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.