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Special Report
An American Saint-Maker
Katharine of Aragon (1485-1536), the first wife of the much-married Henry VIII, has a new champion.
Katharine of Aragon (1485-1536), the first wife of the much-married English king, Henry VIII, has a new champion. Gregory Nassif St. John, a retired New York stage actor now living in Georgia, has begun the process that he hopes and prays will lead to the Catholic Church declaring that Katharine (Nassif St. John uses the traditional English spelling) is a saint.
Nassif St. John learned of Katharine’s story via The Six Wives of Henry VIII, the award-winning BBC series that aired in 1970. Katharine was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain (the royal couple who bankrolled Columbus’ voyage to what turned to be the Americas). In 1509 she married Henry. It was a love match, at least at the beginning, but after 18 years of marriage and the birth of six children, only one of whom, Mary, survived to adulthood, Henry grew tired of his wife. Infidelity was commonplace among kings, and Henry was no better than his brother monarchs, but about the time Katharine stopped conceiving, he became particularly infatuated with one his wife’s ladies-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. Anne was intelligent, ambitious, vivacious, sexy, and she was candid about her terms: she didn’t want to be Henry’s concubine, she wanted to be his wife and queen.
As a Catholic, Henry could not divorce Katharine, so the only alternative was to have their marriage annulled. Only the pope could declare that what had appeared to all the world as marriage had been invalid from the beginning. In presenting his case Henry argued that because he had married his elder brother’s widow their union was cursed by God — they had no child (by “child” he meant a boy; Mary, as a girl, didn’t count). Katharine countered that she and Henry’s elder brother Arthur had been married only three months before the sickly fourteen-year-old died, and during that time they had never consummated their marriage. When he married Henry, she said bluntly, she was still a virgin — a fact well known to him.
The case dragged on as Pope Clement VII dithered about what to do. After four years of waiting, Henry took matters into his own hands. He had his obliging archbishop of Canterbury annul his marriage with Katharine. He married Anne Boleyn. Then he severed England’s ties with Rome and proclaimed himself head of the Church in England. In short order Anne was crowned queen and Parliament declared her children would be heirs to the throne of England. As for Katharine and Mary, they were shipped off two different castles. Katharine was stripped of her title, “Queen of England,” henceforth she would be known as “Dowager Princess of Wales.” As for Mary, she was declared illegitimate. Katharine absolutely refused to accept such a settlement. Her marriage was valid; her daughter was Princess of Wales; and the pope did have authority over such matters. But under Henry’s new political and religious order, such sentiments were treason. Those who supported Katharine, including Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher, were beheaded. Other supporters were hanged, drawn, and quartered; starved to death in the Tower of London; or in the case of Katharine’s confessor, roasted to death over a slow fire. When Henry sent two envoys to threaten Katharine with death if she did not conform to the king’s will, she fully expected that she would die a martyr like her friends.
Henry never went that far, but he was still cruel. He confiscated her jewels and gave them to Anne. He forbade Katharine and Mary to ever see each other again. He stripped Katharine of almost all her household staff, many of whom had come to England with her in 1501. When Anne became pregnant Henry demanded that Katharine hand over the christening gown that all their dead children had worn; all other mistreatment she had borne patiently, but this was too much — Katharine absolutely refused to give up the gown.
In December 1535 Katharine fell seriously ill. By the first week of January 1536 it was clear she was dying. Hours before her death she wrote one last letter to her husband. She begged him to look to “the health and safeguard of your soul which you ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of your body, for the which you have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles.” Then, after pleading with him to be a good father to their daughter Mary and a generous master to her few remaining ladies, she concluded saying, “Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things. Katharine the Queen.”
“Her story touched me very deeply,” Nassif St. John said in a recent interview. “I knew she was being treated unfairly and cruelly. Her story stuck with me my whole life.”
