Life

Born in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, he was a nephew of John Longland

John Longland

John Longland was the English Dean of Salisbury from 1514 to 1521 and bishop of Lincoln from 1521 to his death in 1547.He was King Henry VIII's confessor and was said to have been one of those who first persuaded the King that he should annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon.During the English...

. He graduated B.A. from Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...

, in 1523. He studied under Juan Luis Vives

Juan Luís Vives

Juan Luis Vives , also Joan Lluís Vives i March , was a Valencian Spanish scholar and humanist.-Biography:Vives was born in Valencia...

, at Bruges

Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....

.

He graduated M.A. in Paris, and was made archdeacon of Worcester in 1526. He was appointed ambassador to the Emperor Charles V, in 1533. In 1537 he was removed from that position, after he had advocated for the legitimate status of Princess Mary

Mary I of England

Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

; but he was reinstated in 1540.

He ignored a summons home in late 1540, after letters to him from John Heliar were discovered. Instead, he stayed with the Emperor, travelling to Germany and then Rome. From the Catholic point of view, he became Bishop of Worcester

Bishop of Worcester

The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...

 when appointed to the see by Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...

 in 1541, on the death of Girolamo Ghinucci

Girolamo Ghinucci

Girolamo Ghinucci was an Italian papal administrator, diplomat and Cardinal.He was Secretary to Pope Julius II. He was Bishop of Worcester . He was bishop from 1522 to 1535 when he was deprived of the position by Henry VIII of England...

, still recognized as the bishop. With Seth Holland

Seth Holland

Seth Holland was an English Roman Catholic churchman, Dean of Worcester and Warden of All Souls' College, Oxford under Queen Mary, but imprisoned in the Marshalsea under Elizabeth I, where he died.-Life:...

, his chaplain, he was the subject of an act of attainder, in 1542.

He attended the sessions of the Council of Trent

Council of Trent

The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...

  in 1547, 1549, and 1551. He remained in exile until the accession of Mary I. He was then consecrated as bishop, in 1554, his attainder having been lifted. In 1559, on the accession of Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

, he was deprived, and then imprisoned in the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

. He died at Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

, once more in exile.