ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH

March 1 

St. David. According to tradition, St. David was the son of King Sant of South Wales and St. Non. He was ordained a priest and later studied under St. Paulinus. Later, he was involved in missionary work and founded a number of monasteries. The monastery he founded at Menevia in Southwestern Wales was noted for extreme asceticism. David and his monks drank neither wine nor beer - only water - while putting in a full day of heavy manual labor and intense study. Around the year 550, David attended a synod at Brevi in Cardiganshire. His contributions at the synod are said to have been the major cause for his election as primate of the Cambrian Church. He was reportedly consecrated archbishop by the patriarch of Jerusalem while on a visit to the Holy Land. He also is said to have invoked a council that ended the last vestiges of Pelagianism. David died at his monastery in Menevia around the year 589, and his cult was approved in 1120 by Pope Callistus II. He is revered as the patron of Wales. Undoubtedly, St. David was endowed with substantial qualities of spiritual leadership. What is more, many monasteries flourished as a result of his leadership and good example. His staunch adherence to monastic piety bespeaks a fine example for modern Christians seeking order and form in their prayer life. 

St. Monan was a monk at St. Andrew's under St. Adrian. Monan worked as a missionary in the Firth of Forth area in Scotland until he and a large number of Christians were murdered by marauding Danes 

St. Marnock.  Irish bishop, a disciple of St. Columba. He resided on Jona, Scotland, and is also called Marnan, Marnanus, or Marnoc. He died at Annandale and is revered on the Scottish border. His name was given to Kilmarnock, Scotland.  

March 2 

St. Chad, 673 A.D. Irish archbishop and brother of St. Cedd, also called Ceadda. He was trained by St. Aidan in Lindisfarne and in England. He also spent time with St. Egbert in Ireland. Made the archbishop of York by King Oswy, Chad was disciplined by Theodore, the newly arrived archbishop of Canterbury, in 669. Chad accepted Theodore’s charges of impropriety with such humility and grace that Theodore regularized his consecration and ap-pointed him the bishop of Mercia. He established a see at Lichfield. His relics are en-shrined in Birmingham. In litur-gical art he is depicted as a bishop, holding a church.  

St. Cynibild, 7th century. Evangelist to the Anglo-Saxons and the brother of Sts. Chad and Cedd.  

St. Fergna, 637 A.D. An abbot of lona, Scotland the successor of St. Columba and a relative of the saint. He is called “the White.”  

St. Gilstlianm 5th or 6th century.  The uncle of St. David of Wales and a monk at Menevia Abbey called St. David’s.  

March 3 

St. Sacer, 7th century. Also called Mo-Sacra, an Irish abbot. He is honored as the founder of the monastery of Saggard, Dublin.  

St. Cele-Christ, 728 A.D. Bishop of Leinster, England. His name is from Christicola, meaning “Christwor-shipper.”   

St. Lamalisse, 7th century. Scottish hermit. An Island near Arran, Scotland, is named in his honor.  

St. Foila, 6th century.  Co-patroness of Kil-Faile and Kil-Golgan parishes in Galway, Ireland, the sister of St. Colgan.  

St. Katharine Drexel, 1955 A.D. Saint Katharine Drexel, Religious, Born in 1858, into a prominent Philadelphia family, Katharine became imbued with love for God and neighbor. She took an avid interest in the material and spiritual well-being of black and Native Americans. She began by donating money but soon concluded that more was needed - the lacking ingredient was people. Katharine founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, whose members would work for the betterment of those they were called to serve. From the age of 33 until her death in 1955, she dedicated her life and a fortune of 20 million dollars to this work. In 1894, Mother Drexel took part in opening the first mission school for Indians, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Other schools quickly followed - for Native Americans west of the Mississippi River, and for the blacks in the southern part of the United States. In 1915 she also founded Xavier University in New Orleans. At her death there were more than 500 Sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the country. Katharine was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 20, 1988.  

March 4 

St. Owen     Benedictine monk. Once a steward in the household of St. Etheldreda, he entered a Benedictine monastery at Lastingham, England, under St. Chad. He later migrated to Lichfield, following St. Chad.  

March 5 

St. Piran. Piran was a hermit near Padstow in Cornwall and sometimes called Perran. He is the patron saint of tin mines there and is often erroneously identified with St. Kyran (Kieran) of Saighir. 