It’s one thing to feel sympathy for Katharine, but how does one go about making her a saint? Encouraged by his parish priest, Nassif St. John wrote to Michael Evans, the Catholic bishop of East Anglia, (the diocese where Katharine died and where she lies buried) and Vincent Nichols, Catholic archbishop of Westminster, seeking their advice. Archbishop Nichols and Bishop Evans both expressed their support for the cause, but emphasized that there must be clear evidence of devotion to Katharine. In other words, there must be proof that people venerate Katharine’s memory and consider her saintly.
That evidence has been supplied by Charles Taylor, Dean of the Anglican diocese of Peterborough, England. Every year, about the time of the anniversary of Katharine’s death, the clergy of Peterborough Cathedral (site of Katharine’s grave) host a three-day commemoration of this holy but cast-off queen. There is an ecumenical memorial service in the cathedral, a candlelight procession to Katharine’s grave, and a Catholic Mass offered at the High Altar.
“Quite a number of our visitors come to see Katharine’s grave,” Dean Taylor wrote in a recent email. ”A few lay flowers or a pomegranate (symbol of Aragon), and even if most do not audibly or even consciously utter words of prayer, the visit to see and remember is to some extent an act of prayer in itself.”
That is a good beginning, but more is necessary. According to Msgr. Richard Soseman, a priest of the diocese of Peoria, Illinois, who worked on the cause for the canonization of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, “Laypeople should form themselves into groups, guilds, associations, foundations, etc., to promote the life, holiness, teachings, and example of the candidate. The laity should be wildly enthusiastic about their candidate, and share the good news, which they have as a result of their devotion, with others.” Msgr. Soseman also suggested producing prayer cards and perhaps pamphlets or booklets about Katharine, and disseminate them to anyone even remotely interested. To get the word out, Nassif St. John has created a website: Katharine of Aragon: The Official Website for Her Cause.
Katharine died in 1536, so obviously there are no eyewitnesses to interview about her life and character. An assessment of her holiness must be based solely on her own writings and the writings of people who knew her well. These documents exist in archives in England, Spain, and the Vatican, and the cost of tracking them down and copying them is the responsibility of the association promoting Katharine for sainthood. So this is no idle undertaking.
Nonetheless, Nassif St. John is as modest about his role as he is undaunted. “My part in all of this is simply having started the ball rolling,” he said recently. “Katharine is the focus and I never want the focus shifted to me.” And if Katharine of Aragon does become a saint, Nassif St. John has suggested two areas of which she should be patron saint. “I think she should be considered a patron saint for those struggling with their marriages,” he said, “and I believe she should be the patroness for the reunification between Rome and Canterbury.”
Letter to the Editor View all comments (55) | Leave a comment
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Deborah D | 5.24.11 @ 7:56AM
What a wonderful cause. God bless all involved.
WRTolkas| 5.24.11 @ 8:22AM
You have written a very interesting essay. Thank you for fleshing out the history of this maligned Lady. I would say her daughter, the future Queen Mary, almost had the last laugh.
Roman| 5.25.11 @ 4:24AM
Catholics were hung, drawn and quartered by Queen Elizabeth. They would be hung, then taken down alive, then their intestines would be ripped out and burned in front of them, then their private parts cut off, then, finally, killled with a knife to the heart..Then their bodies would be quartered and sent to different parts of London for display. Thus did the Anglican Church try to stamp out the Catholics of England.
Bloody Mary| 5.25.11 @ 10:08AM
And Mary Tudor was called "Bloody Mary" because she liked tomato juice with a stick of celery in it.
Jacob| 5.26.11 @ 10:39AM
Mary was the least bloodthirsty Tudor and I dare say if you had the power you'd probably have people killed if they were trying to have you killed.
And no one on either side would have had to have died if not for the perverted old buffoon who put himself in front of his entire kingdom, the most pathetic thing a king can do.
Ryan| 5.24.11 @ 8:30AM
So...what does this have to do with the Gospel?
David T| 5.24.11 @ 10:39AM
Ryan--The article is about making Katherine a saint.
Ryan| 5.24.11 @ 12:07PM
What is the point of a Christian activity that doesn't point to the Cross, then?
