The Archbishop of Westminster and the Bishop of London made history this week when they met in the Tower of London to pray together in the cell of St Thomas More.
The prayer meeting marked the launch of a new society to promote understanding of the British saint - executed for his refusal to recognise Henry VIII as head of the Church of England - and other Christian martyrs. It will also help restore the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula and its crypt dedicated to More.
Afterwards the bishops stressed the importance of preserving the shrine "to remind us of the dangers of religious intolerance."
Afterwards the bishops said "it may seem remarkable" that they should pray together in such a place given the reasons behind More's death.
But in a letter to the Daily Telegraph they explained: "We rejoice that many wounds dividing Catholics and Anglicans have been healed. Wounds still remain. This is why we prayed that our unity may be deepened."
The 1535 Society has been named after the date More was executed on Tower Hill. Funds raised by the Society, membership of which is by invitation only, will also contribute to the restoration of the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London, where St Thomas More and St John Fisher are buried.
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