ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS OCT 03-OCT.09

October 3

Sts. Ewald and Ewald, 695 A.D. Martyred Northumbrian brothers, one called “the Fair” and one called “the Dark,” companions of St. Willibrord. From Northumbria, they were educated in Ireland. These priests of the Benedictine Order went with Willibrord to Frisia, Netherlands. They were martyred together at Aplerbeke, near Dortmund, Germany, by local pagans.

October 5

Bl. William Hartley, 1588 A.D. Martyr of England. Born at WiIne, Derbyshire, he studied at Oxford and was an Anglican minister before his conversion to Catholicism. Going to Reims, France, he received ordination in 1580 and went back to the English mission to aid St. Edmund Campion. He was arrested in 1582 and deported from England. He returned and was captured again at Holborn. William was hanged at Shoreditch and beatified in 1929.

Bl. Robert Sutton, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Born at Kegwell, Leicestershire, he became an Anglican priest, studying at Oxford. In 1575, he converted and went to Douai, France. He returned to England and was arrested in London and hanged at Clerkenwell.

October 6

St. Ceollach, 7th century. Irish bishop of the Mercians or Middle Angles of England. He retired to lona, Scotland, but died in Ireland.

St. Cumine, 669 A.D. Irish abbot called “the White.” The abbot of Iona, Scotland, he wrote a biography of St. Columba.


October 7

St. Canog, 492 A.D. Martyr and eldest son of the local king of Brecknock in Wales. He was slain by barbarians at Merthyr-Cynog. In Brittany, France, he is called St Cenneur. Several churches in Wales honor him.

St. Dubtach, 513 A.D. The Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, from 497 until his death.

St. Helanus, 6th century. Irish hermit who went to France with six brothers and three sisters. They settled in Reims, where Helanus became a priest.

St. Osyth, 700 A.D. Martyred nun, also called Osith and Sytha. Known mainly through legends, she was supposedly the daughter of a chieftain of the Mercians in England and Wilburga, daughter of the powerful pagan king Penda of Mercia. Raised in a convent, Osyth desired to become a nun but was married against her will to King Sighere of Essex, by whom she had a son. Eventually, she won his permission to enter a convent, and she established a monastery on land at Chich, Essex, donated by Sighere, where she served as an abbess. She was reputedly slain by Danish raiders and is thus depicted in art as carrying her own head. There are historical difficulties associated with her existence, especially as no mention is made of her by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History.

October 8

St. Keyne. Keyna or Cain was one of the twenty-four children of King Brychan of Brecknock, Wales. She refused several suitors' offers of marriage and became a hermitess on the banks of the Severn River in Somersetshire, England. After living there for several years, during which she traveled widely, she was persuaded by her nephew, St. Cadoc, to return to Wales, though exactly where she spent her last days is not known. During her travels, she founded numerous churches in South Wales, Cornwall, and perhaps Somerset.

St. Ywi, 690 A.D. Benedictine monk and hermit at Lindisfarne Abbey, England. He was ordained a deacon by St. Cuthbert. When Ywi died as a hermit, his relics were enshrined at Wilton, near Salisbury.

St. Triduna, 4th century. A virgin who, according to tradition, assisted St. Regulus in his mission to Scotland during the fourth century. She is also listed as Trallen and Tredwall. Her shrine at Restalrig was long venerated until its destruction in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation.

ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS SEPT. 26-OCT 02

September 26

St. Colman of Elo, 612 A.D. Abbot and bishop, also called Colman Lann Elo. He was born circa 555 at Glenelly, Tyrone, Ireland, the nephew of St. Columba, In 590 A.D.; he built a monastery at Offaly. He also founded Muckamore Abbey and became bishop of Connor. Colman was the author of the Alphabet of Devotion. He died at Lynally on December 26.

St. Meugant, 6th century. Hermit of Britain. Also called Maughan, Mawghan, and Morgan, he was a disciple of St. lIltyd and reportedly died on the island of Bardsey. He is the titular patron of churches in Wales and Cornwall.

September 27

St. Barrog, 7th century. Disciple of St. Cadoc, in Wales, also called Barroq and Barnoc. He was a hermit who lived on Barry Island, off the coast of Glamorgen.

September 28

St. Annemund, 658 A.D. Bishop and friend of St. Wilfrid of York, called Delphinus by Bede and Chamond or Annemundus. The son of a prefect in Lyons, Gaul, Annemund was raised in the count of King Dagobert I. When Clovis II succeeded to the throne, Annemund served as his councilor. Named the bishop of Lyons, Annemund befriended St. Wufrid of York. When Clovis died, Annemund was slain in the political upheaval of his time. He died on September 28, 658.

St. Tetta, 772 A.D. Benedictine abbess. She governed the convent of Wimborne in Dorsetshire, England, and she was a supporter of the missionary effort of St. Boniface in Germany, dispatching nuns to assist in the evangelization.

St. Conwall, 630 A.D. A disciple of St. Kentigern in Scotland also called Conval. He was a priest who preached and worked in Scotland.

St. Machan. Scottish saint educated in Ireland. Machan was ordained as a bishop in Rome. Details of his labors are not available.

September 29

Bl. Richard Rolle de Hampole, 1349 A.D. English mystic and hermit. Born at Thornton, Yorkshire, England, circa 1300, he was educated at Oxford and in Paris from 1320-1326, before entering into the life of a hermit on the estate of a friend, John Dalton of Pickering in 1326. After several years of intense contemplation, he took to wandering across England, finally settling down at Hampole where he assisted the spiritual development of the nuns in a nearby Cistercian community. He died there on September 29. Richard was very well known and his writings widely read during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. He was one of the first religious writers to use the vernacular. A cult developed to promote his cause after miracles were reported at his tomb, although the cause was never officially pursued. His works include letters, scriptural commentaries, and treatises on spiritual perfection. Perhaps his best known writing was De Incendio Amoris. He also wrote a poem, Pricke of Conscience.

