ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AND MARTYRS MAY 16-22

May 16

St. Simon Stock
Feastday: May 16
Although little is known about Simon Stock's early life, legend has it that the name Stock, meaning "tree trunk," derives from the fact that, beginning at age twelve, he lived as a hermit in a hollow tree trunk of an oak tree. It is also believed that, as a young man, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where he joined a group of Carmelites with whom he later returned to Europe. Simon Stock founded many Carmelite Communities, especially in University towns such as Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and Bologna, and he helped to change the Carmelites from a hermit Order to one of mendicant friars. In 1254 he was elected Superior-General of his Order at London. Simon Stock's lasting fame came from an apparition he had in Cambridge, England, on July 16, 1251, at a time when the Carmelite Order was being oppressed. In it the Virgin Mary appeared to him holding the brown scapular in one hand. Her words were: "Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection."
The scapular (from the Latin, scapula, meaning "shoulder blade") consists of two pieces of cloth, one worn on the chest, and the other on the back, which were connected by straps or strings passing over the shoulders. In certain Orders, monks and nuns wear scapulars that reach from the shoulders almost to the ground as outer garments. Lay persons usually wear scapulars underneath their clothing; these consist of two pieces of material only a few inches square. There are elaborate rules governing the wearing of the scapular: although it may be worn by any Catholic, even an infant, the investiture must be done by a priest. And the scapular must be worn in the proper manner; if an individual neglects to wear it for a time, the benefits are forfeited. The Catholic Church has approved eighteen different kinds of scapulars of which the best known is the woolen brown scapular, or the Scapular of Mount Carmel, that the Virgin Mary bestowed on Simon Stock. His feast day is May 16th.


St. Brendan
Feastday: May 16
583 A.D.
St. Brendan died in 583. Born possibly in Tralee, Ireland, and educated by St. Ita and ordained by Bishop Erc, he became a monk and founded a large monastery at Clonfert. Many fantastic details have been added to this brief knowledge usually based on the fictional "Navagation" in which he is described as searching for the Isles of the Blessed, touching the Canaries, and even discovering america. It is possible that he actually made visits to Scotland and Wales

St. Carantac
Feastday: May 16
5th-6th century
Welsh abbot and monastic founder, also called Carannog. Carantac founded a church at Llangrannog, Wales, spent time in Ireland, and upon returning to Wales founded a monastery at Cernach. He is associated with Crantock in Cornwall, and Carhampton in Somerset, England. He is also venerated in Brittany, France. He is sometimes identified with a Welsh prince, Carantac, an aide to St. Patrick.

May 17

St. Cathan
Feastday: May 17
6th or 7th century
Bishop of the isle of Bute, in Scotland, called Kil-Cathan in his honor. A tomb bearing his name was found near Londonderry, Ireland, but Scottish scholars claim his remains are at Kil-Cathan.

St. Madern
Feastday: May 17
Hermit of Cornish descent, also called Maden and Madron. Nothing is known of his life, but he was of Cornish descent and connected with Brittany, France. Numerous churches in England bear his name, and the reputed site of his hermitage, St. Madern’s Well, is still popular.

St. Maiduif
Feastday: May 17
Irish abbot and founder of Malmesbury Abbey in England. He trained St. Aldhelm there.

May 18

St. Feredarius
Feastday: May 18
863 A.D.
Irish abbot of lona, Scotland, in 863. He moved the relics of St. Columba to Ireland because of Danish raids.

St. Merililaun
Feastday: May 18
8th century
Martyred pilgrim. He was from England, journeying to Rome, when he was slain at Reims, France, under circumstances that warranted his being considered a martyr.

Bl. Alcuin
Feastday: May 19
804 A.D.
Benedictine scholar and counselor to Charlemagne, sometimes called Alcuin of York. He was born inYork, England, circa 735 and became a monk in the Benedictine Order in York. Ordained a deacon, Alcuin became headmaster of the cathedral school. He went to Rome and then met Charlemagne at Parma. Charlemagne invited Alcuin to become the minister of education for the Frankish court. Alcuin also founded a school and tutored the emperor. Upon retiring from the court, he became the abhot of St. Martin of Tours Monastery, reforming the house with St. Benedict of Aniane. Alcuin was listed in martyrologies as a Blessed. He was known for his holiness and scholarly wisdom, writing theological and liturgical treatises, and for his contributions to the so called Carolingian Renaissance.

