This week in Christian history: Reginald Pole consecrated; Mother Angelica dies
Reginald Pole consecrated archbishop of Canterbury – March 22, 1557
This week marks the anniversary of Reginald Pole's consecration as archbishop of Canterbury, the last Roman Catholic clergyman to hold the office.
A cardinal, Pole had an extensive career within the Catholic Church, having helped oversee the Council of Trent in the 1540s and, at one point, being seriously considered for the papacy in 1550.
Pole became archbishop under the reign of Queen Mary I, a devout Catholic whose violent efforts to stamp out Protestantism in England earned her the nickname “Bloody Mary.”
“Pole is usually not blamed for the campaign of heresy trials and burnings of almost three hundred heretics and Protestants that is such a blot on the reign of ‘Bloody Mary,’” noted the National Catholic Register in 2016.
“Known for his gentleness and patience with those suspected of heresy, he regarded them as sinners rather than traitors, urging leniency, conversion, and forgiveness.”
Pole’s efforts to restore Catholicism to England ultimately failed, however, with him and his Catholic queen both dying the following year and being succeeded by Protestants.