September 30

St. Enghenedl, 7th century. Welsh saint venerated in a church in Anglesey, Wales.

St. Honorius of Canterbury, 653 A.D. Archbishop of Canterbury, England, a native of Rome, sent to the British Isles by Pope St. Gregory I the Great. Honorius was Benedictine who went to England at the request of St. Augustine of Canterbury. He succeeded to the see in 627. Honorius was consecrated by St. Paulinus, and he consecrated Sts. Felix and Ithamar, the first English born bishops. Honorius gave St. Paulinus refuge when he fled Caedwalla of Wales after the death of King Edwin.

St. Laurus, 7th century. Welsh abbot, also listed as Lery. He left Wales to go to Brittany, France, and founded an abbey on the river Doneff, now called Saint Lery.

St. Midan, 610 A.D. Saint of Anglesey, sometimes called Nidan. He was an evangelist of that region of Wales. Other details of his life no longer exist.


OCTOBER

October 1

Bl. Edward Campion, 1588 A.D. English martyr. He was born at Ludlow and studied at Oxford, England. A convert, he studied at Reims, France, and was ordained in 1587. Edward returned to England and a year later he was martyred at Canterbury. He was beatified in 1929.

Bl. Edward James, 1588 A.D. English martyr. He was born near Breaston, and studied at Oxford, England. Converting to the faith, Edward studied at Reims, France, and Rome, and was ordained in 1583. Returning as a missionary to England, he was arrested and martyred at Chichester. He was beatified in 1929.

St. Fidharleus, 762 A.D. Irish abbot who restored Rathin Abbey, Ireland.

Bl. John Robinson, 1588 A.D. Martyr of England. He was from Ferrensby, Yorkshire, and a widower who went to Reims for ordination. Ordained in 1585, John went back to England and was executed at Ipswich, receiving beatification in 1929.

Bl. Robert Widmerpool, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Originally from Nottingham, England, he studied at Oxford and worked as a tutor for the sons of the earl of Northumberland. He was arrested for giving aid to a Catholic priest. Robert was executed by being hanged, drawn, and quartered at Canterbury with Blessed Robert Wilcox, and they share the same feast day

Bl. Robert Wilcox, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Born at Chester, England, in 1558, he studied for the priesthood at Reims, France, and received ordination in 1585. Sent to England the following year, he worked in Kent. Robert was arrested in Marshsea. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered with Blessed Robert Widmerpool at Canterbury. With whom he shares a feast day

St. Ralph Crockett, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Born at Barton on the Hill, in Cheshire, he was edu­cated at Christ’s College, Cambridge, and Gloucester Hall, Oxford, and became a schoolmaster in Norfolk and Suffolk. Departing England, he went to Reims, France, and there studied for the priesthood, receiving ordination in 1586. Returning home to undertake the hazardous work of reconverting the island, he was arrested with Blessed Edward James and was imprisoned for two and a half years in London before being taken to Chichester. Ralph was martyred at Chichester by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. He was beatified in 1929.

St. Melorius. Prince of Cornwall, England, who was murdered as a child. Also listed as Mylor, Melar, and Melorus, he was the victim of an uncle’s ambitions. He was venerated in Amesbury, England, in Brittany, and in Cornwall. The tale has several versions, most dating to the Middle Ages.

October 2

St. Thomas of Hereford, 1282 A.D. Bishop of Hereford, also called Thomas Cantilupe. Born at Buckinghamshire, England, circa 1218, he studied at Oxford, Paris, and Orleans. Returning to England, he became chancellor of Oxford University in 1261, using his influence to aid the barons in their struggle against King Henry III (r. 1216-1272). In 1265, after the defeat of Henry's forces at the battle of Lewes, Thomas was named chancellor of England, although he was soon compelled to retire to Paris after the barons lost their grip on power. Returning to Oxford, he served once more as chancellor of the university in 1273. Two years later he was appointed bishop of Hereford, acquiring a wide reputation for sanctity and charity and serving as one of the most capable counselors of King Edward I (r. 1272-1307). He also was a stern opponent of simony and all forms of secular encroachment upon his Episcopal rights. His relationship with Thomas John Peckham, archbishop of Canterbury, deteriorated over matters of jurisdiction, culminating in Thomas' excommunication by the archbishop in 1282. He appealed to the papal court but died before any decision was reached by the pope. Despite the controversy, Thomas was revered in England and miracles were reported at his tomb; in 1320, he was canonized.

ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS SEPT. 19 -SEPT. 25

September 19

St. Theodore of Tarsus, 690 A.D. Archbishop of Canterbury, England, and a memorable figure in the English Church. A native of Tarsus, Turkey, he was a Greek by descent. After studying in Tarsus and Athens, Greece, he went to Rome, where he became so respected that Pope St. Vitalian (r. 657-672) appointed him to succeed to the see of Canterbury in 667. After receiving consecration on March 26, 668, he set out for England in the company of Sts. Dominic Biscop and Hadrian the African, both of whom were to provide assistance and helped guarantee that Theodore's administration remained entirely orthodox. They arrived at Canterbury in May 669 and Theodore moved immediately to consolidate his position as primate of England and the metropolitan status of the see of Canterbury. To promote further unity, he convened two synods, at Hereford in 673 and at Hatfield in 680. Such was the success of his programs that the Venerable Bede wrote that Theodore was "the first archbishop obeyed by all the English Church."

September 20

Bl. Thomas Johnson, 1537 A.D. English Carthusian Martyr. A priest and member of the London Charterhouse, he was arrested with fellow monks for opposing the claim by King Henry VIII of spiritual supremacy over the English Church. Imprisoned at Newgate, Thomas was starved to death.

September 21

St. Hieu, 657 A.D. English abbess of Northumbria, England, who received the veil from St. Aidan. She governed Tadcaster Abbey, in Yorkshire. She may be identical with St. Bega or Bee.

