[celt-saints] 7 February
Celtic and Old English Saints 7 February =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Ronan of Kilmaronen * St. Richard of Wessex * St. Meldon of Peronne * St. Tressan of Mareuil * St Aule of London =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= St. Ronan of Kilmaronen, Bishop (Ruadan, Ruadhan) --- Saint Ronan, a Scottish bishop of Kilmaronen, has erroneously been identified as the Irish monk mentioned by the Venerable Bede (f.d. May 25) as the defender of the Roman calculation for the date of Easter at the Synod of Whitby. St. Ronan's Well at Innerleithen, Peeblesshire, was popularised by one of Sir Walter Scott's novels. According to tradition, Ronan came into the valley and drove out the devil. This event is remembered annually at the end of Saint Ronan's Games in July when a schoolboy, given a pastoral staff, is chosen to represent the saint as he cleeks the devil (Farmer). St. Richard the King, Confessor - Died 722. More than any other race, the Anglo Saxons are distinguished for the royal patronage bestowed upon the Christian Church, and for the way in which kings and their families have worked in the spreading of the gospel in their own lands and overseas. St.Richard and his family are outstanding examples. He was one of the kings or princes of Wessex, related to the royal house of Kent, and married to Winna, herself a descendant of Cerdic and aunt to Boniface of Crediton. Richard was brought up as a Christian and his faith was real and firm. When his eldest son Willibald was three years old, the child fell grievously ill, and there seemed to be no hope for his recovery. His father wrapped him in a blanket and, mounting his horse, rode out into the night to a wayside crucifix at a crossroads near to the village where they lived. Butler tells us that Saint Richard, when living, obtained by his prayers the recovery of his younger son Willibald, whom he laid at the foot of a great crucifix erected in a public place in England, when the child's life was despaired of in a grievous sickness. Richard placed the child at the foot of the cross and knelt in prayer, pleading for his son's life. Willibald did recover, and two years later he was entrusted to Egbald, the abbot of Warham, near Winchester, to be trained. When Willibald reached manhood, he returned to his family with a desire to spread the faith abroad, and persuaded his father and brother to accompany him on a pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. Richard had a daughter, Walburga, by a second marriage, and she now entered the convent at Wimborne, under the Abbess Tetta. When Richard had renounced his royal estate, he set sail with his two sons from Hamblehaven near Southampton. They made a leisurely progress through France, spending time at various Christian centres including Rouen, and it seems that at some time during their journey Richard took monastic vows. They reached Italy and came to Lucca, where the Cathedral had been built by an Irish monk called Frigidian, but known by the local inhabitants as Frediano. Richard, who was growing old and had become infirm during his travels, now succumbed to the heat and died. His sons saw to his burial in St. Frediano's church and then continued their journey. Later they joined their uncle St.Boniface and their sister St.Walburga in the work of converting the Germans. Their father, St.Richard, is still venerated in Lucca. A famous account of the pilgrimage on which he died was written by his son's cousin, the nun Hugeburc, entitled Hodoeporicon (Baring-Gould). In art, King Saint Richard is portrayed as a royal pilgrim (ermine-lined cloak) with two sons--one a bishop and one an abbot. His crown may be on a book (Roeder). He is venerated at Heidenheim and Lucca (Roeder). St. Meldon (Medon) of Peronne, Bishop -- 6th century. An Irishman who died at Peronne, France, where he was a hermit and where he is the titular saint of several churches (Benedictines). St. Tressan (Tresain) of Mareuil -- Died 550. Saint Tressan is said to be one of five or six brothers, including Saint Gibrian (f.d. May 8), and three sisters, who travelled from Ireland to France to evangelize for the glory of God in the diocese of Rheims, France. The names of the others are given as Helan, Germanus, Abran (who may be Gibrian), Petran, Franca, Promptia, and Possenna (variations on these names are used). Tressan worked there as a swineherd, but he was ordained to the priesthood by Saint Remigius (f.d. October 1), who provided the siblings with suitable retreats from which they could spread the faith. Tressan became curate of Mareuil-sur-Marne, and the patron saint of Avenay in Champagne. His cultus is strong and has been continuous in the area of Rheims. (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Encyclopaedia,
