Saint Thomas de Cantelupe, Chancellor of England and Bishop of Hereford

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_de_Cantilupe

He was a son of William de Cantilupe, the 2nd baron (d. 1251), one of King John's ministers, and a nephew of Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester (d. 1266). He was born at Hambleden in Buckinghamshire and was educated in Paris and Orléans.

Career

Thomas became a teacher of canon law at Oxford and Chancellor of the University in 1261.[1]

During the Barons' War, Thomas favoured Simon de Montfort and the baronial party. He represented the barons before St Louis of France at Amiens in 1264.

He was made Chancellor of England on 25 February 1264,[2] but was deprived of this office after Montfort's death at Evesham, and lived out of England for some time. Returning to England, he was again Chancellor of Oxford University, lectured on theology, and held several ecclesiastical appointments.[1]

Bishop of Hereford

In 1274 he attended the Second Council of Lyons,[citation needed] and about 14 June 1275 he was appointed Bishop of Hereford and was consecrated on 8 September 1275.[3]

Cantilupe was now a trusted adviser of Edward I and lived at Earley in Berkshire when attending royal councils in Windsor or Westminster. Even when differing from the king's opinions, he did not forfeit his favour.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Kilwardby, was also his friend; but after Kilwardby's death in 1279 a series of disputes arose between the bishop and the new archbishop, John Peckham. The disagreements culminated in Peckham excommunicating Cantilupe, who proceeded to Rome to pursue the matter with the pope.[4]

Death, burial, and canonisation

Cantilupe died at Ferento, near Orvieto, in Italy, on 25 August 1282; he was buried in Hereford Cathedral. Part of the evidence used to secure his canonisation was the supposed resurrection of William Cragh, a Welsh rebel who was hanged in 1290, eight years after Cantilupe's death. A papal inquiry was convened in London on 20 April 1307 to determine whether or not Cantilupe had died excommunicate; if he had, then he could not be canonised. Forty-four witnesses were called and various letters produced, before the commissioners of the inquiry concluded that Cantilupe had been absolved in Rome before his death.[4]

On 17 April 1320, Cantilupe was canonised by Pope John XXII, after a papal investigation lasting almost 13 years.[5] His shrine became a popular place of pilgrimage, and its base can still be seen there today. Since 1881, a reliquary containing his skull has been held at Downside Abbey in Somerset.

Legacy

Cantilupe appears to have been an exemplary bishop in both spiritual and secular affairs. His charities were large and his private life blameless. He was constantly visiting his diocese, correcting offenders and discharging other episcopal duties, and he compelled neighbouring landholders to restore estates which rightly belonged to the see of Hereford.

In 1905 the Cantilupe Society was founded to publish the episcopal registers of Hereford, of which Cantilupe's is the first in existence.

Also known as

Thomas de Cantilupe Thomas de Cantelow Thomas de Cantelou Thomas de Canteloupe Thomas de Cantelupo Memorial

25 August (Roman Martyrology) 3 October (in England) formerly 2 October Profile

Born to the nobility, the son of Baron William de Cantilupe. Educated in Oxford, England, and in France at Paris and Orléans. Priest. Attended the Council of Lyons in 1245. Papal chaplain. Taught canon law at the University of Oxford, and was chosen the university chancellor in 1262. Diplomat to Saint Louis of France in 1264 during the Barons’ War. Appointed Lord Chancellor of England on 25 February 1265. Attended the Second Council of Lyons in 1274. Bishop of Hereford, England, appointed on 14 June 1275 and consecrated on 8 September 1275. Known for his large charity to the poor and his blameless personal life, endlessly involved in both Church and civil matters. Advisor to King Edward I.

Following a series of disputes between Thomas and Archbishop John Peckham of Canterbury, Peckham excommunicated Thomas. Thomas travelled to Rome, Italy to put his case before Pope Martin IV, was absolved of wrong-doing, and died in full communion with the Church while on his way back to England.

Born

c.1218 in Hambledon, Buckinghamshire, England Died

25 August 1282 in Ferento, Montefiascone, Italy of natural causes buried in Hereford Cathedral his skull was moved to a reliquary at Downside Abbey, Somerset, England in 1881 Canonized

17 April 1320 by Pope John XXII Representation

bishop with Hereford Cathedral Additional Information Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate Catholic Encyclopedia Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler books Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints other sites in english Berkshire History Catholic Online Wikipedia siti in italiano Santi e Beati

http://catholicsaints.info/saint-thomas-of-hereford/
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Thomas de Cantilupe, from a noble Anglo-Norman family, was born in 1218 with important connections: son of William de Cantilupe, Seneschal to King John, and a nephew of Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester. He was born in Hambleden in Buckinghamshire and was educated in Paris and Orleans. He became a teacher of canon law at Oxford and Chancellor of the University.

This is the family coat of arms, interestingly with three reversed leopard heads.