St. Mabyn, 6th century. Welsh and Cornish saint, with Mabon and Mabenna. All are associated with St. Teilo. St. Mabenna was the daughter of Chieftain Brychan of Brecknock, Wales. They are all revered in various places that bear their names, but no details of their lives are extant.

September 22

St. Lolanus, 1034 A.D. Scottish bishop whose life is Unknown because fifth-century legends obscure the historically accurate accounts of his labors.


September 23

St. Adamnan. Adamnan, born in Drumhome, Donegal, Ireland, became a monk at the monastery there. Later at Iona, of which he became ninth abbot in 679. He gave sanctuary to Aldfrid when the crown of Northumbria was in dispute after the death of Aldfrid's father, King Oswy. In 686, when Aldfrid had ascended the throne, Adamnan visited him to secure the release of Irish prisoners. Two years later Adamnan visited several English monasteries and was induced by St. Ceolfrid to adopt the Roman calendar for Easter. Adamnan worked ceaselessly thereafter with much success to get Irish monks and monasteries to replace their Celtic practices with those of Rome. His success in convincing the Council of Birr that women should be exempt from wars and that women and children should not be taken prisoners or slaughtered caused the agreement to be called Adamnan's law. A scholar noted for his piety, he wrote a life of St. Columba, one of the most important biographies of the early Middle Ages. He also wrote DE LOCIS SANCTIS, a description of the East told to him by a Frank bishop, Arculf, whose ship was driven ashore near Iona on the way back from Jerusalem. Adamnan is thought by some in Ireland to be the same as St. Eunan, though this is uncertain. He died at Iona on September 23 which is his feast day.

Bl. William Way, 1588 A.D. Martyr of England. Born in Exeter, England, he went to Reims, France, where he was ordained in 1586. Using the name Flower, William started his labors, but was arrested within six months. He was executed at Kingston-on-Thames by being hanged, drawn, and quartered.

St. Cissa, 7th century. A Benedictine hermit in Northumbria, England. It is believed he resided near Lindisfarne.

September 24

Sts. Chuniald and Gislar, 7th century. Irish or Scottish missionaries to southern Germany and Austria. They labored as disciples of St. Rupert of Salzburg.

September 25

St. Finbar. He was the son of an artisan and a lady of the Irish royal court. Born in Connaught, Ireland and baptized Lochan, he was educated at Kilmacahil, Kilkenny, where the monks named him Fionnbharr (white head) because of his light hair; he is also known as Bairre and Barr. He went on pilgrimage to Rome with some of the monks, visiting St. David in Wales on the way back. Supposedly, on another visit to Rome the Pope wanted to consecrate him a bishop but was deterred by a vision, notifying the pope that God had reserved that honor to Himself, and Finbar was consecrated from heaven and then returned to Ireland. At any rate, he may have preached in Scotland, definitely did in southern Ireland, lived as a hermit on a small island at Lough Eiroe, and then, on the river Lee, founded a monastery that developed into the city of Cork, of which he was the first bishop. His monastery became famous in southern Ireland and attracted numerous disciples. Many extravagant miracles are attributed to him, and supposedly, the sun did not set for two weeks after he died at Cloyne about the year 633 A.D.

St. Caian, 5th century. A saint of Wales, England. He was the son or grandson of the local king of Brecknock. A church at Tregaian in Anglesey is named after him.

St. Ceolfrid, 716 A.D. Benedictine abbot of St. Paul Monastery at Wearmouth-Jarrow, England, also called Geoffrey. He was born in Northumbria in 642 and became a monk at Ripon. St. Benedict Biscop named him prior of Wearmouth, but he was too strict and was forced to leave. Accompanying St. Benedict to Rome in 678, Ceolfrid became the deputy abbot of St. Paul’s in 685. He and one young student were the only ones to survive the regional plague. He became the abbot in 690 and developed the twin monasteries into cultural centers. The Codex Amatianus, the oldest known copy of the Vulgate Bible in one volume, was produced at his command. He also trained St. Bede. In 716, Ceolfrid retired and started for Rome, dying on September 25 at Longres, in Champagne, France.

St. Egelred, 870 A.D. Benedictine monk at Crayland Abbey, Great Britain. He died with the abbot and many fellow monks at the hands of invading Danes.

St. Fymbert, 7th century. Bishop of western Scotland. He was ordained by Pope St. Gregory the Great.

St. Mewrog. A Saint of Wales of whom no details are extant.

ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS SEPT. 12 -SEPT. 18

September 12

St. Ailbhe, 541 A.D. Bishop and preacher, one of the saints whose life has been woven into the myths and legends of Ireland. He was a known disciple of St. Patrick, and is called Albeus in some records. What is known about Ailbhe is that he was a missionary in Ireland, perhaps sponsored by King Aengus of Munster. He was also the first bishop of Emily in Munster, Ireland. Legends and traditions abound about his life. One claims that he was left in the woods as an infant and suckled by a wolf. This legend is prompted in part by Ailbhe's later life. An old she-wolf came to Ailbhe for protection from a hunting party, resting her head upon his breast. He is supposed to have been baptized by a priest in Northern Ireland, possibly in a British settlement. The so called Acts of Ailbhe are filled with traditions that are not reliable. Ailbhe was noted for his charity and kindness, as well as his eloquent sermons. He is beloved in Ireland.

September 14

St. Cormac, 6th century. An Irish abbot who was a friend of St. Columba.

September 15

St. Merinus, 620 A.D. Bishop beloved in both Scotland and Ireland. Sometimes called Meadhran or Merryn, he was a disciple of St. Comgall at Bangor.

