Thomas de Cantilupe

Origins

Cantilupe was born at Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, a son of William de Cantilupe (d. 1251), an Anglo-Norman magnate and a minister of King John, and nephew of Walter de Cantilupe (d. 1266), Bishop of Worcester.

Career

Cantilupe was educated at Oxford, Paris and Orléans, and was a teacher of canon law at the University of Oxford, where he became Chancellor in 1261.

During the Second Barons' War, Cantilupe favoured Simon de Montfort and the baronial party. He represented the barons before King Louis IX of France at Amiens in 1264.

On 25 February 1264, when he was Archdeacon of Stafford, Cantilupe was made Lord Chancellor of England, but was deprived of the office after de Montfort's death at the Battle of Evesham, and lived abroad for a while. Following his return to England, he was again appointed Chancellor of Oxford University, where he lectured on theology and held several ecclesiastical appointments.

Bishop of Hereford

In 1274 Cantilupe attended the Second Council of Lyons and on 14 June 1275 he was appointed Bishop of Hereford, being consecrated on 8 September 1275.

Cantilupe was now a trusted adviser of King Edward I and when attending royal councils at Windsor Castle or at Westminster he lived at Earley in Berkshire. Even when differing from the king's opinions, he did not forfeit his favour.

Cantilupe had a "great conflict" in 1290 with the "Red Earl", Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, 6th Earl of Hertford, concerning hunting rights in Malvern, Worcestershire, and a ditch dug by de Clare. The issue was settled by costly litigation.

After the death in 1279 of Robert Kilwardby, Archbishop of Canterbury, a friend of Cantilupe's, a series of disputes arose between himself and John Peckham, the new archbishop. The disagreements culminated in Peckham excommunicating Cantilupe, who proceeded to Rome to pursue the matter with the pope.

Death, burial, and canonisation

Cantilupe died at Ferento, near Orvieto, in Italy, on 25 August 1282 He is buried in Hereford Cathedral. Part of the evidence used in his cause of canonisation was the supposed raising from the dead of William Cragh, a Welsh rebel who was hanged in 1290, eight years after Cantilupe's death. A papal inquiry was convened in London on 20 April 1307 to determine whether or not Cantilupe had died excommunicate, since this would have excluded his being canonised. Forty-four witnesses were called and various letters produced, before the commissioners of the inquiry concluded that Cantilupe had been absolved in Rome before his death. It was difficult for his cause of death to be determined as much of his body had disintegrated.

After a papal investigation lasting almost 13 years, Cantilupe was canonised by Pope John XXII on 17 April 1320. His feast day was fixed on 2 October. His shrine became a popular place of pilgrimage, but only its base survives today. A reliquary containing his skull has been held at Downside Abbey in Somerset since 1881.

In the current Latin edition of the Roman Martyrology (2004 edition), Cantilupe is listed under 25 August as follows: "At Montefiascone in Tuscia, the passing of Saint Thomas Cantelupe, Bishop of Hereford in England, who, resplendent with learning, severe toward himself, to the poor however showed himself a generous benefactor".

Legacy

Cantilupe appears to have been an exemplary bishop in both spiritual and secular affairs. His charities were large and his private life blameless. He was constantly visiting his diocese, correcting offenders and discharging other episcopal duties, and he compelled neighbouring landholders to restore estates which rightly belonged to the see of Hereford. Cantilupe has been lauded as the "Father of Modern Charity," and is cited as an inspiration by Mother Teresa and Melissa Gates.

The Cantilupe Society was founded in 1905 to publish the episcopal registers of the See of Hereford, of which Cantilupe's is the first in existence.