St. Caron. Titular saint of Tregaron, in Dyfed, Wales, England 

St. Carthach, 540 A.D. An Irish bishop, called “the Elder” and Carthage. He was the successor of St. Kieman in Ossory. He was the son or grandson of a local king.  

St. Colman of Armagh. St. Colman of Armagh: Disciple of St. Patrick, buried by him in Armagh, Ireland.  

St. Kieran, 530 A.D. The “first born of the saints of Ireland,” sometimes listed as Kieran Saighir or Kevin the Elder. He was a native of Ossory, and after living for a time as a hermit, he is believed to have been consecrated a bishop by St. Patrick, taking his place as the first bishop of Ossory. Another tradition states that he was consecrated in Rome. Legends attribute remarkable miracles to Kieran 

March 6 

St. Baldred, 8th century. Bishop of Scotland, successor of St. Kentigern in Glasgow. He retired from his see to become a hermit on the Firth of Forth.  

St. Bilfrid, 8th century. Benedictine hermit, the silversmith who bound the Lindisfarne Gospels. He was a hermit in Lindisfarne, Ireland, off the coast of Northumbria, in northern England, where he aided Bishop Eaddfrid in preparing the binding of that masterpiece. He used gold, silver, and gems to bind the famous copy of the Gospels of St. Cuthbert. His relics were enshrined in Durham, England, in the eleventh century.  

St. Cadroe, 976 A.D. A Scottish prince and Benedictine abbot. He studied in Arrnagh, Ireland, and went to England where tradition states he saved London from a fire. In Fleury, France, Cadroe became Benedictine. Soon after, he became the abbot of Waul sort Monastery on the Meuse River in Belgium. He then went to Metz, Prance, to become abbot of St. Clements’s monastery.  

St. Fridolin, 540 A.D.  Benedictine abbot, an Irishman venerated as “the Apostle of the Upper Rhine.” He traveled to France and settled in Poitiers, rebuilding the monastery of St. Hilary which had been destroyed by Vandals. He then became a hermit on the Rhine. There he built the abbey of Sackingen. Fridolin was called “the Wanderer’ because of his many evangelizing trips in the region 

Sts. Kyneburga, Kyneswide, & Tibba, 680 A.D.  Abbesses whose relics are in St. Peterborough Abbey in England. Kyneburga and Kyneswide were daughters of King Penda of Mercia . The former founded an abbey at Castor, Northamptonshire. She was joined there by Kyneswide. Tibba was probably a relative who entered the same convent.  

March  7 

St. Deifer, 6th century. Welsh abbot and founder of Bodfare in Clwyd, Wales.  

St. Enodoch, 520 A.D. Welsh saint of the line of the chieftain Brychan of Brecknock, also called Wenedoc.  

St.  Esterwine, 668 A.D. Benedictine abbot, a relative of St. Benedict Biscop. A noble from Northumbria, England, he was abbot of Wearmouth Abbey during a period of Benedict’s absence.  

Bl. John Ireland, 1544 A.D. English martyr and chaplain to St. Thomas More. He became a pastor at Eltham, Kent, prior to his arrest for resisting the supremacy of King Henry VIII of England over the Church of England. Executed at Tyburn, he died with Blesseds Jermyn Gardiner and John Larke. 

Bl. John Larke, 1544 A.D. English martyr and priest. John Larke served as a pastor in Bishopgate, Woodford, Essex, and then Chelsea until his arrest for opposing the religious supremacy of King Henry VIII of England. He was executed at Tybum with John Ireland and Jermyn Gardiner. His longtime patron was St. Thomas More.  

March 8 

St. Senan. Senan was born of Christian parents at Munster, Ireland. He was a soldier for a time and then became a monk under Abbot Cassidus, who sent him to Abbot St. Natalis at Kilmanagh in Ossory. Senan became known for his holiness and miracles and attracted great crowds to his sermons. He made a journey to Rome, meeting St. David on the way back. He built several churches and monasteries, and then settled on Scattery Island, where he built a monastery that soon became famous. He died at Killeochailli on the way back from a visit to St. Cassidus monastery 

St. Beoadh, 518 A.D. Irish bishop. He was called Aeodh, receiving the prefix "Beo" because of his evident holiness. He was the bishop of Ardcarne. One of his relics, called the "Bell of St. Beoadh," has long been venerated and recognized as a work of art.  

St. Duthac, Bishop of Ross, in Scotland. An Irishman by birth, he was venerated for miracles and prophecies. He is recorded to have predicted the Danish invasion.  