September 16

St. Ninian. According to the life of Ninian by St. Aelred, he was the son of a converted chieftain of the Cumbrian Britons, studied at Rome, was ordained, was consecrated a bishop and returned to evangelize his native Britain. He had his own church built by masons from St. Martin's Monastery in Tours, which became known as The Great Monastery and was the center of his missionary activities. From it Ninian and his monks evangelized neighboring Britons and the Picts of Valentia. Ninian was known for his miracles, among them curing a chieftain of blindness, which cure led to many conversions.

St. Edith of Wilton, Edith of Wilton was the daughter of King Edgar of England and Wulfrida. She was born at Kensing, England, and was brought as a very young child to Wilton Abbey by her mother, who later became a nun there and Abbess. Edith became a nun when fifteen, declined her father's offer of three abbacies, and refused to leave the convent to become queen when her half-brother, King Edward the Martyr was murdered, as many of the nobles requested. She built St. Denis Church at Wilton.


September 17

St. Brogan, 7th. Century. Abbot of Ross Tuirc, Ossory, Ireland, he is called the author of a hymn to St. Brigid.

September 18

St. Hygbald, 690 A.D. Benedictine abbot of Lincolnshire England, also called Higbald, Hugbald, or Hybald. Several churches in the region bear his name.

ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS SEPT. 05-SEPT. 11

September 5

Bl. William Browne, 1605 A.D. Martyr of England. He was a layman in Northamptonshire arrested and executed at Ripon for being a Catholic. He is associated in martyrdom with Blesseds Thomas Welbourne and John Fulthering.

September 6

Sts. Felix and Augebert, seventh century. Two martyred Englishmen who were captured and sold into slavery in France. Ransomed by Pope St. Gregory I the Great, Felix became a priest and Augebert a deacon. While preparing to return to England as missionaries, they were slain by pagans in Champagne, France.

St. Maccallin, Irish bishop of Lusk, Great Britain, Sometimes called Macallan and Macculin Dus. He is also venerated in Scotland.

September 7

St. Grimonia. French legend relates that St. Grimonia was the daughter of a pagan Irish chief, and that when she was twelve years old; she was converted to Christianity and made a vow of perpetual virginity. Her father, in defiance of or not understanding such a vow, wished her to marry, and when she refused, shut her up. Grimonia escaped and fled to France, where she became a solitary in the forest of Thierache in Picardy. Here the contemplation of the beauty of created things would often bring her to the state of ecstasy. After a prolonged search, the messengers of her father traced her to her retreat, where they before her the alternatives of return in a forced marriage or death. Grimonia remained firm and so she was beheaded on April 20th in an unknown year. A chapel was built over her grave which became famous for miracles, and around it, grew up a town called from its origin, LaChapelle. On September 7, 1231, her relics, together with those of Saint Proba (Preuve), another Irish woman, who is supposed to have suffered with Grimonia, were enshrined at Les Quielles. The facts about St. Grimonia are hard to come by; she may have been a solitary who lost her life in defending her chastity.

St. Alcmund, 781 A.D. Bishop and miracle worker, also called Alchmund in some lists. He was the bishop of Hexham in Northumberland, England, in 767, succeeding to the see established by St. Wilfrid. His tenure as bishop lasted until his death on September 7, 781. He was buried near St. Acca beside the Hexham church, but invasions by the Danes decimated that area of England, and the grave was forgotten. In the eleventh century, St. Alcmund appeared to a parishioner, telling him to inform the sacrist of Durham, a man named Alfred or Alured, to move the bones. Alfred agreed, but he took one bone from the remains when the grave was opened. No one could move the remains of St. Alemund until that one bone was placed among the rest. In 1154, Hexham was again invaded, and the bodies of the Hexham saints were gathered into one shrine. These remains were destroyed in 1296, when Scottish Highlanders attacked the region.

St. Tilbert, 789 A.D. Bishop of Hexham, England, from 781 A.D. He was the eighth bishop of that see. Simeon of Durham wrote of him.

St. Diuma, 7th century. Bishop of Mercia and companion of St. Cedd. An Irishman, Diuma was praised by St. Bede.

Bl. John Duckett, 1644 A.D. Martyr of England, born in Underwinder, Yorkshire, John was ordained in 1639 at Douai. He studied three years in Paris and then returned to the English mission at Durham, where he worked until his arrest and martyrdom on September 7 at Tyburn with Blessed Ralph Corby. They were hanged, drawn, and quartered. Both were beatified in 1929.

St. Madalberta. Benedictine abbess, the daughter of Sts. Vincent Madelgarus and Waldetrudis. St Aldegund was her superior and aunt who founded. Maubeuge, where Madalberta took the veil. She became abbess in 697. Her sister was St. Aldetrudis.

Bl. Ralph Corby, 1644 A.D. Jesuit martyr of England, also known as Ralph Corbington. Born in Maynooth Ireland, on March 25, 1598, he was trained at St. Omer, France, Seville, and Valladolid, Spain, before receiving ordination. He entered the Jesuits in 1631, and volunteered in 1632 for the dangerous mission in England He was given responsibility for the area around Durham Ralph worked for twelve years before he was arrested near Newcastle with Blessed John Duckett. He was martyred by being hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tybum on September 7. Ralph was beatified in 1929.

September 8

St. Disibod, 700 A.D. An Irish bishop also called Disen or Disibode. Discouraged by his lack of success as a missionary in Ireland, he went to Germany, where he founded a monastery on a hill near Bingen, called Disibodenburg. St. Hildegard of Bingen resided there in time.

St. Kingsmark, 5th century. A Scottish chieftain also called Cynfarch. He lived in Wales, where he is venerated.


