Editing Reginald Pole (section)

== Later years ==
[[File:Reginald Pole from NPG.jpg|thumb|upright|Pole as a cardinal]]
The death of [[Edward VI]] on 6 July 1553 and the accession of [[Mary I of England|Mary I]] to the throne of England hastened Pole's return from exile, as a papal legate to England (which he remained until 1557) with a view to receiving the kingdom back into the Catholic fold. However, Queen Mary I and Emperor Charles V delayed his arrival in the country until 20 November 1554, due to concerns that Pole might oppose Mary's forthcoming marriage to Charles's son, [[Philip II of Spain|Philip of Spain]].<ref>{{CathEncy|title=Mary Tudor |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09766a.htm}}</ref>  It was only after the marriage was safely out of the way, that the [[Parliament of England|English parliament]] finally set about repealing his attainder on November 22, 1554.  Pole opened his papal commission and presented his legatine credentials before Philip & Mary and the assembled members of Parliament at the [[Palace of Whitehall]] on November 27, 1554, delivering a notable oration before them.<ref>Cobbett (1806) ''Parliamentary History of England'', v.1, p.617-18</ref>  Among the dignitaries in attendance was [[Stephen Gardiner]], Bishop of Winchester and [[Lord Chancellor]] of England, the most prominent Catholic minister in England, who would steer the restoration of Catholicism through parliament in January 1555.

As papal legate, Pole negotiated a [[papal dispensation]] allowing the new owners of [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|confiscated former monastic lands]] to retain these. In return for this concession, Parliament then enabled the [[Revival of the Heresy Acts]] in January 1555.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bucholz |first1=R. O. |last2=Key |first2=N. |title=Early modern England 1485–1714: a narrative history |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2009 |pages=110–111 |isbn=978-1-4051-6275-3 }}</ref> This revived former measures against heresy: the [[letters patent]] of 1382 of [[Richard II]], the [[Suppression of Heresy Act 1400]] ([[2 Hen. 4]]. c. 15) of [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]], and the [[Suppression of Heresy Act 1414]] ([[2 Hen. 5. Stat. 1]]. c. 7) of [[Henry V of England|Henry V]]. All of these had been repealed under Henry VIII and Edward VI.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Gee |editor1-first=Henry |editor2-last=Hardy |editor2-first=William John |title=Documents Illustrative of English Church History |year=1914 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London }}</ref> On 13 November 1555, [[Thomas Cranmer]] was officially deprived of the See of Canterbury.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/marygovt.html |title= Marian Government Policies|access-date=5 July 2007 }}</ref> The Pope promoted Pole to the rank of [[cardinal-priest]] and made him [[Diocesan administrator|administrator]] of the See of Canterbury on 11 December 1555.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/reginaldpolecard00leef|title=Reginald Pole, Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury : an historical sketch, with an introductory prologue and practical epilogue|first=Frederick George|last=Lee|date=6 December 1888|publisher=London : J. C. Nimmo|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

Pole was finally ordained a priest on 20 March 1556 and consecrated a bishop two days later, becoming [[archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref name="odnb"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Duffy |first=Eamon |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npq81 |title=Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor |date=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |jstor=j.ctt1npq81 |isbn=978-0-300-15216-6}}</ref> an office he would hold until his death. In 1555 and 1555/1556 respectively he also became chancellor of both [[Chancellor of Oxford University|Oxford]] and [[Chancellor of Cambridge University|Cambridge]] universities.<ref>{{acad|id=PL556R|name=Pole, Reginald}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=F. L. |editor1-last=Cross |editor2-first=E. A. |editor2-last=Livingstone |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |edition=3rd |year=1997 |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00late/page/428 428] |isbn=019211655X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00late/page/428 }}</ref> Despite this, which should have absolved them under Mary's own Revival of the Heresy Acts, the Queen could not forget their responsibility for the annulment of her mother's marriage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stpeter.org/cranmer.html |title=Thomas Cranmer |publisher=Stpeter.org |access-date=5 December 2011}}</ref>

