In my particular series of historical blog posts (Heck of a Ride Around the Sun) I have tried to include and insert many many canonized Catholic Saints, Blesseds, Venerables and Servants of God into the timelines. I may have missed some and it’s hard to go back and drop them into history. So I’m putting them here in this particular series of articles on the Catholic Bard’s List of Saints.
I took the General Roman Calendar, some books on saints such as…
to make this timeline.
Some saints have more info then other saints. Some just have their name in this list because their name is in the General Roman Calendar. Perhaps with more time I could find out more about them and include it in this piece. Also if you didn’t see your favorite saint listed, it’s because I can’t list everyone. I would have to create a website just for that purpose. But of course that has already been done. You can find that website here.
Many Saintly Popes from the 1st – 5th Centuries
and other Early Church Fathers who lived in this time period were declared Saints including…
Pope # 5 St Evaristus –
November 23, 99 – October 27, 105
(5 years, 338 days) Feast October 25
Hellenized Jew.
Said to have divided Rome into parishes, assigning a priest to each.
Pope Evaristus, 15th century
Many Christians died as Martyrs during this time period in church history including..
Saint Domitilla with Saint Nereus and Achilleus, by Niccolò Circignani
St. Apollinaris of Ravenna Feast July 20
Patronage of those with Epilepsy
General Roman Calendar
He’s Syrian saint, whom the Roman Martyrology describes as “a bishop who, according to tradition, while spreading among the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ, led his flock as a good shepherd and honored the Church of Classis near Ravenna by a glorious martyrdom.
According to one version of the detailed legend that developed later, Tarcisius was a young boy during one of the fierce 3rd-century Roman persecutions, probably during the reign of Emperor Valerian (253–259). One day, he was entrusted with the task of bringing the Eucharist to condemned Christians in prison. He preferred death at the hands of a mob rather than deliver to them the Blessed Sacrament which he was carrying.
Alexandre Falguière, Tarcisius, Christian martyr, 1868, musée d’Orsay.
Saint Valentine 3rd-century Feast February 14
Patron of Terni, Epilepsy and Beekeepers
From the High Middle Ages, his feast day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. Saint Valentine was a clergyman – either a priest or a bishop – in the Roman Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians. He was martyred and his body buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14, which has been observed as the Feast of Saint Valentine (Saint Valentine’s Day) since at least the eighth century.
St Valentine Kneeling in Supplication (David Teniers III, 1600s) – Valentine kneels to receive a rosary from the Virgin Mary
Pope # 16 St. Callixtus I was the bishop of Rome (according to Sextus Julius Africanus) Papal Reign – December 20, 217 –October 14 ,222
(4 years, 298 days) Feast day October 14 General Roman Calendar Patronage of Cemetery Workers
Between St. Popes 16 and 17 St. Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170 – c. 235 AD) Feast August 13
General Roman Calendar Patron of Mexico City and Horses
He was a Bishop of Rome and one of the most important second-third century Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. he came into conflict with the popes of his time and seems to have headed a schismatic group as a rival to the bishop of Rome, thus becoming an antipope. In this view, he opposed the Roman Popes who softened the penitential system to accommodate the large number of new pagan converts. However, he was reconciled to the Church before he died as a martyr.
Saint Hippolytus assisted by two Angels and the Virgin Mary.
Pope # 18 St. Pontian (died October 235) Papal Reign – August 21, 230 – September 28, 235
(5 years, 38 days) Feast day November 19
General Roman Calendar
He abdicated to make the election of a new pope possible.Resigning on September 28, 235, he was the first pope to do so. This allowed an orderly transition in the Church of Rome and so ended a schism that had existed in the Church for eighteen years. Some accounts say he was beaten to death only weeks after his arrival on Sardinia.
The Martyrdom of Saint Pontianus (Baltasar de Echave, c. 1612)
Pope # 20 St. Fabian Feast Day January 20
General Roman Calendar Papal Reign -January 10, 236 – January 20, 250.
Saint Fabian and Sebastian by Giovanni di Paolo (c. 1450).
