Reginald Pole
Reginald Pole (1500-1558) was an influential English cardinal and a significant figure during the Reformation. Born into an aristocratic family with ties to English royalty, Pole pursued his education at Magdalen College, Oxford, and later in Padua, Italy, where he became connected to Renaissance humanism. Initially supportive of King Henry VIII, Pole's relationship with the monarch soured when he opposed the king's divorce and subsequent separation from the Catholic Church. This shift in allegiance led him to write "Pro ecclesiasticae unitatis defensione," a crucial work defending papal authority against royal supremacy.
Throughout his life, Pole was committed to reforming the Catholic Church and engaged in diplomatic efforts, notably under Pope Paul III, who appointed him as a cardinal. He faced severe repercussions due to his opposition to Henry VIII, including the execution of several family members. After a period of exile, Pole returned to England during the reign of Queen Mary I, where he sought to restore Catholicism and reconcile the English Church with Rome. Despite his efforts, conflicts with the papacy arose, particularly during the tenure of Pope Paul IV. Reginald Pole's life culminated in his death on the same day as Queen Mary, marking the end of an era of significant religious upheaval in England.
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Reginald Pole
Prelate
- Born: March 3, 1500
- Birthplace: Stourton Castle, Staffordshire, England
- Died: November 17, 1558
- Place of death: Lambeth Palace, London, England
Biography
Reginald Pole was born on March 3, 1500, at Stourton Castle, Staffordshire, England. He was the third son of Sir Richard Pole; his mother, Margaret, countess of Salisbury, née Plantagenet, was the daughter of the Duke of Clarence and the niece of King Edward IV. From 1512 to 1519, Pole was at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he obtained his B.A. in 1515. In 1521 he went to Padua, Italy, where he was welcomed into the circle surrounding Renaissance scholar Niccolo Lenico Tomeo.
Pole was elected a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, but continued to live mainly in Padua until 1527, when he moved to Knaresborough, England, and then became dean of Exeter Cathedral. Initially in favor with King Henry VIII, Pole was sent to Paris in 1529 to obtain support for the king’s divorce, but his relationship with the king was strained when Pole withdrew his own support and returned to Italy in 1532. Pole was, however, committed to the internal reform of the Catholic Church, a cause which led him into correspondence with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Under pressure from Henry, Pole clarified his religious beliefs in a strident letter that was subsequently expanded into the treatise Pro ecclesiasticae unitatis defensione (1536), his most important and influential publication. The treatise assailed Henry’s claim of royal supremacy over the Church of England and upheld the pope’s spiritual authority.
Pope Paul III made Pole a cardinal and sent him to negotiate with English refugees in the Low Countries, with a view to mounting an invasion. Henry, who had already cut off all of Pole’s English sources of income, arrested Pole’s mother and other relatives in 1538, eventually executing all of them in 1541, and put a price on Pole’s head. Pole became head of the English hospice in Rome in 1538 and served as one of the presidents of the Council of Trent. He was widely expected to become pope in the election of 1549, but fell two votes short of the necessary majority in the College of Cardinals.
After a period of retirement Pole obtained a new diplomatic commission in 1553 from the newly-enthroned Queen Mary I. He returned to England in 1554, empowered to reverse Henry VIII’s seizures of church property and to reconcile the English church to Rome, absolving parliament and the nation of their schism. He was belatedly ordained a priest in the English church in March 1556, and was made Archbishop of Canterbury when Thomas Cranmer was burned as a heretic. He was, however, soon at odds with the new pope, Paul IV, over the pope’s war with Spain, and for this reason Pole was dismissed as papal legate to Mary’s court and summoned before the Inquisition, although Mary’s protests saved him from disaster. When Mary died on November 17, 1558, Pole was already desperately ill; he died later the same day.