In 1555, Queen Mary began permitting the burning of Protestants for [[heresy]], and some 220 men and 60 women were executed before her death in 1558. In the view of some historians, these so-called [[Marian persecutions]] contributed to the ultimate victory of the [[English Reformation]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pogson |first=Rex H. |title=Reginald Pole and the Priorities of Government in Mary Tudor's Church |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=18 |issue=1 |year=1975 |pages=3–20 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00008645 |s2cid=159964116 }}</ref> though Pole's involvement in these heresy trials is disputed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncregister.com/blog/stephaniemann/the-man-who-was-almost-pope-reginald-cardinal-pole |title=The Man Who Was Almost Pope: Reginald Cardinal Pole  |last=Mann  |first=Stephanie |date=30 November 2016 |website=The National Catholic Register |publisher=EWTN |access-date=25 October 2017 |quote="Pole is usually not blamed for the campaign of heresy trials and burnings that is such a blot on the reign of 'Bloody Mary'. Known for his gentleness and patience with those suspected of heresy, he regarded them as sinners rather than traitors, urging leniency, conversion, and forgiveness."}}</ref> Pole was in failing health during the worst period of persecution, and there is some evidence that he favoured 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."<ref name=Thurston/> As the reign wore on, an increasing number of people turned against Mary and her government,<ref name = Schama>{{cite book|last= Schama|first= Simon|author-link= Simon Schama|title= A History of Britain 1: At the Edge of the World?|orig-year= 2000|year= 2003|publisher= [[BBC Worldwide]]|location= London|isbn= 0-563-48714-3|pages= [https://archive.org/details/historyofbritain0000scha/page/272 272–273]|chapter= Burning Convictions|chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/historyofbritain0000scha/page/272}}</ref> and some people who had been indifferent to the English Reformation began turning against Catholicism.<ref>{{cite book | last =Churchill  | first =Winston  | author-link =Winston Churchill  | title =A History of the English-Speaking Peoples|year=1958}}</ref><ref name="wsc">{{cite book | last =Churchill  | first =Winston  | title =The New World | page=99  | publisher =Dodd, Mead  | year =1966  }}</ref> Writings such as [[John Foxe]]'s 1568 ''[[Book of Martyrs]]'', which emphasised the sufferings of the reformers under Mary, helped shape popular opinion against Catholicism in England for generations.<ref name = Schama/><ref name="wsc" />

Despite being a lifelong devout Catholic, Pole had a long-running dispute with [[Pope Paul IV]], dating from before the latter's election as Pope. Elected in 1555, Paul IV had a distaste for Catholic humanism and men like Pole who pushed a softer version of Catholicism to win over Protestants, as well as being fiercely anti-Spanish and against Mary's marriage to [[Philip II of Spain]] and heavily against Pole's support for it. Because of this disagreement Paul first cancelled Pole's legatine authority, and then sought to recall Pole to [[Rome]] to face investigation for heresy in his early writings. Mary refused to send Pole to Rome, yet accepted his suspension from office.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reginald Pole {{!}} archbishop of Canterbury|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Reginald-Pole|access-date=2020-11-06|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> In the will of Sir [[Robert Acton]] dated 24 September 1558 he is named as one of the Executors, despite the fact that Sir Robert expressed himself in terms consistent with his dying in the Protestant faith.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/acton-robert-1497-1558#footnote4_kljjw2t | title=ACTON, Robert (By 1497-1558), of Elmley Lovett and Ribbesford, Worcs. And Southwark, Surr. &#124; History of Parliament Online }}</ref>

[[File:Tomb of Cardinal Reginald Pole at Canterbury Cathedral, August 2022.jpg|thumb|upright|Pole's tomb at Canterbury Cathedral]]
Pole died in London, during an [[influenza]] epidemic, on 17 November 1558, at about 7:00&nbsp;pm, nearly 12 hours after Queen Mary's death.<ref>p. 24 May 9 History Today, an excerpted article taken from Eamon Duffy's "Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor," published by Yale University Press- History Today Vol 59 (5) May 2009, pp 24–29</ref> He was buried on the north side of the [[The Corona, Canterbury Cathedral|Corona]] at [[Canterbury Cathedral]].