was Henry 8th really a catholic?

Answer 1

Yes, when he was born, he was a Catholic. Just as Jesus was born a Jew.

Answer 2

I am reading a load of old tosh for answers! Will contributors kindly do their homework before coming on here with half truths!
HenryVIII was born a Catholic and as far as he was concerned he died a Catholic. At the time of the heresy of Luther, Henry VIII wrote an essay "In Defence of the Sacraments" a work supporting the 7 Sacraments of the Roman Church for which the Pope awarded him the Papal Honour of the title "Defender of the Faith" (Catholic of course!) This title however has been used by every monarch since and still appears on UK coins.
Henry certainly broke with Rome, but he remained Catholic as did the Church in England - it only took on a protestant veil during the reign of his son Edward VI then it see-sawed between Rome and Anglicanism ending up a mish-mash of the two under Elizabeth !.
Henry VIII paid to have Masses said for the repose of his soul. Hardly the action of a protestant!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

Yes, he was. He was born Catholic, but he was also born into the royal family, and grew up expecting that his word would be obeyed. When he came to the throne and began to make demands as an adult (eg, marrying a second wife while the first one was still alive) he discovered he had run head on into Catholic doctrine. It was his misfortune to pit himself against a strong Pope who had no intention of bending the rules for Henry. Henry was excommunicated and retaliated by founding the Church of England, whose rules were amazingly similar to those of the Holy Church of Rome, except that they allowed Henry to marry again. And again. And again.
At heart, he likely remained a Catholic to the end of his days, as he felt himself cursed by not being able to sire a healthy son. But, like the Pope, he was too stiff necked to admit anything of the sort, or to beg forgiveness in order to regain his good standing as a Catholic. So he died Church of England, and the Royal Family ever since has been confined to that religion.

Answer 4

At first he was, basically everyone in the UK was a Catholic. He broke away because the Pope wouldnt let him divorce his wife .

"Several significant pieces of legislation were enacted during Henry VIII's reign. They included the several Acts which severed the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church and established Henry as the supreme head of the Church in England"

"Henry married his last wife, the wealthy widow Catherine Parr, in 1543. She argued with Henry over religion; she was a Protestant, but Henry remained a Catholic."

"The Pope responded to these events by excommunicating Henry in July 1533.(Historians disagree on the exact date of the excommunication. According to Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples, the bull of 1533 was a draft with penalties left blank and was not made official until 1535. Others say he was not officially excommunicated until 1538 by Pope Paul III.)"

"Henry was a devout Catholic, who in 1521 had defended the Papacy from Martin Luther's accusations of heresy in a book he wrote called The Defence of the Seven Sacraments. For this he was awarded the title "Defender of the Faith" (Fidei defensor) by Pope Leo X."

"In 1527 Henry asked Pope Clement VII to annul the marriage, but the Pope refused on legal principle. (According to Canon Law the Pope can not annul a marriage on the basis of a canonical impediment previously dispensed.) "

Answer 5

Yes. As a young man he was devout and wrote a book defending Catholic orthodoxy which earned him the title "Defender of the Faith" from the Pope.

However, as King of England, Henry VIII broke away from Rome and set up a rival Catholic church, the Church of England. This was not for theological reasons, but a conflict over power and authority. Priests, bishops and abbeys owed their allegiance and gave their income to Rome rather than to the King.

Specifically Henry wanted to divorce his wife, Katherine of Aragon, and marry another woman Anne Boleyn instead. Royal marriages were seen as alliances and monarchs would sometimes divorce even in Catholic countries, if another marriage was seen as essential. Henry was desperate for an heir and became convinced that his marriage to Katherine was doomed because she had previously been married to his older brother Arthur who had died young.

But the Pope at the time was under military threat from the Holy Roman Emperor (king of lands in modern Germany & Italy) who happened to be Katherine of Aragon's uncle. So he said no. And Henry therefore rejected the Pope's authority, divorced Katherine, took control of the church and its income, and stamped out political opposition.

However, despite this oppression of the traditional institutions of the church, Henry never became a Protestant and followed Catholic religious practices all his life.

Answer 6

I have read all the answers to this question, including the very long and informative one.

However, the real truth is;

Henry VIII was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic communion.

He established the Church of England, but did not in fact actually become a Protestant.

When he died, he did so as an excommunicated Roman Catholic.

Answer 7

Yes he always remained a catholic even after he broke with the pope. The church he formed was called the Church of England or theAnglican Church. Anglican was short for Anglican Catholic. This is why Mainstream Catholics began to be refered to as Roman Catholics to distinguish between the two catholic groupings.

Answer 8

Yes he was until he renounced Rome for not agreeing to annul his marriage to his late brothers wife (Kathrine of Aragon) whom he married after his brothers death. Henry VIII protested that the marriage was never consummated and he wished to have the marriage annulled as he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, but could not do so without the blessing from the Head of the Catholic Church i.e. The Pope.

This break from Rome allowed Henry to establish the Church of England (protestant faith) thus making it illegal to pratice Catholicism In England.


That Great Man Sir Thomas More who had become Chncellor during Henry's reign advised Henry in all matters, However he could not support Henry in his wish to Marry Anne Boleyn and was sent to the Tower and encapsulated there for many years before being beheaded. However, Henry spared Sir Thomas a more painfull death that of being hung drawn and quatered as was the pratice in those days. Henry never got over his own betrayal of Sir Thomas Moore. The greatest of all Englishmen to have ever lived. He was responsible for passing the laws of Freedom of speech for the common man and in Parilment.

Answer 9

Henry was born and raised catholic but when he want to divorce has first wife,Catherine, the pope wouldn't let him so he formed the Chuch of England.

Answer 10

As the second son of the king he was trained as a Catholic Priest that being the next best career path for a young prince but when his elder brother died his prospects changed dramatically, if he ever really lost his early indoctrination well you will have to ask him.

Answer 11

Yes, until the Catholic Church would not grant him a divorce (annulment) for him to marry another since the wife did not bear him a son.