How much do you know about our parish's patron saint?
Saint John Fisher, the patron of our parish, was martyred on June 22, 1535 by order of his former pupil King Henry VIII. He was the chancelor of Cambridge University and Bishop of Rochester from 1504 until his death. His friend, St Thomas More, whose feast day is also June 22, wrote of Fisher, "I reckon in this realm no one man, in wisdom, learning, and long approved virtue together, meet to be matched and comparted with him."
Clearly, Bishop John Fisher was a man of great intellect and a talented preacher, writer, and theologian. His sermons on the penitential psalms ( Psalms 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; and 143.) were reprinted seven times before his death. With the coming of Lutheranism, he was drawn into controversy. His eight books against heresy gave him a leading position among European theologians.
Both Saint John Fisher and Saint Thomas More gave up their lives in testimony to the unity of the Church and to the indissolubility of Marriage.