Fabian wears an anachronistic papal tiara
St. Castulus(died 286) Feast March 26 Patronage of Shepherds and lightning
St. Sebastian (c. AD 255 – c. AD 288) Feast January 20
General Roman Calendar Patron of Soldiers; the Plague-Stricken; Archers; Disabled Peoples; Athletes and Cyclists
According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death.
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together by Catholics because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases. This group of Nothelfer (“helpers in need”) originated in the 14th century at first in the Rhineland, largely as a result of the epidemic (probably of bubonic plague) that became known as the Black Death.
Eustace (Eustachius, Eustathius) (118) Feast September 20 Patron Against family discord, against fire (temporal and eternal), and patron of hunters, trappers, and anyone facing trouble.
St. Denis of Paris (c. 250, 258,or 270)
Feast October 9 General Roman Calandar Patronage Against Frenzy, Strife, demonic possession and Headaches,
He was a 3rd-century Christian martyr and saint. According to his hagiographies, he was bishop of Paris (then Lutetia) in the third century and, together with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, was martyred for his faith by decapitation. Denis is the most famous cephalophore in Christian history, with a popular story claiming that the decapitated bishop picked up his head and walked several miles while preaching a sermon on repentance.
Saint Denis holding his head. Statue at the left portal of Notre Dame de Paris.
Saint Christopher Feast Day July 20
Patronage of Transportation (drivers, sailors, etc.)
and Traveling (especially for long journeys)
and Against bubonic plague
He was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (r. 249–251), or alternatively under the emperor Maximinus Daia (r. 308–313).
His most famous legend tells that he carried a child, who was unknown to him, across a river before the child revealed himself as Christ. Therefore, he is the patron saint of travelers, and small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket, or placed in vehicles by Christians.
St. Barbara (Mid-third century) Feast December 4 Patron Against fever and sudden death, against lightning and fire, and against sudden and violent death at work; patron of builders, artillerymen, and miners.
According to the hagiographies, Barbara was born either in Heliopolis or in Nicomedia, the daughter of a rich pagan named Dioscorus who carefully guarded her, keeping her locked up in a tower to preserve her from the outside world. After she secretly became a Christian, she rejected an offer of marriage that she received through her father.
Before departing on a journey, Barbara’s father commanded that a private bath-house be erected for her use near her dwelling, and during his absence, she had three windows put in it as a symbol of the Holy Trinity, instead of the two originally intended. When her father returned, she acknowledged herself to be a Christian. Dragged before the prefect of the province, Martinianus, who had her cruelly tortured, Barbara held true to her Christian faith. During the night, the dark prison was bathed in light and new miracles occurred. Every morning, her wounds were healed. Torches that were to be used to burn her went out as soon as they came near her. Finally, she was condemned to death by beheading. Her father himself carried out the death sentence; however, as punishment, he was struck by lightning on the way home and his body was consumed by flame. Barbara was buried by a Christian, Valentinus, and her tomb became the site of miracles.
Saint Barbara and her tower, French (Villeloup, Aube), c. 1520–1530, polychromed limestone
St. Agathius (Acacius) (died 303) Feast May 7 Patron Against headache.
St. Cyriacus (303 AD) Feast August 8 Patron Against temptation on the death-bed, diseases of the eye, and demonic possession.
Erasmus (Elmo) (died c. 303) Feast June 2 Patron Against intestinal ailments, stomach ailments, for domestic animals, and patron of sailors.
Saint George (died April 23, 303) Feast April 23 (Saint George’s Day)
General Roman Calendar Patron For the health of domestic animals, against herpetic diseases, and patron of soldiers.
In a legend, Saint George—a soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tribute once a year. This was acceptable to the villagers until a princess was chosen as the next offering. The saint thereupon rescues the princess and kills the dragon. The narrative was first set in Cappadocia in the earliest sources of the 11th and 12th centuries, but transferred to Libya in the 13th-century Golden Legend.
