The Michigan Catholic Conference kicked off Religious Freedom Week Wednesday with a lesson on “Saints in Public Office,” featuring St. Thomas More, whose feast day coincided with the start of Freedom Week.

“St. Thomas More is the patron saint for public servants and politicians,” the group posted on Facebook. “He served in public office as a member of Parliament and later as chancellor of England under the King Henry VIII. However, the faith came first for St. Thomas, meaning he would not condone King Henry's divorce and effort to break away from the Roman Catholic Church.”

More was educated at Oxford and went on to become a lawyer, but he briefly considered pursuing a religious life devoted to piety as a monk, a report from Catholic.org said.

More pursued a life in the secular world, but his inspiration from the Carthusian monks remained. He was elected to Parliament in 1504 as a representative of Great Yarmouth—and later of London—before becoming a Privy Counselor in 1514. 

He earned a reputation of being a good public servant, one who was honest and also did his job effectively, the report said. In 1521, King Henry VIII knighted More and gave him more responsibilities. But More had a change of heart, deciding 11 years later that he could no longer work for the king because he believed Henry VIII had lost his way as a Catholic. More was eventually sentenced to death for refusing to acknowledge the king's annulment from his wife Catherine and also for refusing to acknowledge that Henry was the head of the Church. 

More’s steadfast devotion to the Church tenets cost him his life, martyring him.

“St. Thomas More, pray for us, and for our elected and public officials!” the Michigan Catholic Conference said in its post.

More’s feast day coincides with the start of Religious Freedom Week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said in a release. This year’s theme is “Life and Dignity for All.” The USCCB asserts that the point of freedom is to be able to serve one another for the common good through such things as health care, fostering and supporting adoption services. They also encourage Americans to pray for and support persecuted Christians in other parts of the world, such as China. 

To start off Religious Freedom Week, the USCCB asked Catholics to “pray that governments will respect the consciences of all people who care for the sick and vulnerable," a Wednesday Facebook post said.