September 9


St. Kieran. Kieran was born in Connacht, Ireland. He was the son of Beoit, a carpenter. He studied at St. Finnian's school at Clonard and taught the daughter of the king of Cuala, as he was considered the most learned monk at Clonard. Kieran spent seven years at Inishmore on Aran with St. Enda and then went to a monastery in the center of Ireland called Isel. Forced to leave by the monks because of what they considered his excessive charity, he spent some time on Inis Aingin (Hare Island) and with eight companions, migrated to a spot on the bank of the Shannon river in Offaly, where he built a monastery that became the famous Clonmacnois, reknowned for centuries as the great center of Irish learning, and was its Abbot. Many extravagant miracles and tales are told of Kieran, who is one of the twelve apostles of Ireland. He is often called St. Kieran the Younger to distinguish him from St. Kieran of Saighir.

St. Bettelin, 8th century. Hermit also called Bertram, a disciple of St. Guthlac. He lived in Croyland, England, and is listed as the patron of the town of Stafford. Remains of his shrine are at 11am, Staffordshire. Legend claims he was a noble who married an Irish princess who went into labor and gave birth in the forest while he went for help. Wolves ate her and the child in his absence. Bettelin and companions lived under the auspices of Croyland Monastery, founded by King Ethelbald of Mercia.

St. Wulfhilda, 1000 A.D. Benedictine abbess. Probably a member of the Anglo-Saxon nobility, she was much sought after by King Edgar (r. 957-975) for her hand in marriage while a novice at Wilton Abbey. She refused his proposal and finally won his permission to become a nun. She eventually became abbess of the convents of Barking and Ilorton, serving from 993 as abbess of both houses.

September 10

St. Finian, 579 A.D. Irish abbot, a disciple of Sts. Colman and Mochae also called Winin. He was born in Strangford, Lough, Ulster, in Ireland, a member of a royal family. Studying under Sts. Colman and Mochae, he became a monk in Strathclyde and was ordained in Rome. Returning to Ulster, Finian founded several monasteries, becoming abbot of Moville, in County Down, Ireland. He became embroiled with St. Columba, a student, over a copy of St. Jerome’s Psalter, and St. Columba had to surrender that copy to Finian. He also founded Holywood and Dumfries in Scotland. Finian was known for miracles, including moving a river.

St. Frithestan, 933 A.D. Benedictine bishop, a disciple of Sts. Grimbald and Plegmund. Frithestan was bishop of Winchester, England, for almost a quarter of a century

September 11

St. Ambrose Edward Barlow, 1641 A.D. Martyr and one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. A convert, Ambrose studied for the priesthood at Douai, France, and Valladolid, Spain. In 1615 he was professed Benedictine, affiliated by request to the Spanish Abbey of Celanova. For twenty-four years, Ambrose worked in Lancashire, England, despite the dangers. He was arrested four times but was released. On his fifth arrest, he was executed at Lancaster.

St. Daniel, 584 A.D. Welsh bishop and founder, companion of Sts. Dygrig and David. Daniel belonged to the Strathclyde family of Wales. He founded a monastery at Bangor Fawr, Caernarvonshire, in 514. He also became the first bishop of that see. Daniel went to St. David to persuade him to attend the Synod of Brefi. In Wales he is sometimes called Desiniol

ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS AUGUST 29-SEPI. 4

August 29

St. Velleicus, 8th century. Anglo-Saxon abbot also listed as Willeic. He journeyed to Germany to assist in the evangelization of the region as a disciple of St. Swithbert and served as abbot of Kaiserswerth, on the Rhine.

St. Sebbi, 694 A.D. Also listed as Sebbe, he became the king of Essex (or the East Saxons) following the conversion of the kingdom by St. Cedd in 664. He ruled at a time when there was relative peace and the realm was under the domination of Mercia, a nearby kingdom. Sebbi abdicated after ruling thirty years and became a monk in London. He died there and was buried in the old St. Paul’s.

St. Edwold, 9th century. A hermit who was the brother of St. Edmund the Martyr, King of East Anglia, England. Edwold lived as a recluse in Cerne, Dorsetshire.

Bl. Richard Herst, 1628 A.D. English martyr, also called Hurst. Born near Preston, Lancashire, England, he was well known as a farmer until being arrested on the charge of murder. He fought with three men who tried to arrest him, and one of them, named Dewhurst, died. In point of fact, he was hanged at Lancaster on August 29 because of his refusal to deny Catholicism. He was offered his freedom if he took the Oath of Supremacy but declined. He was beatified in 1929.

August 30

St. Rumon. Rumon, also known as Ruan, Ronan, and Ruadan, was probably a brother of Bishop St. Tudwal of Trequier, but nothing else is known of him beyond that he was probably an Irish missionary and many churches in Devon and Cornwall in England were named after him. Some authorities believed he is the same as the St. Ronan (June 1) venerated in Brittany and believed consecrated bishop by St. Patrick, but others believe that he and St. Kea were British monks who founded a monastery at Street Somerset.

Bl. Edward Shelley, 1588 A.D. English martyr of Warminghurst. He sheltered priests and was hung at Tyburn. Edward was beatified in 1929.

St. Loaran, 5th century. Irish disciple of St. Patrick. He is sometimes listed as the bishop of Downpatrick, Ireland.

Bl. Richard Leigh, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Born in London, circa 1561, he studied at Reims and Rome and was ordained a priest in 1586. Returning to England, he was arrested and banished. He returned and was again arrested for being a priest and, with Blesseds Richard Martin, Edward Shelley, John Roche, Richard Flowers, and St. Margaret Ward, was executed at Tybum. Richard was beatified in 1929.

St. Richard Martin, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Born in Shropshire, he studied at Oxford and was a devout Catholic. Arrested for giving shelter to priests, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tybum with Blesseds Richard Leigh, Edward Shelley, John Roche, Richard Flowers, and St. Margaret Ward. He was beatified in 1929.

August 31

St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, 651 A.D. Aidan of Lindisfarne, born in Ireland, may have studied under St. Senan before becoming a monk at Iona. At the request of King Oswald of Northumbria, Aidan went to Lindisfarne as bishop and was known throughout the kingdom for his knowledge of the Bible, his learning, his eloquent preaching, his holiness, his distaste for pomp, his kindness to the poor, and the miracles attributed to him. He founded a monastery at Lindisfarne that became known as the English Iona and was a center of learning and missionary activity for all of northern England. He died in 651 at the royal castle at Bamburgh.