Vitus (Guy) (290 -303) Feast June 15 Patron Against epilepsy, chorea, lightning, the bites of animals (especially those who were venomous or rabid), and storms, and for protection of domestic animals.
Saint Margaret the Virgin of Antioch (died 304) Feast July 20 Patron of of women in childbirth, invoked against backache, and invoked for escape from devils.
She was reputed to have promised very powerful indulgences to those who wrote or read her life, or invoked her intercessions; these no doubt helped the spread of her following.
Margaret is one of the saints Joan of Arc claimed to have spoken with.
Saint Marina the Great Martyr. An illustration in her hagiography printed in Greece depicting her beating a demon with a hammer. Date on the picture: 1858.
St. Catherine of Alexandria (c. 287 – c. 305)
Feast November 25 General Roman Calendar
Patron of apologists; Craftsmen Who Work With a Wheel (potters, spinners);
Archivists, Knife Sharpeners; Lacemakers; Lawyers and Librarians
According to her hagiography, she was both a princess and a noted scholar who became a Christian around the age of 14, converted hundreds of people to Christianity and was martyred around the age of eighteen. More than 1,100 years after Catherine’s martyrdom, Joan of Arc identified her as one of the saints who appeared to and counselled her
Caravaggio, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1598–99, Thys
Pantaleon (Panteleimon) (275 – 305) Feast July 27 Patron of physicians and midwives, invoked for the protection of domestic animals, and invoked against cancer and tuberculosis.
13th century icon of Saint Panteleimon, including scenes from his life, from the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai
St. Blaise of Sebaste(martyred 316 AD) Feast February 3
General Roman Calendar Patron Against illness of the throat and for protection of domestic animals.
According to the Acts, while Blaise was being taken into custody, a distraught mother, whose only child was choking on a fish bone, threw herself at his feet and implored his intercession. Touched by her distress, he offered up his prayers, and the child was cured. Traditionally, Saint Blaise is invoked for protection against injuries and illnesses of the throat.
In many places, on the day of his feast the blessing of St. Blaise is given: two candles (sometimes lit), blessed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas), are held in the form of a cross by a priest over the heads of the faithful or the people are touched on the throat with them. At the same time the following blessing is given: “Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness”. Then the priest makes the sign of the cross over the faithful.
Saint Blaise confronting the Roman governor – scene from a stained glass window from the area of Soissons (Picardy, France), early 13th century
Giles (Aegidius) (650 – 710) Feast September 1 Patron Against plague, epilepsy, mental illness, and nightmares, for a good confession, and patron of cripples, beggars, blacksmiths, and breast-feeding mothers.
A town that bears his name grew up around the monastery he purportedly founded, which became a pilgrimage centre and a stop on the Way of Saint James. The Legenda Aurea links him with Arles, but finally he withdrew deep into the forest near Nîmes, where in the greatest solitude he spent many years, his sole companion being his beloved deer, or red deer, who in some stories sustained him on her milk. Giles ate a Christian vegetarian diet.[9] This retreat was finally discovered by the king’s hunters, who had pursued the hind to its place of refuge. An arrow shot at the deer wounded the saint instead, who afterwards became a patron of the physically disabled.
Detail of Saint Giles and the Hind, by the Master of Saint Giles c. 1500
Half the saints are regarded as historical figures (Blaise, Cyriacus, Erasmus, George, Giles, Pantaleon, Vitus) while the other may be only legends (Agathius, Barbara, Catherine of Alexandria, Christopher, Denis, Eustace, Margaret of Antioch).
4th Century
Saint Genesius of Rome (Died 303) Feast August 25
Patronage of Actors, Playwrights, Clowns, Comedians, and Comics,
Genesius of Rome is a legendary Christian saint, once a comedian and actor who had performed in plays that mocked Christianity. According to legend, while performing in a play that made fun of baptism, he had an experience on stage that converted him. He proclaimed his new belief, and he steadfastly refused to renounce it, even when the emperor Diocletian ordered him to do so.
A new association in the Roman Catholic Church, The Fraternity of St Genesius, has been founded under this Saint’s patronage. It aims to support men and women who work in theatre and cinema.
