Henry VIII became king of England at the age of 18, when his father died. He built a reputation as a loyal member of the church and was even proclaimed to be a "defender of the faith" by the pope because of a booklet he wrote supporting the teachings of the church. This was done to counteract the influence Martin Luther and John Calvin were having on Catholics in England.

When he was 36, Henry announced that he wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine. He held that the papal dispensation that allowed them to marry in the first place should not have been given, because Catherine had been his brother?s wife before he died. The real reason he wanted to divorce Catherine was that she had not given birth to a son, and he needed a son to be heir to the throne. The pope would not grant him an annulment, but Henry divorced Catherine anyway. He married Anne Boleyn, one of Catherine?s ladies-in-waiting. Henry was excommunicated from the church, but he made himself the "supreme ecclesiastical authority" in England, meaning that he held the highest religious office in the country. Sir Thomas More, the chancellor of England, and John Fisher, an English cardinal at the time, were both executed because they refused to support the king?s actions and religious authority.

Not only that, Henry eventually had Anne Boleyn beheaded, charging her with adultery. The reason for her execution might have been that their only child was a girl.

Henry VIII married four more times. His wives were the following:

• Jane Seymore, who died after bearing his only son
• Anne of Cleves, whom he divorced because she was unattractive; He married her only to secure his ties with Germany
• Catherine Howard, who was executed after being charged with unchaste behavior
• Catherine Parr, who was scheduled to be executed, but Henry died first

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Ignatius?s father wanted Ignatius to become a priest, and he even had Ignatius tonsured, which means that a patch of hair was clipped from the top of his head to signify his intent to enter the priesthood. But tonsure or no tonsure, Ignatius had no interest in joining a monastery. He loved his life as a nobleman; it was filled with romance, duels, and gambling. But Ignatius? party life and his military career both ended abruptly when a cannon blast crippled him.

Ignatius? recovery took a long time, and he learned the meaning of the word patience. While recovering, he read lots of books. Although he would have preferred romance and adventure novels, the only books available were about Jesus and the saints. Ignatius underwent a conversion. He used to find excitement in using his charms to win women?s attention and men?s admiration, but he now found excitement in knowing Jesus and in exploring God?s will for his own life. He wrote the spiritual exercises, a process of praying designed to help a person be at the service of God?s will.

Eventually, Ignatius finished his formal education. He continued to offer his spiritual exercises, and he developed quite a following. Ignatius gathered his followers, and they approached the pope and asked to be at his service. Ignatius? group was called the Society of Jesus (or Jesuits). The pope asked the Society of Jesus to travel to India, the Far East, and all parts of Europe to teach and to bring about a renewed enthusiasm in the church. Francis Xavier was one of the first Jesuits who traveled extensively.

The Protestant reform movement had become strong in many Catholic countries, and the church needed a reform of its own. Ignatius believed in the power of education to bring about reform. Even to this day, the Jesuits are one of the largest and most educated orders in the church. There are Jesuit schools and colleges all over the world, and the spiritual exercises are still offered as a way to get in touch with how to best serve God.

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John Calvin had his master?s degree in theology by the time he was nineteen. In his day, people could not read the Bible in their own language because it was written only in Latin. Only the most educated people were taught Latin. Calvin was aware that church authorities were against translating the Scriptures, but he was part of a secret translating project anyway.

The more familiar Calvin became with Martin Luther?s reasons for reform, the more difficult it was to stay loyal to the church in its present condition. When he was twenty-five, Calvin announced publicly that he was breaking his ties with his diocese, and that he would be speaking in favor of the Protestant movement.

Calvin believed that the church was letting some of its traditions get in the way of its faith and spirituality. He wanted a much simpler expression of faith, so he did away with most of the ornamental decorations in churches.

Calvin also believed in predestination - the idea that God favors certain people, and only those people are destined to go to heaven. Because only certain people are marked to be the holy ones, it almost made sense for them to try to structure the rest of the world. After all, no one else would. In addition, Calvin maintained that the church should have influence over all governmental decisions. He favored civil laws against drinking, dancing, card games, certain styles of clothing, certain hairstyles, certain books - anything that might lead a person away from a holy life.

Calvin was not trying to begin a new religion; he was merely trying to challenge the church to reform. He spent most of his adult life in Geneva, Switzerland, administering reform movements. The religious followers who brought his faith to North America were called Puritans. Today, they are called Presbyterians.

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Martin Luther lived in Germany and studied at the University of Erfurt. Not too long after he graduated, he found himself caught in the middle of a dangerous, violent thunderstorm. Praying for his life, he made a deal with God: If he lived through the storm, he promised to become a monk.

To Luther?s surprise, he survived the storm. To everyone else?s surprise, he kept his promise, and only weeks later, he entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt at the young age of twenty-one.

Luther soon became embarrassed about the wealth of church leaders who taxed poor people. He believed it was wrong for clergy to sell relics (pieces of bone or hair from saints, believed to have spiritual powers), to sell indulgences (granting remission of sin and its punishments for a sum of money), and to be more concerned with wealth and power than with the spiritual life and needs of the people.

When he nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of Wittenburg Castle Church in 1517, Luther had no idea that such an action would eventually lead to a whole new religious denomination. He did not want to be excommunicated! He wanted the church to reform, to be a church of integrity.

Once Luther?s actions became public, he feared for his life, because those regarded as heretics could be put in prison or even burned at the stake. So he went into hiding for a time. Luther translated the Bible into German so that most people in his country could understand it. He reasoned that the church had gotten into trouble because of its lack of attention to the teachings of Jesus in the Bible. He thought that if people used the Bible as more of a guide, then church practices would stay on track.

Luther wanted a faith based only on what was actually written in the Bible. He believed that faith (what is truly in one?s heart) and not works (paying for indulgences, buying relics, and erecting cathedrals) is what makes people right with God and brings them to eternal life.

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Chart 1: Exorcisms

 Chart 2: Healing Miracles

 Chart 3: Power Over Death Miracles

  Chart 4: Nature Miracles

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