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The Fifth Day of Christmas - Feast of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr

December 29th, 2007

The Fifth Day of Christmas - the Feast of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr.

St. Thomas Becket is the OTHER St. Thomas, martyred for the Catholic Faith in England by a king named Henry over matters of Church governance.

Thomas was born in London on the 21st of December in either 1117 or 1118 to Gilbert Becket and Matilda Roheise. His parents were buried in Old St. Paul’s Cathedral.

When Thomas was 10 he learned to read at the Merton Priory in England and then traveled to the Mainland for further studies of canon and civil law in Paris, Bologna and Auxerre.

After his studies were concluded he returned to England around 1141 where he gained the attention of Theobold, Archbishop of Canterbury who sent him on several missions to Rome and ordained him a deacon in 1154. Soon after he was named Archdeacon of Canterbury.

Take 15% off all books about martyrs today.

You can also take 25% off Becket. December 29th only!