Stained glass window of St Genesius at St Chad, Chadwell Heath
Saint Florian (AD 250 – c. 304) Feast May 4 Patronage of Chimneysweeps; Firefighters and Soap Boilers
He joined the Roman Army and advanced in the ranks, rising to commander of the imperial army in the Roman province of Noricum. In addition to his military duties, he was also responsible for organizing and leading firefighting brigades. Florian organized and trained an elite group of soldiers whose sole duty was to fight fires.
During the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians, reports reached Rome that Florian was not enforcing the proscriptions against Christians in his territory. Aquilinus was sent to investigate these reports. When Aquilinus ordered Florian to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods in accordance with Roman religion, Florian refused. Florian was sentenced to be burned at the stake. Standing on the funeral pyre, Florian is reputed to have challenged the Roman soldiers to light the fire, saying “If you wish to know that I am not afraid of your torture, light the fire, and in the name of the Lord I will climb onto it.” Apprehensive of his words, the soldiers did not burn Florian, but executed him by drowning him in the Enns River with a millstone tied around his neck instead.
St Florian by Francesco del Cossa, 1473
St. Philomena (c. January 10, 291 – c. August 10, 304) Feast August 11
She was a virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. The name Philomena was not included in the Roman Martyrology, the official list of saints recognized by the Catholic Church and in which the saints are included immediately upon canonization. On February 14, 1961, the Holy See ordered that the name of Philomena be removed from all liturgical calendars that mentioned her. Canonization is a ceremony of the highest solemnity, in which the Pope himself, invoking his supreme authority in the Catholic Church, declares that someone is a saint and inserts that person’s name in the catalog of saints. This ceremony has never taken place with regard to Saint Philomena. St. Damien of Molokai, who had strong devotion to Philomena, named his church at Kalawao in honor of her.
Pancras 289 – 304 Feast May 12
General Roman Calendar
The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona
Vincent of Saragossa (Died 304)
Feast January 22
General Roman Calendar
Patronage of Vignerons (wine-makers), Vintners (wine-merchants), and Vnegar-makers
The story that Vincent was tortured on a gridiron is perhaps adapted from the martyrdom of another son of Huesca, Lawrence— Vincent, like many early martyrs in the early hagiographic literature, succeeded in converting his jailer.
According to legend, after being martyred, ravens protected Vincent’s body from being devoured by vultures, until his followers could recover the body.
Januarius(c. April 21, 272 – c.. September 19, 305) Feast September 19
General Roman Calendar Patron of Blood Banks; Naples; Volcanic Eruptions
Januarius is the patron saint of Naples, where the faithful gather three times a year in Naples Cathedral to witness the liquefaction of what is claimed to be a sample of his blood kept in a sealed glass ampoule.
Ribera, Saint Januarius Emerges Unscathed from the Furnace, Naples Cathedral
Pope # 33 St. Sylvester I (also Silvester, 285 – 31 December 335) Papal Reign January 31, 314 – December 31, 335
(21 years, 334 days) Feast December 31
General Roman Calendar
Patron Feroleto Antico
He filled the See of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, though very little is known of his life.
St. Nicholas of Myra (March 15, 270 – December 6, 343) Feast December 6 General Roman Calendar
Patron of of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves,
children, brewers, pawnbrokers, toymakers,
unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe.
Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. His reputation evolved among the pious, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus (“Saint Nick“) through Sinterklaas. An early list makes him an attendee at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, but he is never mentioned in any writings by people who were at the council. Late, unsubstantiated legends claim that he was temporarily defrocked and imprisoned during the council for slapping the heretic Arius. Another famous late legend tells how he resurrected three children, who had been murdered and pickled in brine by a butcher planning to sell them as pork during a famine.
St. Pachomius (c. 292 –May 9, 348 AD) Feast May 9 Patron
He is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism.
St. Anthony the Great (January 12, 251 –January 17, 356) Feast January 17
General Roman Calendar
Patron of the poor, basket makers, brushmakers, and the gravediggers.