St. Rhian. Welsh abbot. He is known for giving his name to Llanrhian, Dyfed, Wales.    

March 9 

St. Bosa, 705 A.D. Bishop of York, praised by St. Bede. Bosa was a Benedictine monk at Whitby, England a monastery ruled by St. Hilda. In 678, he was consecrated a bishop by St. Theodore. He was involved in St. Wilfrid's refusal to accept the division of the see of York. Bosa became the bishop in 691, when Wilfrid was exiled by King Aldfrid. St. Bede called Bosa a man of unusual merit and sanctity, "a man beloved of God."  

March 10 

St. John Ogilvie. Born in 1569, John Ogilvie belonged to Scottish nobility. Raised a Calvinist, he was educated on the continent. Exposed to the religious controversies of his day and impressed with the faith of the martyrs, he decided to become a Catholic. In 1596, at age seventeen he was received into the Church at Louvain. Later John attended a variety of Catholic educational institutions, and eventually he sought admission into the Jesuits. He was ordained at Paris in 1610 and asked to be sent to Scotland, hoping some Catholic nobles there would aid him given his lineage. Finding none, he went to London, then back to Paris, and finally returned to Scotland. John's work was quite successful in bring back many people to the Faith. Some time later he was betrayed by one posing as a Catholic. After his arrest he was tortured in prison in an effort to get him to reveal the names of other Catholics, but he refused. After three trials, John was convicted of high treason because he converted Protestants to the Catholic Faith as well as denied the king's spiritual jurisdiction by upholding the Pope's spiritual primacy and condemning the oaths of supremacy and allegiance. Sentenced to death, the courageous priest was hanged at Glasgow in 1615 at the age of thirty-six 

St. Attalas, 627 A.D. Abbot and companion of St. Columban. Born in Burgundy, France, he studied under Bishop Aregius of Gap. He became a monk at Lérins but then went to Luxeuil, where St. Columban taught him a strict rule of religious life. Attalas served as Columbian’s companion when the Irish saint went to Bobbio, in Italy, and founded a monastery there on lands donated by King Agilulf of the Lombards. In 615 St. Columban died, and Attalas succeeded him as abbot. Attalas was a foe of the heretical Arians. lie was also noted for performing miracles. His tomb is in Bobbio, beside the shrine of St. Columban.  

St. Sedna, 570 A.D. Bishop of Ossory, in Ireland. Sedna was also the abbot of Seir-Kieran Abbey, founded by St. Kieran with the aid of St. Patrick’s miraculous bell. Ossory was governed by abbot-bishops until circa 1184.  

St. Emilian, 675 A.D. Irish-born abbot of Lagny, France, also called Eminian or Imelin.  

St. Himelin, 750 A.D. Irish or Scottish priest who went on a pilgrimage to Rome. A maid of the parish of Vissemaeken, Belgium, gave him water from a pitcher and it turned to wine. He died at Vissemaeken, where he is venerated.  

St. Kessag, 560 A.D. Prince of Cashel, Ireland, and bishop of Scotland. Sometimes called Mackessag. Kessag went to Scotland as a missionary bishop, using Monk’s Island in Loch Lomond as his center. He was martyred at Bantry or at some unknown site. Kessag is credited with some extraordinary miracles. He is patron of Lennox, England.  

March 11 

St. Constantine. Constantine was king of Cornwall. Unreliable tradition has him married to the daughter of the king of Brittany who on her death ceded his throne to his son and became a monk at St. Mochuda monastery at Rahan, Ireland. He performed menial tasks at the monastery, then studied for the priesthood and was ordained. He went as a missionary to Scotland under St. Columba and then St. Kentigern, preached in Galloway, and became Abbot of a monastery at Govan. In old age, on his way to Kintyre, he was attacked by pirates who cut off his right arm, and he bled to death. He is regarded as Scotland's first martyr 

St. Aengus, 824 A.D. Called Dengus and "the Culdee," a hermit and author of the Festlology of the Saints of Ireland, The Felire. The term Culdee refers to Aengus' love of solitude: Ceile De was a name given to the hermits of the time. Aengus, born in Clonengh, Ireland, became a solitary monk on the banks of the river Nore, where he communed with angels. In time he sought a more remote site near Maryborough, erecting a small hermitage there. Visitors drawn by his reputation for holiness drove Aengus to the monastery of Tallaght, near Dublin, then under the control of St. Maelruain. He tried to enter as a simple lay brother, not telling anyone who he was. Aengus, along with Maelruain (who had discovered the Culdee's real identity), wrote the Martyrology of Tallaght together in 790. Aengus completed his Felire in 

805 in his Maryborough hermitage, having returned there when Maelruain died. Aengus passed away on March 11, 824, and was buried in Clonenagh.  