Bl. Richard Bere, 1537 A.D. English martyr. Born at Glastonbury, he studied at Oxford and the Inns of Court before entering the Carthusians in London. When he and his fellow monks voiced their opposition to the planned divorce of King Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon, they were starved to death in Newgate Prison.


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September 1

St. Fiacre. Patron of Gardeners and Cab-drivers St. Fiacre (Fiachra) is not mentioned in the earlier Irish calendars, but it is said that he was born in Ireland and that he sailed over into France in quest of closer solitude, in which he might devote himself to God, unknown to the world. He arrived at Meaux, where Saint Faro, who was the bishop of that city, gave him a solitary dwelling in a forest which was his own patrimony, called Breuil, in the province of Brie. There is a legend that St. Faro offered him as much land as he could turn up in a day, and that St. Fiacre, instead of driving his furrow with a plough, turned the top of the soil with the point of his staff. The anchorite cleared the ground of trees and briers, made himself a cell with a garden, built an oratory in honor of the Blessed Virgin, and made a hospice for travelers which developed into the village of Saint-Fiacre in Seine-et-Marne. Many resorted to him for advice, and the poor, for relief. His charity moved him to attend cheerfully those that came to consult him; and in his hospice he entertained all comers, serving them with his own hands, and sometimes miraculously restored to health those that were sick. He never allowed any woman to enter the enclosure of his hermitage, and Saint Fiacre extended the prohibition even to his chapel; several rather ill-natured legends profess to account for it. Others tell us that those who attempted to transgress, were punished by visible judgements, and that, for example, in 1620 a lady of Paris, who claimed to be above this rule, going into the oratory, became distracted upon the spot and never recovered her senses; whereas Anne of Austria, Queen of France, was content to offer up her prayers outside the door, amongst the other pilgrims.

St. Lythan. Titular saint of two churches in Wales. He is sometimes listed as Llythaothaw and Thaw.

September 3

St. Angus MacNisse. According to legends, Angus MacNisse was baptized by St. Patrick, who years later consecrated him, bishop. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Rome, he founded a church and monastery at Kells, which developed into Connor, of which he is considered the first bishop. His story is filled with extravagant miracles, such as changing the course of a river for the convenience of his monks and rescuing a child about to be executed for his father's crime by causing him to be carried by the wind from his executioners to his arms.

St. Balin, 7th century. Confessor and disciple of St. Colman of Lindisfarne. Balm was the son of an Anglo-Saxon king. He accompanied St. Colman to lona, in Scotland, and then took up residence in Connaught, Ireland.

St. Hereswitha, 690 A.D. Benedictine princess of Northumbria, England, sister of St. Hilda and mother of Sts. Sexburga, Withburga, and Ethelburga. A widow, Hereswitha spent the last years of her life as Benedictine in Chelles, France.

St. Macanisius, 514 A.D. Bishop and probable founder of Kells Monastery. Ireland, which became the diocese of Connor. Tradition states that St. Patrick baptized Macanisius as an infant and then consecrated him later as a bishop. He is also listed as Aengus McNisse in some documents, and many spectacular miracles are attributed to him.

September 4

St. Ultan, 657 A.D. Bishop of Ardbraccan, Ireland. He was noted for his care of the poor, orphans, and the sick, and is the reputed collector of the writings of St. Brigid. Ultan illustrated his own manuscripts.

St. Rhuddlad, 7th century. Welsh virgin, patroness of Llanrhyddlad in Anglesey, Wales.

St. Monessa, 456 A.D. Virgin convert of St. Patrick in Ireland. Reportedly the daughter of an Irish chieftain, Monessa died in the instant that she was baptized.

ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS AUGUST 22-28

August 22

St. Sigfrid. Sigfrid, who died in the year 690, was a deacon at Wearmouth Abbey. He was known for his knowledge of scripture and for his frail health. He was elected coadjutor abbot in 688 on the death of St. Erstwine while Abbot St. Benedict Biscop was in Rome. Sigfrid died soon after St. Benedict.

St. Andrew the Scot, 877 A.D. Archdeacon and companion of St. Donatus. Andrew and his sister, St. Bridget the Younger, were born in Ireland of noble parents. They were educated by St. Donatus, and when Donatus went on a pilgrimage to Italy, Andrew accompanied him. In Fiesole, through a miracle, Donatus was elected bishop. Andrew was ordained the archdeacon of Fiesole, serving Donatus for forty-seven years. He also founded a monastery in Mensola, Italy. Andrew died shortly after Donatus, but his sister, St. Bridget the Younger, was carried by an angel to his bedside, all the way from Ireland.

St. Arnulf, 9th century. Hermit, venerated at Arnulphsbury or Eynesbury, in England.

Bl. William Lacey, 1582 A.D. Martyr of England. Born in Horton, West Riding, Yorkshire, he distinguished himself as a lawyer and as an ardent Catholic, using his house as a refuge for the much oppressed Catholics of the time. Following the death of his second wife in 1579, he left England and studied at Reims, France, in preparation for his eventual ordination at Rome. William returned to England and worked in the area of Yorkshire until his arrest. He was arrested in York Prison while participating in the Eucharistic ceremony being sung in the cell of Blessed Thomas Bell. Condemned, he was executed at Knavesmaire, just outside of York with Blessed Richard Kirkman. William was beatified in 1886.

St. Ethelgitha. Benedictine abbess of Northumbria, England.

St. Gunifort. A martyr of Pavia, Italy. He was Irish, Scottish, or English.