He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony, such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets: Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks.
Saint Bibiana Died 360 Feast December 2
Patron of Insanity and Torture Victims
According to legend, Bibiana was the daughter of a former prefect, Flavianus, who was banished by Julian the Apostate. His wife Dafrosa, and two daughters, Demetria and Bibiana, were also persecuted by Julian. Dafrosa and Demetria died a natural death and were buried by Bibiana in their own house; but Bibiana was tortured and died as a result of her sufferings. Two days after her death a priest named John buried Bibiana near her mother and sister in her home, the house being later transformed into a church. It is evident that the legend seeks to explain in this way the origin of the church and the presence in it of the bodies of the above-mentioned confessors. The account contained in the martyrologies of the ninth century is drawn from the legend.
Saint Bibiana by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Santa Bibiana, Rome
The Virgin Mary in Glory with Archangel Gabriel, and Saints Eusebius of Vercelli (seated), Saint Sebastian, and Saint Roch, Sebastiano Ricci.
Pope # 37 St. Damasus I (c. 305 – 11 December 384) Feast December 11 General Roman Calendar Patron of Archaeologists and against fever
He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies (including Apollinarianism and Macedonianism), thus solidifying the faith of the Catholic Church, and encouraged production of the VulgateBible with his support for Jerome. He helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch, and encouraged the veneration of martyrs.
Damasus I depicted in a c. 4th century miniature
Saint Monica (c. 332 – 387) Feast August 27
General Roman Calendar Patron of Lapsed Catholics Difficult Marriages and Disappointing Children
She was an early North African Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, particularly the suffering caused by her husband’s adultery, and her prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son, who wrote extensively of her pious acts and life with her in his Confessions. Popular Christian legends recall Monica weeping every night for her son Augustine.
Saint Augustine and his mother, Saint Monica, by Ary Scheffer (painting from 1846)
St. Martin of Tours or Martin the Merciful
(316/336 –November 8, 397) Feast November 11 General Roman Calendar
Patron of of beggars (because of his sharing his cloak), wool-weavers and tailors (also because of his cloak), he is also the patron saint of the US Army Quartermaster Corps (also because of sharing his cloak), geese (some say because they gave his hiding place away when he tried to avoid being chosen as bishop, others because their migration coincides with his feast), vintners and innkeepers (because his feast falls just after the late grape harvest), and France. He was proclaimed patron of Italian volunteering by the Italian bishops in the spring of 2021.
While Martin was a soldier in the Roman army and stationed in Gaul (modern-day France), he experienced a vision, which became the most-repeated story about his life. One day as he was approaching the gates of the city of Amiens, he met a scantily clad beggar. He impulsively cut his military cloak in half to share with the man. That night, Martin dreamed of Jesus wearing the half of the cloak he had given away. He heard Jesus say to some of the angels, “Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe.” (Sulpicius, ch 2). In another version, when Martin woke, he found his cloak restored to wholeness. The dream confirmed Martin in his piety, and he was baptised at the age of 18.
Saint Martin Dividing his Cloak by van Dyck, c. 1618
5th Century
Moses the Strong (330 – 405) Feast August 28 Patron of Africa and Nonviolence
He is also known as Moses the Black, Moses the Robber, and Moses the Ethiopian, was an ascetic monk and priest in Egypt in the fourth century AD, and a Desert Father. He is highly venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church. According to stories about him, he converted from a life of crime to one of asceticism. He is mentioned in Sozomen‘s Ecclesiastical History, written about 70 years after Moses’s death.
Déclán, was an early Irish saint of the Déisi Muman, who was remembered for having converted the Déisi in the late 5th century and for having founded the monastery of Ardmore (Ard Mór) in what is now County Waterford. The principal source for his life and cult is a Latin Life of the 12th century. Like Ailbe of Emly, Ciarán of Saigir and Abbán of Moyarney, Declán is presented as a Munster saint who preceded Saint Patrick in bringing Christianity to Ireland. He was regarded as a patron saint of the Déisi of East Munster.
