This week in Christian history: Henry VIII dissolves popular abbey; 'Apostle to the Indians' baptized
Henry VIII dissolves popular abbey – Aug. 4, 1538
This week marks the anniversary of when King Henry VIII of England dissolved Walsingham Abbey, which had been a popular Roman Catholic pilgrimage site during the Medieval era.
Walsingham had been a pilgrimage site since the 11th century, when the landowner claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary. A priory was founded there during the 12th century.
In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church when the pope refused to grant him permission to divorce Queen Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn.
As part of his efforts against the Church, Henry had numerous monasteries and other church properties in the British Isles dissolved, including Walsingham.
“John Petrie, the King’s representative, rode defiantly into the Abbey grounds on his horse, stepped off, and received the deed from the Abbot giving over all the grounds and treasuries to the king,” recounted Catholic Insight in a 2024 piece.
“They melted all the precious vessels, the copper roof, the tin, the embroidery, anything they could get their hands on. The precious statue of Our Lady was, according to some reports, dragged through the streets and burned, but recent evidence suggests that the real image survived.”
