Reginald Pole - Later Years

Later Years

The death of King Edward VI on 6 July 1553 and the accession of Mary I to the throne of England hastened Pole's return from exile, as Papal Legate to England (which he served as until 1557). In 1554, Cardinal Pole came to England to receive the kingdom back into the Roman fold. However, Mary and the Emperor Charles V delayed him until 20 November 1554, due to apprehension that Pole might oppose the Queen's forthcoming marriage to Charles's son, Philip of Spain.

As Papal Legate, Pole negotiated a papal dispensation allowing the new owners of confiscated former monastic lands to retain them, and in return Parliament enabled the Revival of the Heresy Acts in January 1555. This revived former measures against heresy: the letters patent of 1382 of Richard II, an Act of 1401 of Henry IV, and an Act of 1414 of Henry V. All of these had been repealed under Henry VIII and Edward VI. On 13 November 1555, Cranmer was officially deprived of the See of Canterbury.

Under Mary's rule, Pole, whose attainder was reversed in 1554, was finally ordained as a Priest on 20 March 1556 and consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury two days later, an office he would hold until his death. He was also Chancellor of both Oxford and Cambridge universities in 1555 and 1555/1556 respectively. As well as his religious duties, he was in effect the Queen's chief minister and adviser. Many former enemies, including Cranmer, signed recantations affirming their religious belief in transubstantiation and papal supremacy. Despite this, which should have absolved them under Mary’s own Revival of the Heresy Acts, the Queen could not forget their responsibility for her mother's unhappy divorce.

In 1555, Queen Mary began permitting the burning of Anglicans for heresy, and some 220 men and 60 women were executed before her death in 1558. Pole shares responsibility for these persecutions which, despite his intention, contributed to the ultimate victory of the English Reformation. On the other hand, Pole was in failing health during the worst period of persecution, and there is some evidence that he favored a more lenient approach: "Three condemned heretics from Bonner's diocese were pardoned on an appeal to him; he merely enjoined a penance and gave them absolution." As the reign wore on, an increasing number of people turned against Mary and her government, and some people who had been indifferent to the English Reformation began turning against Catholicism. Writings such as John Foxe's 1568 Book of Martyrs, which emphasized the sufferings of the reformers under Mary, helped shape popular opinion against Catholicism in England for generations.

Reginald Pole died in London on 17 November 1558, at about 7:00pm, nearly twelve hours after Queen Mary's death from illness. He was buried on the north side of the Corona at Canterbury Cathedral.