Painting in Ardmore
St. Patrick (mid-fifth to early-sixth century) Feast March 17
General Roman Calendar Patron of Ireland and Invoked Against Snakes
According to Patrick’s autobiographical Confessio, when he was about sixteen, he was captured by Irish pirates from his home in Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland. He writes that he lived there for six years as an animal herder before escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a cleric, he returned to spread Christianity in northern and western Ireland. In later life, he served as a bishop, but little is known about where he worked. By the seventh century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.
Paulinus of Nola ( c. 354 – 22 June 431) Feast June 22
General Roman Calendar
As bishop of Nola, Paulinus is traditionally credited with the introduction of the use of bells in church services. One form of medieval handbell was known as the nola and medieval steeple bells were known as campanas from this supposed origin.[13] However, Dr. Adolf Buse, professor at the Seminary of Cologne, showed that the use of bells in churches, an invention credited to Paulinus by tradition, is not due to him, nor even to the town of Nola.
Vincent wrote his Commonitory to provide himself with a general rule to distinguish Catholic truth from heresy, committing it to writing as a reference. It is known for Vincent’s famous maxim: “Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.” Pope Francis has quoted Vincent’s Commonitory on several occasions, notably his words on doctrine and the progress of doctrine: “The dogma of the Christian religion must follow these laws. It progresses, consolidating over the years, developing with time, deepening with age.”
The Twelve Apostles of Ireland (also known as Twelve Apostles of Erin, Irish: Dhá Aspal Déag na hÉireann) were twelve early Irish monasticsaints of the sixth century who studied under St Finnian (d. 549) at his famous monastic school Clonard Abbey at Cluain-Eraird (Erard’s Meadow), now Clonard in County Meath.
In the Martyrology of Oengus, saint Ciarán of Saighir is not listed as one of the twelve apostles of Ireland and instead is replaced by Finnian of Clonard himself. The numbering of Finnian as one of the Twelve, and not Ciarán of Saighir, appears to be the older tradition, by which Ciarán was attached to pair with Ciarán of Clon.
He is one of the early Irish monasticsaints and is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, and Brendan the Bold. The Irish translation of his name is Naomh Bréanainn or Naomh Breandán. He is mainly known for his legendary voyage to find the “Isle of the Blessed” which is sometimes referred to as “Saint Brendan’s Island”. The written narrative of his journey comes from the immram The Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot).
The Voyage of Saint Brendan by Edward Reginald Frampton, 1908
6. Saint Columba
(or Colmcille, as he is commonly known in Ireland)
(December 7, 521 – June 5, 997 AD) Feast June 9th Patron Derry, floods, bookbinders, poets, Ireland, and Scotland.
He was an Irishabbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the patron saint of Derry. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts. He is considered one of the three patron saints of Ireland.
He was a sixth-century Irish monastic. He was born near Mellifout, Louth; visited Wales and Italy; returned through Germany and Scotland to Antrim, and thence to Louth, where he built Monasterboice, i.e. the Monastery of Buite.
St. Brigid (c. 451 – 525) Feast February 1 Patron of Kildare; Ireland; healers; poets; blacksmiths; livestock and dairy workers
She is the patroness saint (or ‘mother saint’) of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiographies, she was an abbess who founded the important abbey of Kildare (Cill Dara),[2] as well as several other convents of nuns. There are few historical facts about her, and her hagiographies are mainly anecdotes and miracle tales, some of which are rooted in pagan folklore. They say Brigid was the daughter of a chieftain and a slave woman, and was raised in a druid’s household before becoming a consecrated virgin. In her honour, a perpetual fire was kept burning at Kildare for centuries.
Saint Brigid of Ireland in stained glass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Brigid’s cross or Brigit’s cross is a small variant of the cross often woven from straw or rushes. It appears in many different shapes, but the most popular designs feature a woven diamond or lozenge in the centre.
Hanging Brigid’s cross from the rafters of one’s house was believed to bring the blessing and protection of the saint for the remainder of the year. The practice of crafting Brigid’s crosses declined in the 20th century, however, in part due to house renovations that made hanging them difficult.