KyMouse| 5.25.11 @ 10:12AM
I agree, Ryan. Why bother designating this or that person a saint when everyone who loves Jesus can go to Him directly in prayer? Why try to communicate through a "middle man" when Jesus wants you to have a personal relationship with Him? Remember, He loves you so much, He paid for all of your sins on the cross. Don't be afraid to talk directly to Him!
Wsquared| 5.25.11 @ 6:57PM
KyMouse, the saints are our prayer companions, who pray with us and for us. They are the sinners who never quit on God, and they act as our role models and our guides. They help us to find Jesus when the world makes it so easy to forget him. And by the way, I find your either-or take on this ludicrous: the saints prayed directly to Jesus, just as they asked other saints to help them. We do the same, asking the saints to help, guide, and pray for us, AND we pray to Jesus. For example, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in need of thy mercy." So your idea-- and your argument-- that asking the saints to intercede for us "detracts from Christ" or somehow "replaces praying to Christ" is specious. Catholics are meant to see all members of the Body of Christ part of one, big spiritual family.
Jacob| 5.26.11 @ 10:43AM
Take your hick evangelical anti-catholic myths somewhere else. You fools wouldn't have your crude imitations if the Popes hadn't shepherded the Church until the point when the founders of your churches crudely imitated it, the laymen "clerics" discarding whatever they didn't like or understand. (Saint veneration is a lovely example of something pop music evangelicals apparently won't ever understand.)
Wsquared| 5.25.11 @ 6:52PM
Ryan, how does this activity NOT point to the Cross, then? I'm curious.
Dawn| 6.29.11 @ 4:44PM
Last year I learned about St. Sir Thomas Moore. His story is beautiful. 3 weeks ago I purchased and read the play "A Man for All Seasons" by Robert Bolt (about St. Thomas Moore). And (just like the kind of Holy Spirit thing that links us to events both historical and contemporary) I accidently ran across the 1960 film: A Man for All Seasons. This is one way I learned the part that Saint Thomas Moore held during England's schism from the Roman Catholic Church. These glorious events are not Biblical because these events occured after the composition of the Bible. The point can be made that there are some folks "saints" who are willing to die rather than denounce their Christian morals. Their stories share with us the events and circumstances in their lives which were earthly trials for their faith. Many times us "saints in the making" can connect with our martyers circumstances better that any living human soul and when we do, we find ourselves directed straight to the Cross. We are empowered by the Bible, our Catholic teacing, and the blood fo our Christian martyrs.
Le Cracquere| 5.24.11 @ 10:48AM
People are calling for her canonization because they believe, rightly or wrongly, that C. of A. exemplified the Gospel in her life. Simple enough?
Ryan| 5.24.11 @ 12:06PM
That, I suppose, I can live with. However, why should it be done? Does it truly point to Christ?
Le Cracquere| 5.24.11 @ 1:16PM
That's a fair question. But the sense I get is, the principals in this issue are doing this precisely BECAUSE of their sincere belief that C. of A.'s life and actions point to Christ.
You don't have to be Catholic to believe that Christians who came before you lived lives and did things that are worthy of remembering and modelling. Even if one doesn't believe in Saints with a capital "S," Queen Catherine seems like a lady worth remembering and emulating. If she's half the woman Nassif St. John thinks, he's done us all a great service by reminding us of her life and choices, which--yes, truly point to Christ.
David T| 5.24.11 @ 2:06PM
Amen, Mr. Le Cracquere. By their fruits ye shall know them.
PJ| 5.24.11 @ 8:45AM
I wish Nassif St. John a good luck. There were alot of shenanigans going on during that time between England, Spain, & Rome. It wouldn't surprise me if Katherine was caught up in some of it. Nevertheless, I would be happy to be proven wrong & that in fact she led a holy life.
Dee See| 5.24.11 @ 9:06AM
'John Calvin was America's REAL founding father."
-George Bancroft
America's first historian emeritus
1840
Nice article.