St. John Kemble, 1679 A.D. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was born in Herefordshire, England, in 1599, and studied at Douai, where he was ordained in 1625. Returning to England, John labored in missions for fifty-three years. At the age of eighty-one, he was arrested at Pembridge Castle, the home of his brother. He was falsely charged in the Titus Oates Plot and condemned for being a Catholic. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Hereford. Pope Paul VI canonized him in 1970.

St. John Wall, 1679 A.D. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was born near Preston, England, and was educated at Douai and Rome and ordained in 1645. In 1651 he became a Franciscan, called Father Joachim of St. Anne, returning to Worcester, England, in 1656. There he was arrested in December 1678 and imprisoned for five months. He was martyred by being hanged, drawn, and quartered at Redhill. Pope Paul VI canonized him in 1970.

Bl. Richard Kirkman, 1582 A.D. English martyr. Born in Addingham, Yorkshire, he left England and studied at the famous Catholic school of Douai, France, the preparatory institution for English Catholics who would then return home and work for the reconversion of the isle. Ordained in 1579, in Reims, he sailed to England and served as a tutor for Richard Dymake’s family in Scrivelsby. Richard then went to Yorkshire and Northumberland and he was arrested near Wakefield. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered near York with Blessed William Lacey, on August 22, for denying the supremacy of Queen Elizabeth I as head of the Church of England

August 23

St. Tydfil, 480 A.D. Welsh martyr, reportedly from the clan of Brychan. She was slain by a group of pagan Picts or Saxons and is venerated at Merthyr-Tydfil, Glamorgan. Wales.

St. Ebba, 870 A.D. Abbess of Coldingham, England, on the Scottish border, called “the Younger.” She and her nuns were martyred by Danes in an invasion. She mutilated her face to discourage rape by the invading Danes. The raiders set fire to Coldingham, killing all of the nuns.

St. Eugene, 6th century. Irish missionary to England who became the first bishop of Ardstraw, in Tyrone, Ireland, now Derry. He is also listed as Eoghan, Enny, and Owen. He was born in Leinster, Ireland, and was a relative of St. Kevin of Glendalough. Kidnapped as a child, he spent years as a slave before returning to Ireland. There he helped St. Tigernach found Clones Monastery in 576.

August 24

St. Yrchard, fifth century. Scottish bishop and disciple of St. Ternan also called Yardcard. Yrchard served as a missionary among the Picts.



August 26

St. Bregwin, 764 A.D. Also Breguivine, the twelfth archbishop of Canterbury, England. He served from 761 until his death. His letters to St. Lullus of Mainz are extant and Eadmer wrote his life.

Bl. Thomas Percy, 1572 A.D. English Martyr, born in 1528. Earl of Northumberland from 1537, Thomas initially enjoyed an excellent relationship with Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603). Thomas also served Queen Mary (r. 1542-1587). Queen Elizabeth bestowed the Order of the Garter on him in 1563. He then became involved in the Rising of the North and fled to Scotland but was sold to Queen Elizabeth for two thousand pounds. For three years he languished in a prison, refusing fervently to abjure his faith in return for his freedom. Thomas was finally beheaded at York and was beatified in 1896.

St. Pandwyna, 10th century. A Scottish or Irish saint also called Pandonio. A church is dedicated to her in Cambridgeshire, England.

August 27

St. Decuman, 706 A.D. Hermit martyr, also called Dagan. He was Welsh, and he lived as a recluse in Somersetshire, England. There he was murdered in a fashion that led to his veneration as a martyr.

St. Etherius, 602 A.D. Bishop of Lyons, France, who welcomed St. Augustine when he was on his way to England. Pope St. Gregory I the Great recommended Etherius to St. Augustine. Etherius is some­times listed as Alermius.

St. Malrubius. Martyred hermit of Merns, Scotland. He was slain by Norse invaders who landed in his area and razed the countryside.

August 28

St. Edmund Arrowsmith, 1628 A.D. St. Edmund Arrowsmith (1585 - 1628) Edmund was the son of Robert Arrowsmith, a farmer, and was born at Haydock, England. He was baptized Brian, but always used his Confirmation name of Edmund. The family was constantly harrassed for its adherence to Catholicism, and in 1605 Edmund left England and went to Douai to study for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1612 and sent on the English mission the following year. He ministered to the Catholics of Lancashire without incident until about 1622, when he was arrested and questioned by the Protestant bishop of Chester. He was released when King James ordered all arrested priests be freed, joined the Jesuits in 1624, and in 1628 was arrested when betrayed by a young man he had censored for an incestuous marriage. He was convicted of being a Catholic priest, sentenced to death, and hanged, drawn, and quartered at Lancaster on August 28th. He was canonized as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

Blesseds John Roche and Margaret Ward. John Roche was one of the London martyrs of 1588. Blessed Margaret Ward was a gentle woman born at Congleton in Cheshire, in the service of another gentle woman, Whitall, in London. She had visited in the Bridewell prison, Mr. Richard Watson, a secular priest; to him she smuggled a rope, but in making use of it to escape, Watson had fallen and broken an arm and a leg. He was gotten away by Margaret's young Irish serving-man, John Roche, who, to assist the priest's escape, changed clothes with him and so, was himself arrested. When charged, both Blessed Margaret and Blessed John refused to disclose Mr. Watson's whereabouts. They were offered their liberty if they would ask the Queen's pardon and promise to go to church; to which they replied that they had done nothing that could reasonably offend her Majesty, and that it was against their conscience to attend a protestant church. So they were condemned. These martyrs, who suffered with such firm constancy and patience, were forbidden to speak to the people from the scaffold because their persecutors were afraid of the impression they would make; "but the very death of so many saint-like innocent men (whose lives were unimpeachable), and of several young gentlemen, which they endured with so much joy, strongly pleaded for the cause for which they died."