In addition to the shamrock and Celtic harp, Brigid’s cross is a national symbol of Ireland.
Other Saints of the 6th Century
St. Genevieve (c. 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) Feast September 1
Patron of Paris, shepherds, winemakers, wax-chandlers,
hatmakers; against eye complaints, fever, plagues, drought, war
According to Catholic and Orthodox Mythology miracles and healings began to happen around her early on and she became to be known for changing the weather. She moved from Nanterre, her hometown, to Paris, after her parents died and became known for her piety, healings, and miracles, although the residents of Paris resented her and would have killed her if not for Germanus’ interventions. Her prayers are attributed with saving Paris from being destroyed by the Huns under Attila in 451 and other wars; her organisation of the city’s women was called a “prayer marathon” and Genevieve’s “most famous feat”. She was involved in two major construction projects in Paris, a basilica in the honour of Saint Denis of Paris in 475 and the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in c. 500. Genevieve performed miracles both before and after her death.
Saint Genevieve, 17th-century painting, Musée Carnavalet, Paris
Pope # 53 Saint John I, (died May 18, 526) Feast May 18
General Roman Calendar
Approximately one year before her death, she recounted her life to Zosimas of Palestine, who encountered her in the desert. When he unexpectedly met her in the desert, she was completely naked and almost unrecognizable as human. She asked Zosimas to toss her his mantle to cover herself with, and then she narrated her life’s story to him. She asked him to meet her at the banks of the Jordan on Holy Thursday of the following year, and to bring her Holy Communion. When he fulfilled her wish, she crossed the river to get to him by walking on the water, and received Holy Communion, telling him to meet her again in the desert the following Lent.
The next year, Zosimas went to the same spot where he first met her, some twenty days’ journey from his monastery. There, he found her lying dead; an inscription written in the sand next to her head stated that she had died the very night he had given her Communion, her incorrupt body miraculously transported to that spot. He buried her body with the assistance of a passing lion. On returning to his monastery, he related her life story to the other brethren, and it was preserved among them as oral tradition until it was written down by Sophronius.
Mary of Egypt, by José de Ribera
St. Scholastica (c. 480 – February 10, 543) Feast February 10
General Roman Calendar
Patron of Benedictine nuns, education, and convulsive children, and is invoked against storms and rain.
She was an Italian Christian hermit and the twin sister of Benedict of Nursia. She is traditionally regarded as the foundress of the Benedictine nuns.
Saint Scholastica with Nuns of the Benedictine Order and its Affiliations
St. Benedict (March 2, 480 – March 21, 547) Feast July 11
Patron of Monks
Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco in present-day Lazio, Italy (about 65 kilometres (40 mi) to the east of Rome), before moving further south-east to Monte Cassino in the mountains of central Italy. The present-day Order of Saint Benedict emerged later and, moreover, is not an “order” as the term is commonly understood, but a confederation of autonomous congregations.
Benedict’s main achievement, his Rule of Saint Benedict, contains a set of rules for his monks to follow. Heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian (c. 360 – c. 435), it shows strong affinity with the earlier Rule of the Master, but it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness which persuaded most Christian religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, Benedict’s Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Giuseppe Carletti regarded Benedict as the founder of Western Christian monasticism.
Saints Benedict and Scholastica in conversation, Klosterkirche Elchingen
He is best known for his encounter with Mary of Egypt
Scenes from the Life of Mary Magdalene: The Hermit Zosimus Giving a Cloak to Magdalene, fresco from Magdalene Chapel, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi.
ne of the most widely known poems of the Nobel prizewinner Seamus Heaney, ‘St Kevin and the Blackbird’, relates the story of Kevin holding out his hand with trance-like stillness while a blackbird builds a nest in it, lays eggs, the eggs hatch and the chicks fledge. A series of paintings by the Welsh artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins around 2009 depicted the story of Kevin and the blackbird through Heaney’s poem.
