His Eminence Saint John Fisher |
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Cardinal and Bishop of Rochester | |
John Fisher by Hans Holbein the Younger
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Diocese | Rochester |
See | Rochester |
Appointed | 14 October 1504 |
Installed | 24 April 1505 |
Term ended | 2 January 1535 |
Predecessor | Richard FitzJames |
Successor | Nicholas Heath |
Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of San Vitale |
Orders | |
Ordination | 17 December 1491 by Thomas Rotherham |
Consecration | 24 November 1504 by William Warham |
Created Cardinal | 21 May 1535 |
Rank | Bishop, Cardinal-Priest |
Personal details | |
Born | c. Beverley, Yorkshire, Kingdom of England |
19 October 1469
Died | 22 June 1535 Tower Hill, London, Kingdom of England |
(aged 65)
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Motto | faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum |
Coat of arms | |
Sainthood | |
Feast day |
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Venerated in | Catholic Church, Church of England, some of the other Churches in the Anglican Communion |
Title as Saint | Bishop, cardinal and martyr |
Beatified | 29 December 1886 Rome, Kingdom of Italy, by Pope Leo XIII |
Canonized | 19 May 1935 Vatican City, by Pope Pius XI |
Patronage | Diocese of Rochester |
Styles of John Fisher |
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Reference style | His Eminence |
Spoken style | Your Eminence |
Informal style | Cardinal |
John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535), venerated by Roman Catholics as Saint John Fisher, was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic, and eventually served as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
Fisher was executed by order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept the King as Supreme Head of the Church of England and for upholding the Catholic Church's doctrine of papal primacy. He was named a cardinal shortly before his death. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church. He shares his feast day with St Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and on 6 July in that of the Church of England.
John Fisher was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, in 1469, the eldest son of Robert Fisher, a modestly prosperous merchant of Beverley, and Agnes, his wife. He was one of four children. His father died when John was eight. His mother remarried and had five more children by her second husband, William White. Fisher seems to have had close contacts with his extended family all his life. Fisher's early education was probably received in the school attached to the collegiate church in his home town. He attended Beverley Grammar School, an old foundation claiming to date from the year 700. In the present day, one of the houses at the school is named in Fisher's honour.