Brings to mind something Calvin points out
in his 'Insitutes' ----while criticizing the affected
cultivation of virginity by the Catholic church
---he gives measure to the virtues of simple
chaste virtue itself, and speaks of chaste marriage
(ie one man, one woman, one life)
---a second, higher degree of virginity, hearkening back to
lost paradise and honoring the covenant's fulfillment to come.
Now back to your Arminian heresies----------------
Quartermaster| 5.24.11 @ 7:36PM
If there is any heresy here, It's Calvin's Manicheeism and Neo-Platonism which is found throughout his "Institutes." You also have to deal with the fact that no one taught his peculiar doctrines before him. Not even Augustine.
Personally, I don't hold that Calvinists are heretics like Calvinists, who hold damnable doctrines, in the manner Calvinists scream "heretic" at "Arminians." Calvin's doctrines are certainly aberrant and insulting to a loving God that desires the salvation of everyone. It's long past time you Calvinists grow up and actually read the Bible and quit your neo-Platonist raving.
Petronius| 5.24.11 @ 9:10AM
Having been to the Roper vaults in the small church outside Canterbury Cathedral Close where More's head is interred, I'll have to add Peterborough to my list. A great reign and reputation got cast aside for dynastic desires and the temporal itch behind the Royal codpiece. All that followed reflects the despotic nature of government from the flagstones of St Peter in Chains, to the Place du Concorde, the Nuremburg hippodrome, the Colosseum, the Islamic regions, Pol Pot's necropolis, the Soviet gulags, China, North Korea, the late Japanese Empire, and all the way to Wounded Knee and South America. And in Washington, the President complains that Our Constitution won't let Him do things "to people". How would Katherine of Aragon reply to that? Amen to Her cause. And therefor let His Most Catholic Majesty, Juan Carlos of Spain and the House of Bourbon take it up.
Quartermaster| 5.24.11 @ 7:41PM
The Zeppelintribüne Hippodrome? Do you mean the Zeppelintribüne instead? The Zeppelintribüne was was the grandstand at the filed where the Party Days were held in, but there is no Hippodrome in Nürnberg to my knowledge.
Tony in Central PA| 5.24.11 @ 10:34PM
I have read Juan Carlos is now proabortion.
Let somebody else take it up.
Au Contraire| 5.24.11 @ 9:55AM
Yikes, good luck with this scheme leading to reunification between Rome and Canterbury. Talk about putting the cart before the horse.
David T| 5.24.11 @ 11:06AM
It is de facto happening now, as hundreds of Anglicans are returning to the Mother Church.
Rich D| 5.24.11 @ 10:18AM
Can't we ever be done with this saint nonsense? All Christians are saints.
David T| 5.24.11 @ 10:43AM
Not all who profess to be Christian are saints...only those who persevere in the faith until the end.
Tim the Enchanter| 5.24.11 @ 11:53AM
...and after death are judged by God to be worthy of Eternal Life.
Quartermaster| 5.24.11 @ 7:42PM
If they die in Christ, they are worthy.
Rich D| 5.25.11 @ 11:57PM
When you see Paul, inform him of his error.
Franco| 5.24.11 @ 12:39PM
"All men are Socrates!"
Charles Martel| 5.24.11 @ 7:05PM
I'm not.
Kirk| 5.25.11 @ 4:17AM
I'm Spartacus !
Kelly Staples| 5.24.11 @ 10:19AM
Due to another "mathmatical error", the date for the rapture has been revised to October 21, 2011. Cash donations to help get out the word would be greatly appreciated. Let us prey.
David T| 5.24.11 @ 10:55AM
Wouldst thou impugn the goode name of St. Harolde of Camping? Fie on thee!
Reactionary| 5.24.11 @ 10:34AM
The history here is a bit muddled.
Henry and Catherine received a dispensation to get married because she was married to Henry's brother. That dispensation from Rome removed an impediment of affinity that would have made the marriage null.
That is why the Holy Father would not annul the marriage.
It also worth observing that Henry received the title "Defensor Fidelis" when he published "In Defense of the Seven Sacraments" in response to Luther's heresy.