March 12 St. Alphege, 951 A.D. Bishop and prophet, called "the Elder" or "the Bald." Also known as Elphege, he was the bishop of Winchester, England. There he ordained St. Dunstan. A holy prophet, Alphege is credited with helping to restore monasticism to England.  

St. Mura McFeredach, 645 A.D. Irish abbot and disciple of St. Columba. He was named abbot of Fahan and is patron saint of Fahan in County Derry. Also called Muran and Murames, he is remembered by one of his crosses that remains standing at Fahan.  

St. Paul Aurelian, 573 A.D.  Welsh bishop. Probably of Roman-Welsh descent, he was the son of a local Welsh chieftain. He studied under St. Illtyd at the Ynys Byr monastery and, according to tradition, was granted permission to become a hermit. Ordained, he nevertheless gathered around himself a group of followers and acquired such a reputation for goodness that a king in Brittany asked him to preach the Christian faith to his subjects. Paul sailed to Caldey Island in Brittany soon after and founded a monastery at PorzPol on the island of Quessant. Later he established himself and his followers at Ouismor. There, over his objections, he was made a bishop, although he was finally permitted to resign after several years and retire to Batz. He was reputed to be able to perform miracles. 

March 13 

Bl. Agnello of Pisa. The founder of the English Franciscan province, Blessed Agnello, was admitted into the Order by St. Francis himself on the occasion of his sojourn in Pisa. He was sent to the Friary in Paris, of which he became the guardian, and in 1224, St. Francis appointed him to found an English province; at the time he was only a deacon. Eight others were selected to accompany him. True to the precepts of St. Francis, they had no money, and the monks of Fecamp paid their passage over to Dover. They made Canterbury their first stopping place, while Richard of Ingworth, Richard of Devon and two of the Italians went on to London to see where they could settle.  It was the winter of 1224, and they must have suffered great discomfort, especially as their ordinary fare was bread and a little beer, which was so thick that it had to be diluted before they could swallow it. Nothing, however, dampened their spirits, and their simple piety, cheerfulness and enthusiasm soon won them many friends.  

They were able to produce a commendatory letter from Pope Honorius III, so that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Steven Langton, in announcing their arrival, said, "Some religious have come to me calling themselves penitents of the Order of Assisi, but I called them of the Order of the Apostles." In the meantime, Richard of Ingworth and his party had been well received in London and hired a dwelling on Cornhill. They were now ready to push on to Oxford, and Agnello came from Canterbury to take charge of the London settlement. Everywhere the Friars were received with enthusiasm, and Matthew Paris himself attests that Blessed Agnello was on familiar terms with King Henry III. Agnello is thought to have died at the age of forty-one, only eleven years after he landed at Dover, but his reputation for sanctity and prudence stood high amongst his fellows. It is stated that his zeal for poverty was so great that "he would never permit any ground to be enlarged or any house to be built except as inevitable necessity required." He was stern in resisting relaxations in the Rule, but his gentleness and tact led him to be chosen in 1233 to negotiate with the rebellious Earl Marshal. His health is said to have been undermined by his efforts in this cause and by a last painful journey to Italy. Opon his return he was seized with dysentery at Oxford and died there, after crying out for three days, "Come, Sweetest Jesus." The cult of Blessed Agnello was confirmed in 1892; his feast is observed in the Archdiocese of Birmingham today and by the Friars Minor on the eleventh.  

St. Kevoca, 7th century. Scottish saint, honored in Kyle, Scotland. but now believed to be St. Mochoemoc. Also called Quivox.  

St. Mochoemoc, 656 A.D. Abbot Founder of Liath Mochoemoc Monastery at Tipperary, Ireland. He was the son of Bevan and Nessa and the brother or nephew of St. Ita. Listed as Machaemhog, Puicherius, or Vuicherius, he was trained by St. Ita, at Munster, Ireland, and received ordination by St. Comgall at Bangor. Mochoemoc founded Arderin Abbey and others before he died.  

