**SAINT JOHN FISHER**
John Fisher was born in Beverley (Yorkshire) around 1469 and died in London on 22 June 1535. After completing his studies at the school of William Melton at the University of Cambridge, he became a Master of Arts in 1491 and was soon ordained a priest. In 1501, he was elected Vice-Chancellor of the University, and in 1504, Chancellor. Shortly thereafter, he became Bishop of Rochester (Roffensis). With the favor of Queen Margaret, he reorganized the University of Cambridge in the humanistic spirit and method. Erasmus of Rotterdam, who was honorably hosted by Fisher, wrote: “(Cambridge) flourished so greatly that it could rival the foremost schools of this century” (Ep. ad Bovillum, 1516, in B. Allen, II, Oxford 1910, p. 328).
A passionate devotee of the Bible and the Church Fathers, he amassed a rich library in his episcopal palace, one of the finest of the time. His writings reflect his multifaceted, predominantly positive culture, though tinged with skeptical speculations in the Cambridge tradition. A perfect Christian humanist, he did not neglect his great duties nor exploit the favor of the court or the friendship of Henry VIII. Instead, in an era when such dedication was rare, he devoted himself to preaching in his diocese, which, though one of the poorest, he never abandoned. His constant mortification, sustained by singular spiritual fervor and compounded by the hardships of study and later of apostolate and imprisonment, reduced him to a walking skeleton, barely able to mount the scaffold. A man of such mettle could not yield to the threats of Henry VIII (v.) in the famous matter of the divorce. More (v.), endured harsh imprisonment in the Tower of London, where he received news of his elevation to the cardinalate, and soon after adorned the purple with his blood, a true martyr in defense of the Roman papacy.
**Saint John Fisher** – Portrait drawn by H. Holbein. London, British Museum.
He wrote: *Treatyse concernyng the frynyfull sayings of Davyd the Kunge and Prophete in the seven penytencyall Psalmes* (London 1505): a series of discourses delivered at Rochester, London, and Cambridge, published at the request of Queen Margaret. This work, inspired by Saint Augustine’s *Super psalmos*, saw many editions, was translated into Latin, and established Fisher’s reputation for its profound and penetrating unction; *Sermon at the funeral of Henry VII* (February 1509): a broad program of civil and ecclesiastical reform; *A mornynge remembrancce had at the Monthy Mynde of Margarete countesse of Richemonde and Darbye* (February 1509): an encomium of Margaret’s merits regarding the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford; *De unica Magdalena* (Paris 1519); *Eversio munitionis quam Jodocus Clichtoveus erigere moliebatur adversus unicum Magdalena* (February 1519); *J. Fisher Roffensis ep. confutatio secunda I. F. Stapulensis de Magdalena* (February 1519): polemical works against Parisian humanists, in which he upholds the identity of the three Marys of the Gospel; *The Sermon made agaynst the pernicious doctryn of Martin Luuther*: a vigorous refutation of Luther’s principal errors (indulgences, sacraments, Church authority, papal primacy), delivered on 12 May 1521 in St. Paul’s Square in London, the same day Luther’s works were solemnly burned; at Henry VIII’s command, it was immediately translated into Latin by S. Pace; *Concio in Io. 15, 26 habita Londini, eo die quo Lutheri scripta flammis commissa sunt* (London 1521); *Assertio septem Sacramentorum contra Martinum Lutherum* (February 1521): a detailed refutation of *De captivitate Babylonica*, which Luther and German historians attribute to Fisher, while English authors consider it the work of Henry VIII, to whom Fisher allegedly supplied material and gave its final form; *Assertio omnium articulorum per novissimam bullam Leonis X damnatorum* (Paris 1523; also titled *Assertionis Lutheranae confutatio*): a rebuttal of all the articles Luther had opposed to the papal bull, with particular attention to free will and the papal primacy; *Assertionum regis Angliae de fide catholica adversus Lutheri Babylonicam captivitatem defensio* (Cologne 1525): in twelve chapters, refuting Luther’s innovations, with emphasis on the sacraments of the Eucharist, Holy Orders, and Matrimony; *Conclusio calumniarum Ulrici Veleni Minhonensis, quibus Petrum numquam Romae fuisse cavillatur* (Paris 1525): a polemical rebuttal against the pseudo-Ulricus Velenus on the coming of Peter to Rome; *Sacri sacerdotii defensio contra Lutherum* (Antwerp 1525; critical new edition in *Corpus Catholicorum* [no. 9], Cologne 1925): a masterful refutation of Luther’s *De abroganda Missa privata*, in which he demonstrates, with arguments that became classic, the sacrilegious nature of the private Mass; *De veritate corporis et sanguinis Christi in Eucharistia* (Cologne 1527): a vigorous defense of the real presence against Oecolampadius. This is Fisher’s magnum opus; *De causa matrimonii Angliae regis liber* (Salamanca 1530): a clear demonstration of the validity of the marriage between Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. Posthumous works include: *Opusculum de fiducia et misericordia Dei* (Cologne 1556); *Psalmi seu precationes* (Lyon 1572); *A godly treatise declaring the benefits, fruits and commodities of prayer. A spiritual consolation the by sister Elizabeth* (London 1577): an exhortation written from prison in 1535 to his sister; *His sermon upon this sentence of the Prophet Ezechiel: Lamentationes, Carmen* (no date). An incomplete edition of his *Opera omnia* was published in Würzburg in 1597; I. E. B. Mayor published a ten-volume collection of his English works (London 1876).
These works place him among the foremost and most valiant anti-Lutheran polemicists: his writings were cited with honor (e.g., by Cardinal Mendoza) and esteemed throughout the 16th century, including at the Council of Trent. Saint Charles Borromeo, who kept his portrait in his chamber, regarded him as a model bishop; Paul III judged him “a god and ornament” of the English clergy and kingdom; Pius XI canonized him in 1935, invoking for the Holy See the protection of Fisher and More with the celebrated Ambrosian phrase: “Such defenders I desire.”
On his theological thought: M. Lepin, *L'idée du sacrifice de la Messe d'après les théologiens depuis les origines jusqu'à nos jours*, 2nd ed., Paris 1926, pp. 254, 254; M. Alonso, *El sacrificio eucarístico de la Ultima Cena del Señor según el Concilio Tridentino*, Madrid 1929, pp. 38-40; M. De la Taille, *Mysterium Fidei*, 3rd ed., ibid. 1931, passim; P. Polman, *L'élément historique dans la controverse religieuse du XVIe siècle*, Gembloux 1932, pp. 353-356, 442-444 and passim; F. Peralta Bellabriga, *De doctrina b. I. F. in operibus adversus Lutherum conscriptis*, Rome 1934; F. Giancane, *Il pensiero di G. card. F. intorno al sacrificio di Cristo*, Lecce 1935; A. Humbert, s.V. in *DTHC*, V, cols. 2555-2510.