Bl. William Dean, 1588 A.D. Martyr of England. Born at Linton in Craven, Yorkshire, he was originally a minister who was converted to Catholicism. William left England and received ordination at Reims, France, in 1581. Returning to England, he was arrested and exiled but returned and was arrested again in London. William was executed in Nile End Green, London. He was beatified in 1929.

Bl. William Guntei, 1588A.D. Martyr of Wales. A native of Raglan, Gwent, Wales, he was a Catholic who received ordination at Reims, France, in 1587. He returned to England to work for the Catholic mission. Captured, he was hanged at Shoreditch and beatified in 1929.

Bl. Thomas Felton, 1588 A.D. English martyr. The son of Blessed John Felton, he was born at Bermondsey, England, in 1568. Leaving England to study at Reims, France, he entered the Friars Minim and went home to England to recover from an illness. He was arrested and imprisoned for two years. Released, he was again put in prison and hanged at lsleworth, London.

Bl. Thomas Holford, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Also known as Thomas Acton, he was born at Aston, in Cheshire, England. Raised a Protestant, he worked as a schoolmaster in Herefordshire until converting to the Catholic faith. He left England and was ordained at Reims in 1583. Going home, he labored in the areas around Cheshire and London until his arrest. He was hanged at Clerkenwell in London.

Bl. Hugh More, 1588 A.D. Martyr of England. He was a native of Lincolnshire, educated at Oxford. After converting while at Reims, Hugh was martyred at Lincoln’s Inn Fields by hanging. Pope Pius XI beatified him in 1929.

Bl. Robert Morton, 1588 A.D. English martyr. Born in Bawtry, Yorkshire, he left England and studied for the priesthood at Reims and Rome. After ordination in 1587, he returned home immediately and was soon arrested. He was executed at Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. Robert was beatified in 1929 as one of the Martyrs of London of 1588.

St. Rumwald, 650 A.D. Was a prince, the son of King Aldfrith and Queen Cuneburga, in the kingdom of Northumbria, England. He is said to have been only three days old when, upon his Baptism, he declared the profession of faith and then died. Venerated for centuries in parts of England.

ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS AUGUST 15-21

August 16

St. Armagillus, 570 A.D. Welsh missionary, called Armel, Ermel, and Ervan, and a cousin of St. Samson. He studied under Abbot Carentmael, joining the abbot in missionary journeys to Brittany, France. The missionaries founded Saint-Armel-des-Boscheaux and Plou-Ermel or Plouharzel. Connor, a local chieftain, forced them to leave the mission until 555. Connor was slain in battle that year, allowing their return. Armagillus is honored by a Comish church, St. Erme.

August 17

St. Drithelm, 700 A.D. A wealthy man of Northumbria, England, who supposedly died, experienced a powerful vision of heaven, hell, and purgatory, and then was found to be alive. He divided his possessions among his wife and children and made benefices for the poor before becoming a monk at Melrose Abbey. He lived as a hermit there with great austerities. St. Bede gives an account of his life.

St. Hiero, 885 A.D. Irish martyr, also called Iero. He was an Irish missionary to Holland, where he was martyred

St. James the Deacon, 769 A.D. Italian monk and deacon. A companion of St. Paulinus in the missionary effort in Northumbria, England, he was so dedicated to the evangelizing cause that he remained in the region despite the constant dangers of the severe pagan reaction.

August 18

St. Daig Maccairaill, 586 A.D. Monastic founder and bishop, also called Dagaeus and Daganus. He was the son of Cayrill and a disciple of St. Finian. Daig Maccairaill founded a monastery at Iniskeen, Ireland. He is called “one of the Three Master Craftsman of Ireland.”

St. Hugh the Little, 1255 A.D. Martyred nine year old of Lincoln, England, reportedly a victim of ritual killing by English Jews. King Henry III conducted the investigation of the crime which resulted in eighteen or nineteen Jews being hanged. Hugh had been scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified. Miracles supposedly accompanied the recovery of the lad’s body from a well, and the martyrdom became part of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The feast of the saint is no longer kept by the Church, and the entire account of the young saint is considered an example of the anti Semitism which was rampant throughout the Middle Ages. In art, he was depicted bound in cords, kneeling before the Blessed Mother.

St. Evan, 9th century. A Scottish hermit in Ayrshire, Scotland, also listed as man. Churches in the region bear his name.

August 19

St. Mochta, 535 A.D. Bishop of Ireland. He was born in Britain but was brought to Ireland as a child. There he became a disciple of St. Patrick. During a visit to Rome, Mochta was made a bishop by Pope St. Leo I. He founded Louth Monastery with twelve companions and was probably consecrated by St. Patrick. He died at the age of ninety, the last known disciple of St. Patrick.

St. Sebald, 770 A.D. Patron Saint of Nuremberg. Hermit, missionary, and a patron saint of Nuremberg. Most likely an Anglo-Saxon from England, he arrived on the Continent and became a hermit near Vicenza, Italy, and then participated in the missionary enterprise of the times, assisting in the work. of St. Willibald in the Reichswald. Many miracles were attributed to him, including turning icicles into firewood.

St. Credan, 780 A.D. A Benedictine abbot of Evesham, England, in the reign of King Offa of Mercia.

August 20

St. Edbert, 960 A.D. King of Northumbria, England, the successor of St. Ceolwulph. He reigned for two decades and then became a Benedictine monk at York.

St. Herbert Hoscam, 1180 A.D. Archbishop and patron saint of Conze, Italy. He was English by birth but served as prelate of the Basilicata area.

St. Ronald, 1158 A.D. A warrior chieftain in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. According to tradition, he made a vow to build a church, fulfilling the pledge by erecting the cathedral of St. Magnus at Kirkwall. Ronald was later murdered by a group of rebelling warriors and was venerated as a martyr at Kirkwall.

August 21

St. Hardulph. A hermit of Leicester, England, possibly the recluse of Breedon, mentioned in the life of St. Modwenna. A church was dedicated in hid honor.