March 14 

St. Boniface Curitan, 660 A.D. Evangelist to the Picts and Scots. Probably a Roman by birth, Boniface was the bishop of Ross, England. He introduced Roman observances into the British territories and founded a vast number of parishes.  

March 15 

St. Aristobulus, 1st century. Martyred disciple of Christ, one of the seventy-two sent out into the world by the early Church. He is possibly mentioned by St. Paul and is identified with Zebedee, the father of Sts. James and John. Aristobulus preached in Britain, although no documentation supports this or his martyrdom in the British Isles.  

Bl. William Hart, 1583 A.D. Martyr of England. Born in Wells, in Somerset, he studied at Oxford and then at Douai, Reims, France, and Rome. After receiving ordination in 1581, he went back to England and included among his associations Blessed Margaret Clitherow. William ministered to Catholic prisoners in York Prison, having several adventures in staying free. He was betrayed to English authorities by an apostate from Clitherow's estate. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at York and beatified in 1886.  

March 16 

St. Abban, 620 A.D. Abbot and Irish missionary. An Irish prince, Abban was the son of King Cormac of Leinster. He is listed as the nephew of St. Ibar. Abban founded many churches in the old district of Ui Cennselaigh, in modern County Wexford and Ferns. His main monastery is Magheranoidhe, in Adamstown, Ireland. This monastery's fame is attributed in some records to another Abban, that of New Ross. Abban is also associated with Kill-Abban Abbey in Leinster, serving as abbot there until March 16, 620. He is revered in Adamstown, which was once called Abbanstown.  

 

St. Finian Lobharm, 560 A.D. Irish abbot, a disciple of St. Columba. He was born in Bregia, Leinster, Ire-land. Tradition credits him with founding a church at Innisfallen and a monastery there as well. After a stay in Clonmore, Finian Lobhar became abbot of Swords Abbey near Dublin. He may have returned to Clonmore in his later years and was called Lobhar, “the Leper,” but apparently did not have that disease. He acquired the name when he contracted leprosy from a young boy whom he cured of the disease.  

Bl. John Amias, 1589 A.D. Also called John Anne, a martyr in England. He was born and married near Wakefield where he became a cloth dealer. When his wife died, he went to Reims and was ordained a Priest in 1581. Returning to England, he worked until his arrest by English authorities. Hanged, drawn, and quartered at York with Blessed Robert Dalby, he was beatified in 1929.  

Bl. Robert Dalby, 1589 A.D. English martyr. Born at Hemingborough, Yorkshire, he was a Protestant minister before he converted to Catholicism and left England to become a priest. Ordained in 1588 after studies at Douai and Reims, France, he returned home. The next year he was arrested and hanged, drawn, and quartered at York on March 16, with Blessed John Amias. He was beatified 1929.  

March 17 

Saint Patrick, b. 387 d.461, Patron of Ireland. St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world's most popular saints.  Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 461. Along with St. Nicholas and St. Valentine, the secular world shares our love of these saints. This is also a day when everyone's Irish.  There are many legends and stories of St. Patrick, but this is his story.  Patrick was born around 385 in Scotland, probably Kilpatrick. His parents were Calpurnius and Conchessa, who were Romans living in Britian in charge of the colonies.  As a boy of fourteen or so, he was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. Ireland at this time was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him.  During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer. He wrote  "The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."  

Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britian, where he reunited with his family.  He had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."  He began his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years.  Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop, and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. He arrived in Ireland March 25, 433, at Slane. One legend says that he met a chieftain of one of the tribes, who tried to kill Patrick. Patrick converted Dichu (the chieftain) after he was unable to move his arm until he became friendly to Patrick.  

Patrick began preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland, converting many. He and his disciples preached and converted thousands and began building churches all over the country. Kings, their families, and entire kingdoms converted to Christianity when hearing Patrick's message.  

Patrick by now had many disciples, among them Beningnus, Auxilius, Iserninus, and Fiaac, (all later canonized as well).  Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461.  He died at Saul, where he had built the first church. Why a shamrock?  Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, and has been associated with him and the Irish since that time.  In His Footsteps:  Patrick was a humble, pious, gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us. He feared nothing, not even death, so complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission.  

