 On 18 November 1554, under Queen Mary I, who had returned England to the Church of Rome, Denys was ordered by the Privy Council to go to Rochester to join Lord Cobham in welcoming Cardinal Pole back from his exile.Pole rapidly became one of the main forces behind the burning of many English protestant martyrs.Denys had no other government work under Mary, which may have been connected not only with his debts but also with his religious sympathies.