The old story has it, and apparently it is true, that when the poet Brendan Behan was passing through to the end of his life suffering from the consequences of a life time of alcoholism, his last words were to the nun tending him. “Thank you, Sister,” he is said to have said. And then added, “May you be the mother of a bishop.”
Well, that’s nothing. Today in the Christian calendar is dedicated to the feast of Darerca of Ireland, said to be the mother of seventeen sons, all of whom became bishops. At least according to one source. Another has it that one of them became a king instead of a bishop. But, still…
(Couldn’t find a hymn in her honor, but here’s one for St Bridgid in Irish. For various reasons, works for me…)
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