A clever academic, Thomas's abilities were soon recognised and he was appointed Chancellor of England under Edward I. In 1275 he became Bishop of Hereford and was well known for his holy life and devotion to his diocese.

More interestingly perhaps, he had red hair and an equally hot temper which led him into a notable number of conflicts.

Obviously Cantilupe was a fiery individual. This is the seal of Thomas de Cantilupe as Bishop.

Thomas had a 'great conflict' in 1290 with Gilbert de Clare, seventh earl of Gloucester and a powerful marcher lord, about hunting rights in Malvern and a ditch that Gilbert had dug, that was settled by costly litigation. An equally fractious argument arose between the Bishop and the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Peckham, over land rights in the Hereford diocese. The disagreements culminated in Peckham excommunicating Cantilupe, who immediately headed to Rome to pursue the matter with the Pope.

Sadly, Thomas never returned to Hereford but died of fever on 25 August 1282 in Ferento, near Orvieto, in Italy, on 25 August 1282. his flesh was interred in the church of Santo Severo, near Orvieto; the heart was conveyed to the monastic church of Ashridge in Buckinghamshire, and the bones were brought to his own cathedral at Hereford. As they were being conveyed into the church, it is said that the Earl of Gloucester approached and touched the casket which contained the bones, whereupon they 'bled-a-fresh'. The Earl was struck with guilt and made full restitution to the Church of all the lands which Bishop Cantilupe had rightly claimed from him.

Thomas's bones, buried in Hereford, had a somewhat peripatetic history until ending up where they are now. Here are the remains of Thomas's tomb in Hereford Cathedral.

Part of the evidence used to secure Thomas's canonisation was the supposed resurrection of William Cragh, a Welsh rebel, who was hanged in 1290, eight years after Cantilupe's death. A papal inquiry was convened in London in 1307 to determine whether or not Cantilupe had died excommunicate; if he had, then he could not be canonised. Forty-four witnesses were called and various letters produced, before the commissioners of the inquiry concluded that Cantilupe had been absolved in Rome before his death, so in April 1320, Cantilupe was canonised by Pope John XXII, after a papal investigation lasting almost 13 years. His feast day was fixed on 2 October. This delightful little representation of the saint shows him with his cat - a charmingly domestic scene (but I'm not sure how authentic it is).

Thomas de Cantilupe proved to be an energetic worker of miracles.

On Easter Monday 1287, a series of miracles began, which lasted well into the 14th century. When reviewed by Commissioners in 1307, over 400 miracles had been recorded – second only to Thomas Becket in Canterbury, and yet we barely know his name today. Offerings at the shrine of St. Thomas were so substantial that they helped re-build parts of the cathedral – notably the central tower.

As a result of his growing importance, in 1349, his remains were once more moved to a new shrine in the Lady Chapel in the presence of King Edward III, and new effigies of bishops were provided either side of processional aisles, to guide pilgrims on their way to make their petitions to where the bones of Thomas were guarded by 14 Knights Templar figures.

Here are three, all of them defaced over the years.

In the late 14th century, the cult of St. Thomas declined and, as with many such shrines in the late 1540s in the English Reformation, the shrine itself was destroyed, the ornaments and relics dispersed, although his bones seem to have been preserved by local Catholics at Belmont Abbey until the 17th Century. However, devotion to St. Thomas continued, and there is evidence of his relics being used in a procession in Hereford in 1610 to ward off plague.

The tomb we see today, magnificently restored as it might have been seen when pilgrims flocked to pray here, is empty. But who knows? If a pilgrim prays hard enough for a miracle, even today it might just happen, courtesy of the Blessed Saint Thomas de Cantilupe.

You can click on this link to see pictures: http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2014/02/accompany-me-on-p...

Aston Cantlow

Source: Sir William Dugdale. (1730). “The Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated: From Records, Leiger ...,” Volume 2. Page 833. < GoogleBooks >

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References

1. http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/tcantilupe.html
2. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cantilupe-13 Cites
   1. Chauncy, Henry. The Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire (J.M. Mullinger, London, 1826) Vol. 1, Page 62: "Bishop of Hereford, who Anno 34 Edw. I. was canoniz'd for a Saint."
   2. Cantilupe, Thomas. The Register of Thomas de Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford (A.D. 1275-1282) (Wilson and Phillips, Hereford, 1906) Page ii: "born about 1218, not in the Castle of Hereford, as Antony Wood supposed, but at his father's manor of Hamildene in Buckinghamshire, where a chapel was built in his memory by the Earl of Cornwall."
   3. Wikipedia:Thomas_de_Cantilupe
   4. Ancestral File Number: 9XQZ-92
3. Fleming, Andrew. (2013) “The Cult of St Thomas Cantilupe and the Politics of Remembrance.” D.Phil. History, St. Edmund Hall. < PDF >