Ranger1| 5.24.11 @ 11:48AM
Sir:
In and after 1527, Pope Clement had minor problem. That being Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Katharine's Nephew, and Clement's Jailer. The Sack of Rome and the capture of the Pope by the Imperial Army made the divorce and Shaming of Charles's Aunt an impossibility for Clement.
Another example of great things resulting from "Family Affairs".
Nancy Wilson| 5.24.11 @ 11:53AM
Catherine of Aragon stood up for her faith & suffered for it. She was a faithful Catholic, a loving wife & mother, & an excellent queen........But she doesn't deserve to be canonized.
Because she had worldly motives for sticking to her Catholic faith, too. By maintaining the Pope's authority, she maintained her daughter's "legitimacy" & position as heiress. And her own status as queen.
I'd be happy to light a candle for her, if she'd suffered for her faith alone. But it's more complicated than that.
There's Christians who deserve sainthood a lot more than Catherine, even tho she was a faithful Catholic & a good woman. imh(Catholic)o
Anommynous| 5.24.11 @ 12:36PM
My first inclination (as a fellow Catholic) is to agree with you, although I would be interested to see what is revealed about her intentions in her writings and those of the people who knew her. I think it's a worthy endeavor. Perhaps they would reveal her as a genuinely holy woman.
I must admit that I like the idea of a patron saint for those struggling with their marriages, given the state of marriage in our society today. It's clear that so many people need help, now more than ever.
Margie| 5.24.11 @ 12:19PM
How about the Biblical definition of a saint:
"Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts." Ps. 85:8.
That is, if God's own Words mean anything to you!
SugartownSuper| 5.24.11 @ 1:48PM
Can we NEVER get away from the Victorian view of Henry VIII as some sex-driven satyr? Please look at this in the eyes of the early 16th century. Ranger1 quite correctly points out the driver behind Pope Clement's understandable reluctance to grant an anulment of the Royal marriage. Charles V was not a man to be trifled with and humiliating his Aunt would have had dire results for the Pope and the Church. [I would insert here a history of the Guelph-Ghibelline conflicts, but this would be much too long for this e-note] Henry, for his part needed an heir male to avoid what in his mind was a real risk of return to the civil wars that had ended ONLY with his father's victory at Market Bosworth in 1485. Katherine, for all her virtues, had borne a single living child, Mary. Anne Boleyn would of course bear but a single living child, Elizabeth. Henry's third wife Jane Seymour would give birth to his heir Edward VI, but she would subsequently die of "child-bed fever". Henry had to keep trying for another son. All of this was about politics and the succession. The Victorians could only see a man marrying six times as being a lecher; the times had changed and they could not see the compelling crisis of a failed Tudor succession.
Casey Abell| 5.24.11 @ 4:10PM
"Can we NEVER get away from the Victorian view of Henry VIII as some sex-driven satyr?"
Okay, he was a sex-driven king.
Quartermaster| 5.24.11 @ 7:45PM
He was a King driven by dynastic considerations. Sex is incidental to that.
PolishKnight| 5.24.11 @ 2:23PM
Er, I'm a lapsed Catholic so this is a total guess but... wouldn't this story qualify Katharine as a martyr rather than a Saint? In addition, Katharine didn't die at the orders of KH for her faith. Finally, doesn't Sainthood require three miracles attributed to prayers and devotions to the person?
Charles Martel| 5.24.11 @ 7:17PM
I am in the sole Lutheran branch of two families full of Catholics, but I'll venture to address all three of your points anyway. (1) No, because however much Henry VIII inconvenienced his first wife, he did not put her to death; (2) true, but she in fact did not die at his orders at all; and (3) yes, I'm pretty sure that that's called for, which is why they are trying to bring attention to her cause: if no one thought to test her sanctity, then it could never be demonstrated. If it fails, it fails, but to fail it must first be tried.
+++
Nick| 5.24.11 @ 8:16PM
Polish Knight,
Also, if she had been martyred she would have automatically been declared a saint. No cause for canonization would be required.