Kevin is remembered in popular culture as an ascetic. This is commemorated in a folk song about him which describes a legend claiming that he drowned a woman who attempted to seduce him. This was recorded and made popular by The Dubliners. The opening verse is as follows: “In Glendalough, there lived an auld saint, renowned for his learning and piety, his manners were curious and quaint, and he looked upon girls with disparity.”
Saint Columbanus, stained glass window, Bobbio Abbey crypt
Saint Vitalis of Gaza (died c. 625 AD) Feast January 11 Patron of prostitutes and day-laborers.
Hired himself out as a day labor so he could give the money to women in prostitution so they could get out of that lifestyle. Vitalis was killed when a man, misunderstanding the nature of the monk’s visit to a brothel, struck him on the head. Vitalis managed to return to his hut where he died. Apparently during his burial, former prostitutes came out to explain his works before processing with candles and lanterns as his body was brought to the grave.
Saint-Vitalis Orthodox Iconography
Pope # 74 St. Martin I(between 590 and 600 – September 16, 655)
July 5, 649 – November 12, 655
(6 years, 130 days) Feast April 13
General Roman Calendar
And with animals, if we approach them in a rational way we shall find a trace of the intelligible in them which is a not unworthy imitation of what is above reason. For if we look at those beings that naturally care for their offspring, we are encouraged to define for ourselves reverently and with godly boldness that God exercises providence in his sovereign uniqueness over all beings. -Ambiguum 10, 1189B-C; trans. Andrew Louth, Maximus the Confessor (Routledge, 1996) pp. 144-145.
Icon of St. Maximus
8th Century
St. Boniface, OSB (c. 675 – 5 June 754) Feast June 5
General Roman Calendar
Saint Boniface by Cornelis Bloemaert, c. 1630
9th Century
St. Ansgar(September 8, 801 –February 3, 865) Feast February 3
General Roman Calendar
Ansgar became known as the “Apostle of the North” because of his travels and the See of Hamburg received the missionary mandate to bring Christianity to Northern Europe.
A depiction of Saint Ansgar by Siegfried Bendixen from the Church Trinitatis, in Hamburg, Germany
He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority, exerting decisive influence on the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of Western Europe. Nicholas I asserted that the pope should have suzerainty over all Christians, even royalty, in matters of faith and morals.
St. Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and St. Methodius (815–885) Feast February 14
General Roman Calendar
They were brothers, Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the “Apostles to the Slavs”. They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic.[7] After their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs.
Cyril and Methodius, painting by Jan Matejko, 1885
10th Century
St. Wenceslaus I (c. 907 – 28 September 935) Feast September 28
General Roman Calendar
The hymn “Svatý Václave” (Saint Wenceslaus) or “Saint Wenceslas Chorale” is one of the oldest known Czech songs. Traceable to the 12th century AD, it is still among the most popular religious songs in the Bohemian lands. In 1918, at the founding of the modern Czechoslovak state, the song was discussed as a possible choice for the national anthem. During the Nazi occupation, it was often played along with the Czech anthem.
St. Wiborada (Died 926)
Feast May 2
Patron of Librarians
She was the first saintto be canonized not by a local authority but by the pope.
This Happen in 1047 by Pope # 149 Non- Saint Clement II
Saint Wiborada from the Cimelia Sangallensia, c. 1430
St. Ulrich of Augsburg –
(890 – July 4, 973)
Feast July 4
Patron
He was the first saintto be canonized not by a local authority but by the pope.
This Happen on July 4 993 by Pope # 137 Non- Saint John XV.
Adalbert of Prague( c. 956 – 23 April 997) Feast April 23
General Roman Calendar
1855 Public Domain
Adelaide of Italy (931 – December 16, 999 AD) Feast December 16 Patron of parents of large families and princesses
She was Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Emperor Otto the Great. She was crowned with him by Pope John XII in Rome on 2 February 962. She was the first empress designated consors regni, denoting a “co-bearer of royalty” who shared power with her husband. She was essential as a model for future consorts regarding both status and political influence. She was regent of the Holy Roman Empire as the guardian of her grandson in 991–995
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