St. Joseph of Arimathea, 1st century. The councilor (Lk 23:50) who, after the Crucifixion, requested the body of Christ from Pontius Pilate and provided for a proper burial for Christ. An immensely popular figure in Christian lore, Joseph was termed in the New Testament the “virtuous and righteous man” (Lk 23:50) and the man “who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God” (Mk 15:43). Described as..... secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, [he] asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it” (In 19:38). According to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, he helped establish the community of Lydda. He also was a prominent figure in the legends surrounding the Holy Grail, appearing in Rob-ert de Barron’s early thirteenth-century romance Joseph d ‘Arirnathea, William of Malmesbury’s twelfth-century De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae, and Thomas Mallory’s famed Morte D ‘Arthur; William of almesbury’s tale recounts Joseph’s arrival in England with the Holy Grail and the building of the first church on the isle at Glastonbury; the passage on Joseph, however, was added in the thirteenth century.  

March 18 

Bl. Christian. Beyond the fact that he was Abbot of the first Cistercian monastery ever established in Ireland, practically nothing at all can be stated with certainty about Blessed Christian, otherwise called Christian O'Conarchy or Giolla Criost Ua Condoirche. The various traditions and legends are confused and conflicting. According to some accounts, he was born at Bangor in Ulster, and Colgan says that he was the disciple and afterwards the archdeacon of St. Malachy of Armagh, and that he probably accompanied the prelate on a visit to Rome, staying at Clairvaux on his way there. He would appear to have been one of the four disciples who remained behind at Clairvaux on the homeward journey and who received the habit from St. Bernard himself. Upon his return to Ireland, St. Malachy was anxious to introduce the Cistercian Order into his country, and at his prompting Donouth O'Carroll set about building Mellifont. Malachy applied to the founder for a superior and some monks to start the new foundation, and St. Bernard sent Christian and several French brothers in 1142. Abbot Christian is said by some writers to have become bishop of Lismore and papal legate for Ireland. An ancient anonymous Irish analyst notes the year 1186 as the date of the death of Christian, the illustrious prelate of Lismore, "formally legate of Ireland, emulator of the virtues which he saw and heard from his holy father St. Bernard and from the supreme pontiff, the venerable man Eugenius, with whom he was in the novitiate at Clairvaux".  

 

St. Edward the Martyr. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar of England and his first wife, Ethelfleda who died shortly after her son's birth. He was baptized by St. Dunstan and became King in 975 on his father's death with the support of Dunstan but against the wishes of his stepmother, Queen Elfrida, who wished the throne for her son Ethelred. Edward ruled only three years when he was murdered on March 18 while hunting near Corfe Dastle, reportedly by adherents of Ethelred, though William of Malmesbury, the English historian of the twelfth century, said Elfrida was the actual murderer. In the end, Elfrida was seized with remorse for her crime and, retiring from the world, she built the monasteries of Amesbury and Wherwell, in the latter of which she died. Edward was a martyr only in the broad sense of one who suffers an unjust death, but his cultus was considerable, encouraged by the miracles reported from his tomb at Shaftesbury; 

March 19 

St. Lactali, 672 A.D. Abbot founder and disciple of St. Corngall in Ireland. Lactan was from County Cork and was educated in Bangor by Sts. Comgall and Molua. He became the abbot-founder of Achadh-Ur Abbey at Freshford, Kilkenny.  

March 20 

St. Cuthbert.  Cuthbert was thought by some to be Irish and by others, a Scot. Bede, the noted historian, says he was a Briton. Orphaned when a young child, he was a shepherd for a time, possibly fought against the Mercians, and became a monk at Melrose Abbey. In 661, he accompanied St. Eata to Ripon Abbey, which the abbot of Melrose had built, but returned to Melrose the following year when King Alcfrid turned the abbey over to St. Wilfrid, and then became Prior of Melrose. Cuthbert engaged in missionary work and when St. Colman refused to accept the decision of the Council of Whitby in favor of the Roman liturgical practices and immigrated with most of the monks of Lindisfarn to Ireland, St. Eata was appointed bishop in his place and named Cuthbert Prior of Lindisfarn. He resumed his missionary activities and attracted huge crowds until he received his abbot's permission to live as a hermit, at first on a nearby island and then in 676, at one of the Farnes Islands near Bamborough. Against his will, he was elected bishop of Hexham in 685, arranged with St. Eata to swap Sees, and became bishop of Lindisfarn but without the monastery. He spent the last two years of his life administering his See, caring for the sick of the plague that dessimated his diocese, working numerous miracles of healing and gifted with the ability to prophesy. He died at Lindisfarn. 