Here is the answer to the question, "What is the difference between saints and blesseds?," from Catholic Answers:
"There are several steps in the Church’s process of declaring someone a saint. From first to last, the corresponding titles are Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint. 'Blesseds' are those who have been beatified. Beatification requires one attested miracle and allows the beatified person to be venerated by his local church. Canonization requires two attested miracles and allows veneration of the saint by the universal Church. Canonization is an infallible statement by the Church that the saint is in heaven."
PJ| 5.24.11 @ 9:47PM
Sorry Nick, you're a bit wrong about martyrdom as defined by the Catholic Church. It does not automatically mean sainthood. The studied person still needs to go through a due diligence of his/her life. Instead of the usual 2 miracles required for sainthood, a declared martyr needs only one. Keep an eye on the events surrounding recently murdered Catholic Pakistani, Shahbaz Bhatti. He may be declared a martyr.
Nick| 5.25.11 @ 12:06AM
PJ,
You are correct. I didn't know there was a similar investigative process for martyrs. I thought it was just a matter of the Church stating that someone died for the Faith, declared them a martyr, and then they were a saint.
I should have checked before commenting. Thanks for the correction.
God Bless!
Anthony M| 5.24.11 @ 8:34PM
Guy Fawkes and Robert Emmet ought to be canonized, too. As well as Washington and Jackson and anyone else who's stood up to that evil, rickety throne of England.
Dee See| 5.25.11 @ 5:55AM
---BEWARE the ANTI-Calvin, Freemasonic
Arminian disinfo ops above. They're ill-informed,
and at the service of 'the agenda'.
FACT IS
Even in the 1600's Calvin was routinely referred
to as a new-Augustinian --in fact that's what
the movement was called in many places.
Calvin himself aside, its about the study of scripture with an
unveiled heart and an open eye.
Arminianism/Pelagianism has for many centuries
been regarded as perhaps the most insidious
and deadliest of heresies.
Indeed, how we've observed 'humanism' in effect
leads to EUGENICS and profound cultural degradation and dehumanization.
Do some quality background on the legacy of
Arminian tent show sensation Charles Finney
(he's the model for ALLLL current American
roadshows and con-jobs).
The deadly Fremasonic/Arminian 'Doctrine of
Works' (ie 'benny violence') is, and always has
been about an elite establishing and consolidating
control with, as we the awake now realize,
ghastly long term Social Darwinist aims.
ABSOLUTELY UNDENIABLE and ON RECORD
-------------------NOW DEAL WITH IT
Clare| 5.25.11 @ 6:37AM
i am from england and in janurary 2011 i visited for the day, peterborough catherdral where Katherine is buried. the weekend i chose to visit was when they were holding the three-day commemoration of Katherine. I attended the Catholic Mass offered at the High Altar for her and then we all processed from the Alter to her grave and said some prayers there. it was a very moving mass with lots of people in attendance, i would say over 100 people, people laid flowers on her grave and there were also 2 pomegrantes left in her memory. i plan to make this trip to peterborough catherdral each year in the memory of Kathering
Doctor Right| 5.25.11 @ 9:50AM
Katherine of Aragorn, now, eh?
More absurdity from the Church of the Absurd...
Aelredus | 5.25.11 @ 5:55PM
Not only Katherine. Many catholics are expecting the progress of the canonization cause of her virtuous mother, Elizabeth the Catholic. But hives produced among jewish community, and the anti-spanish black legend has stopped that happy day.
Sandra| 5.26.11 @ 1:45PM
Many "saints" do not start out with the desire to be Saintly, but rather, to live their lives being the best possible person that they are. Katherine was raised from birth to be "Queen" of England, and she was crowned, Queen. Not "Queen Consort," as Anne Boleyn, and Henry's other wives were.
Katherine endured much, much more that would have felled others. She persevered in the TRUE Faith, and sought to support others that did as well.
She gave courage to many, in that SHE DID NOT YIELD. Even when threaten with death. It went beyond accepting a "simple" divorce, to renouncing her faith.