern, with Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.