St. Herbert, 687. Hermit of England and friend of St. Cuthbert. A priest, Herbert lived as a recluse on an island in Lake Derwentwater, England. His island became St. Herbert’s in his honor. Herbert had asked to die on the same day as St. Cuthbert, a desire that was granted by God.  

March 21 St. Enda. Legend has him an Irishman noted for his military feats who was convinced by his sister St. Fanchea to renounce his warring activities and marry. When he found his fiancée dead, he decided to become a monk and went on pilgrimage to Rome, where he was ordained. He returned to Ireland, built churches at Drogheda, and then secured from his brother-in-law King Oengus of Munster the island of 

Aran, where he built the monastery of Killeaney, from which ten other foundations on the island developed. With St. Finnian of Clonard, Enda is considered the founder on monasticism in Ireland.  

March 22 

St. Nicholas Owen. Nicholas was born at Oxford, England. He became a carpenter or builder and served the Jesuit priests in England for two decades by constructing hiding places for them in mansions throughout the country. He became a Jesuit lay brother in 1580, and was arrested in 1594 with Father John Gerard, and despite prolonged torture would not give the names of any of his Catholic colleagues; he was released on the payment of a ransom by a wealthy Catholic. Nicholas is believed responsible for Father Gerard's dramatic escape from the Tower of London in 1597. Nicholas was again arrested in 1606 with Father Henry Garnet, who he had served eighteen years, Father Oldcorne, and Father Oldcorne's servant, Brother Ralph Ashley, and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Nicholas was subjected to such vicious torture that he died of it on March 2nd. He was known as Little John and Little Michael and used the aliases of Andrews and Draper. He was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.  

St. Trien, 5th century. A disciple of St. Patrick. He served as a missionary and then as abbot of Killelga Monastery, Ireland.  

St. Darerca, 5th century. The sister of St. Patrick. She was reported to have borne fifteen sons, ten of whom became bishops throughout Ireland.  

March 23 

St.  Ethelwald. Benedictine hermit on Fame Island, England, a disciple of St. Cuthbert. He was a monk at Ripon originally. Ethelwald was buried at Lindisfame. He is also called Oidilwald.  

March 24 

St. Caimin, 635 A.D. An Irish hermit of Inniskeltra. He lived on an island in Loughberg, founding a monastery and a chapel on the island of the Seven Churches with St. Senan. A fragment of his Psalter still remains.  

St. Cairlon, 6th century. The archbishop of Cashel, Ireland, restored to life by St. Dageus. Cairlon, also called Caorlan, was an abbot when St. Dageus brought him back to life. When he was appointed to the see of Cashel, Dageus and his monks placed themselves under his rule.  

St. Domangard. 500 A.D. Patron of Maghera, County Down, Ireland, sometimes called Donard. He was a contemporary of St. Patrick and a hermit. The site of his hermitage, a mountain, now bears the name SlieveDonard.  

St. Hildelitba, 712 A.D. Benedictine abbess and supporter of Sts. Bede, Aldhelm, and Boniface. An Anglo Saxon princess, she became a nun at Chelles or Farmoutier. France, but was recalled by St. Erconwald to train her sister, Ethelburga, at Barking, England. When Ethelburga died, Hildelitha succeeded her. She is also called Hildilid and Hideltha.    

St. Macartan. First bishop of Clogher, Ireland, also called Aedh MacCairthin, Macartin, and Maccarthen. He may have been consecrated by St. Patrick. He was possibly abbot of Dairmis Abbey before becoming a bishop. Macartan performed many spectacular miracles.  

March 25 

St. Harold, 1168 A.D. Martyred child of Gloucester, England. He was reported to have been slain by Jews in the area, and was venerated as a martyr. The veneration of the child martyrs is often considered as an example of the pervasive anti-Semitism of the period.   

St. James Bird, Blessed, 1593 A.D. English martyr. Born in Winchester and raised as a Protestant, he embraced the Catholic Church at the age of nineteen. James visited Douai College in Reims, but he returned to England. There he refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Winchester in his native city. He was beatified in 1929.  

St. Kennocha, 1007 A.D. Nun of Scotland, also called Kyle or Enoch. She lived in a convent in Fife, Scotland, and is venerated in Glasgow.  

