Canonization of Thomas Becket (1173)

Timeline

1. 1170–1173Canterbury Cathedral · KentAfter Becket was assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, reports of miracles and pilgrim veneration at his tomb appeared immediately; both Church and people widely regarded him as a martyr who had resisted royal tyranny, and the canonization cause advanced rapidly.
2. 1173Rome · LazioOn February 21, 1173, Pope Alexander III formally declared Thomas Becket canonized. The less than two and a half years from martyrdom to canonization was extremely rare in medieval saint-making, showing the Church's high regard for Becket's political symbolic significance.
3. 1173–1180Canterbury · KentAfter the canonization, a wave of pilgrimage to Canterbury swept Europe, and Becket's shrine drew large numbers of the faithful. Henry II publicly did penance at Canterbury in 1174, and the Church won a significant symbolic victory in its contest with royal power.