Page:The religious life of King Henry VI.djvu/101

 V KING HENRY VII PETITIONS FOR THE CANONIZATION OF THE HOLY KING HENRY VI

N view of the general opinion in England as to the sanctity of the pious King Henry, and of the miracles so constantly worked at his tomb by his intercession, it is not surprising that before the close of the fifteenth century steps were taken to petition for his solemn canonization by the Holy See. From the document about to be quoted it appears that in the Pontificate of Pope Innocent VIII, probably about the year 1490, King Henry VII made his first petition for the canonization. Probably the death of Innocent VIII rendered necessary a second petition, and so in October 1494 Pope Alexander VI issued two Apostolic Letters at the request of King Henry VII, addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Morton, and to the Bishop of Durham. The first was to commission these 75