Martin Luther's 95 theses gained popularity with the common people, but the Church excommunicated him. Courageously, he asked Germany's secular rulers to stand up to Rome. Saxony's Frederick the Wise protected him, convincing Holy Roman Emperor Charles to meet him. On his way to the Diet of Worms, he met cheering crowds. Luther refused to recant; a split Diet set him free. In Wartburg, he translated the Bible into German.