St Robert of Bury St. Edmunds, 1181 A.D. traditionally, a boy martyr of the Middle Ages whose death was blamed upon local Jews. He was supposedly kidnapped and murdered by Jews on Good Friday at Bury St. Edmunds, England. As was the case with other reputed victims of Jewish sacrificial rites, the story of Richard is entirely fictitious and owes its propagation to the rampant anti-Semitism of the period.  

March 26 

St. Margaret of Clitherow. Margaret Clitherow was born in Middleton, England, in 1555, of protestant parents. Possessed of good looks and full of wit and merriment, she was a charming personality. In 1571, she married John Clitherow, a well-to-do grazier and butcher (to whom she bore two children), and a few years later entered the Catholic Church. Her zeal led her to harbor fugitive priests, for which she was arrested and imprisoned by hostile authorities. Recourse was had to every means in an attempt to make her deny her Faith, but the holy woman stood firm. Finally, she was condemned to be pressed to death on March 25, 1586. She was stretched out on the ground with a sharp rock on her back and crushed under a door over laden with unbearable weights. Her bones were broken and she died within fifteen minutes. The humanity and holiness of this servant of God can be readily glimpsed in her words to a friend when she learned of her condemnation: "The sheriffs have said that I am going to die this coming Friday; and I feel the weakness of my flesh which is troubled at this news, but my spirit rejoices greatly. For the love of God, pray for me and ask all good people to do likewise."  

 St. Alfwold, 1058 A.D. Bishop and ascetic, a companion of St. Swithin and a devotee of St. Cuthbert. Little is known of Alfwold except for the biographical material gathered by William of Malmesbury. Alfwold was a monk in Winchester, England, before being consecrated bishop of Sherborne in 1045. His austere way of life set a Christian example for the local royalty. St. Swithin was Alfwold's patron in Winchester. Alfwold made a pilgrimage to St. Cuthbert in Durharn.  

St. William of Norwich, 1144 A.D. Martyr. He was a young boy and an apprentice to a tanner in Norwich, England. William was murdered by two Jews in a terrible ceremony prompted by a hatred for Christ.  

St. Garbhan, 7th century. Irish abbot honored by the town of Dungarvan, Ireland. He was part of the monastic efforts to preserve knowledge and culture in Ireland.  

St. Mochelloc, 639 A.D. Patron saint of Kilmallock, Limerick, Ireland. He is also called Celloch, Cellog, Motalogus, and Mottelog.  

March 27 

St. Alkeld, tenth century. A patroness of Yorkshire, England, she is also known as Athilda. Nothing is documented about her life, but she is depicted in a painting as being strangled by Dane invaders.  

March 28 

St. James Claxton, Blessed, 1588 A.D. Martyr in England. A native of Yorkshire and a devout Catholic, he studied at Reims and was ordained in 1582. Returning home to conduct missionary work in his former region, he was soon arrested and hanged, drawn, and quartered at Isleworth.  

March 29 

St. Gladys, 5th century. Welsh saint, wife of St. Gundleus and mother of St. Cadoc. She was the daughter of Brychan of Brecknock, Wales. Tradition relates that Gundleus kidnapped Gladys. Their romance became part of the Arthurian legend.  

St. Gwynllyw, 500 A.D. Husband of St. Gladys and father of St. Cadoc, a hermit of Wales. He is sometimes called Woollos or Gundleus. He and Gladys were reportedly bandits in Kind Arthur’s time, but they repented and became eremites.  

St. Lasar, 6th century. Irish virgin, niece of St. Forchera, also called Lassar or Lassera. She was a nun, given to the care of Sts. Finan and Kieran at Clonard, Ireland.  

March 30 

St. Tola, 733 A.D. Irish bishop in Meath (Disert lola), Ireland. He sent missionaries to Europe and aided the expansion of scholarly studies.  

St. Fergus, 6th century. Bishop of Downpatrick. Ireland. He may be identified with St. Fergus of Scotland.  

St. Osburga, 1018 A.D. Abbess of a convent at Coventry, England, which had been founded by King Canute. Her shrine was a popular place of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages because of the many miracles reported there.  

St. Patto, 788 A.D. Bishop of Werden, Saxony, Germany. A native of Britain, Patto served as an abbot in Saxony before becoming a bishop. He is sometimes listed as Pacificus.  

March 31 

St. Machabeo, Irish abbot of Armagh, Ireland, for four decades. He is also listed as Gilda-Marchaibeo. He governed the monastery of Sts. Peter and Paul.