English Speaking Saints And Martyrs

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...

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...

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....

August 7 St. Donat . Patron saint of St. Donat’s or Llandunwyd, Glamorgan, Wales. Nothing else is known, but in some lists he is called Dunwyd. St. Claudia . Claudia was the mother of Linus, who became the second Pope. Tradition has her as the daughter of British King Caractacus, who was sent to Rome with his family in chains when he was defeated by Aulus Plautius. Released by Emperor Claudius, one of his daughters took the name Claudia, remained in Rome, was baptized, and is the Claudia mentioned in St. Paul's second letter to Timothy. Another tradition has her as the daughter of Cogidubnus, a British ally of Claudius, who took the Emperor's name. Martial mentions a British lady, Claudia Rufina, and says she was married to his friend Aulus Pudens, a Roman senator. Another tradition has this senator the Pudens also mentioned in St. Paul's second letter to Timothy. August 8 St. Ellidius , 7th century. Patron saint of Himant, Powys, Wales, and of a church in the Scilly Isles ...

August 1 St. Elined. Welsh virgin and martyr , also called Ellyw and Almedha. She is honored in Lianelly and Llanelieu. St. Almedha, sixth century. Virgin and martyr also called Aled or Filuned. The Welsh tradition reports that Almedha was the daughter of King Brychan. Having taken a vow of virginity and dedicated to Christ, Almedha fled from her father's royal residence to escape marriage to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. She went to three Welsh villages - Llandrew, Llanfillo, and Llechfaen - but the people turned her away, despite her promise warning that dreadful thing calamities would befall anyone who denied her sanctuary. Almedha reached Brecon, where she took up residence in a small hut, but the king arrived and demanded her return. When she refused him, he beheaded her. Tradition states that a spring of water appeared on the site of her murder. The three villages that refused her were visited by disasters. Bl. Thomas Welbourne, 1605 A.D. English martyr . Born in Hutt...