St. Dunstan
Feastday: May 19
Patron of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewelers
Born of a noble family at Baltonsborough, near Glastonbury, England, Dunstan was educated there by Irish monks and while still a youth, was sent to the court of King Athelstan. He became a Benedictine monk about 934 and was ordained by his uncle, St. Alphege, Bishop of Winchester, about 939. After a time as a hermit at Glastonbury, Dunstan was recalled to the royal court by King Edmund, who appointed him abbot of Glastonbury Abbey in 943. He developed the Abbey into a great center of learning while revitalizing other monasteries in the area. He became advisor to King Edred on his accession to the throne when Edmund was murdered, and began a far-reaching reform of all the monasteries in Edred's realm.
Dunstan also became deeply involved in secular politics and incurred the enmity of the West Saxon nobles for denouncing their immorality and for urging peace with the Danes. When Edwy succeeded his uncle Edred as king in 955, he became Dunstan's bitter enemy for the Abbot's strong censure of his scandalous lifestyle. Edwy confiscated his property and banished him from his kingdom. Dunstan went to Ghent in Flanders but soon returned when a rebellion replaced Edwy with his brother Edgar, who appointed Dunstan Bishop of Worcester and London in 957. When Edwy died in 959, the civil strife ended and the country was reunited under Edgar, who appointed Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury. The king and archbishop then planned a thorough reform of Church and state. Dunstan was appointed legate by Pope John XII, and with St. Ethelwold and St. Oswald, restored ecclesiastical discipline, rebuilt many of the monasteries destroyed by the Danish invaders, replaced inept secular priests with monks, and enforced the widespread reforms they put into effect.
Dunstan served as Edgar's chief advisor for sixteen years and did not hesitate to reprimand him when he thought it deserved. When Edgar died, Dunstan helped elect Edward the martyr king and then his half brother Ethelred, when Edward died soon after his election. Under Ethelred, Dunstan's influence began to wane and he retired from politics to Canterbury to teach at the Cathedral school and died there. Dunstan has been called the reviver of monasticism in England. He was a noted musician, played the harp, composed several hymns, notably Kyrie Rex splendens, was a skilled metal worker, and illuminated manuscripts. He is the patron of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewelers. His feast day is May 19th.

May 19

Bl. Peter Wright
Feastday: May 19
1651 A.D.
Jesuit martyr in England. Born in Slipton, Northamptonshire, England, Peter converted to Catholicism and was given preparation for the priesthood in Ghent and Rome. Entering the Jesuits in 1629, he ministered to English soldiers in Flanders and accompanied Sir Henry Gage back to England. He also served as a chaplain to the Royalist army during the English Civil War. After the war, he was arrested at the home of the Marquis of Winchester during the oppression of Catholicism by Oliver Cromwell and was put to death at Tyburn.

May 20

St. Ethelbert
Feastday: May 20
794 A.D.
Martyred king of East Anglia, England. When Ethelbert, the son and heir of Ethelred, went to Mercia to ask for the hand of a princess, he was murdered by her mother, Queen Cynethryth. He was especially venerated in Hereford.

May 21

St. Barrfoin
Feastday: May 21
6th century
Irish missionary, possibly a bishop, and friend of Sts. Columba and Brendan. Barrfoin took charge of a church founded by St. Columba in Drum Cullen, Offaly. He lived at Killbarron. He also journeyed to spread the faith. Barrfoin repeated his adventures on a voyage to the Americas to St. Brendan the Navigator.

St. Constantine the Great
Feastday: May 21
337 A.D.
Junior Emperor and emperor called the “Thirteenth Apostle” in the East. The son of Constantius I Chlorus, junior emperor and St. Helena, Constantine was raised on the court of co-Emperor Diocletian. When his father died in 306, Constantine was declared junior emperor of York, England, by the local legions and earned a place as a ruler of the Empire by defeating of his main rivals at the battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312.

St. Gollen
Feastday: May 21
7th century
Welsh saint also listed as Collen or Colan. He gave his name to Llangollen, in Clwyd, Wales, and he is associated in legend with Glastonbury, England, and Rome.

May 22

St. Boethian
Feastday: May 22
7th century
Benedictine martyr and a disciple of St. Fursey. An Irishman by birth, Boethian built the Pierrepoint Abbey near Laon, in France. He was murdered there by rebellious monks.

Bl. John Forest
Feastday: May 22
1538 A.D.
Martyr of England, the confessor of the first wife of King Henry VIII, Queen Catherine of Aragon. He became a Franciscan at Greenwich at the age of seventeen and studied at Oxford. John opposed Henry’s divorce and the suppression of religious orders. Because of this he was arrested at Newgate and ordered to agree to the Oath of Supremacy. Refusing, John was dragged on a hurdle to Smithfield and then burned to death at the stake. A wooden statue of St. Derfel was burned with John. He was beatified in 1886.

St. Conall
Feastday: May 22
7th century
Abbot of Inniscoel Monastery in County Donegal, Ireland. A holy well there is named after St. Conall.