[celt-saints] 8 February
Celtic and Old English Saints 8 February =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Oncho of Clonmore * St. Elfleda of Whitby * St. Kigwe of Monmouthshire * St. Cuthman of Steyning =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= St. Oncho (Onchuo) of Clonmore, the Poet --- Died c. 600. Saint Oncho was an Irish pilgrim, poet, guardian of the Celtic traditions, and a collector of holy relics. While pursuing his search for memorials of the Irish saints he died at Clonmore monastery, then governed by Saint Maidoc, and his body was enshrined there together with the relics he had gathered (Benedictines). Troparion of St Oncho tone 2 Thou didst teach us the value of relics, O Father Oncho, for thou didst spend thy earthly life collecting these precious aids to piety and devotion./ Pray to God for us, that in honouring what is precious to God,/ we may be found worthy of His great mercy. Kontakion of St Oncho tone 4 Following thine example, most Holy Oncho,/ we pray for strength to defend all precious and holy things,/ resisting to the end all attempts at desecration and sacrilege/ by the agents of the godless,/ that in all things glory may be given to Christ our God. St. Elfleda, Abbess Virgin (Aelflaed, Ethelfleda, Edilfleda, Elgiva) --- Born 653; died 714. Daughter of King Oswy of Northumbria and his wife Saint Eanfleda (f.d. November 24), Elfleda was offered to Saint Hilda (f.d. November 17) and the convent of Hartlepool as a little child. Her parents had vowed to consecrate her in infancy if Oswy were successful in battle against the heathen King Penda of Mercia. Oswy won the battle of Winwaed in 654, he kept his vow. In 657, Hilda founded or refounded Whitby Abbey and Elfleda migrated there with Saint Hilda. When Oswy died in 670, Eanfleda joined her daughter at the double monastery governed by Hilda, and which later become the mausoleum of the Northumbrian royal family. In turn Eanfleda and Elfleda succeeded Hilda as abbess of Whitby. During Elfleda's abbacy, the earliest vita of Saint Gregory the Great (f.d. September 3) was written there. Elfleda was one of the most influential personages of her time. She counted both Saint Cuthbert (f.d. March 20) and Saint Wilfred (f.d. October 12) as friends. In 684, she met Cuthbert on Coquet Island. He told her that her brother, King Egfrith, would die within a year and that her half-brother Aldfrith would succeed him. Both of which occurred. Later she was cured of paralysis by Cuthbert's girdle. One of her primary means of influence was in her role as mediator. Elfleda was instrumental in reconciling Saint Theodore of Canterbury (f.d. September 19) and Saint Wilfrid. At the synod of the River Nidd in 705, she exercised her talent to reconcile Wilfrid to both Canterbury and the church in Northumbria. She asserted that Aldfrith on his death bed had promised to obey the commands of the Roman See concerning Wilfrid and had enjoined his heir to do the same. Elfleda's relics were discovered and translated at Whitby about 1125. Her cultus, however, is attest only by late martyrologies (Benedictines, Farmer, Gill). St. Kigwe , Virgin (Kewe, Ciwa, Kuet, Kywere ) --- Date unknown (5th century?). Saint Kigwe is probably identical to Saint Ciwa, a 6th or 7th century saint venerated in Monmouthshire; she should not be confused with Saint Cuach, the nurse of the Irish Saint Ciaran (f.d. March 5). She is the patron of Saint Kew in Cornwall, formerly called Docco in honour of Saint Congar (f.d. February 13), whose abbey was ruined before the end of the first millennium. Kigwe replaced him as patron before the 14th century. According to Roscarrock, Kigwe was Congar's sister, but when she visited her brother in his hermit's cell, he would not receive her until such time as he saw a wild boar miraculously obey her, after which time he conversed with her, who proved of such rare virtue and holiness as she was after her death reputed a saint and the Church of the parish called after her. The name is also spelled Ciwg, Cwick, Kigwoe, etc. She is listed in the Exeter Martyrology and in Welsh calendars (Benedictines, Farmer). St. Cuthman (Cuthmann) of Steyning, Hermit --- 9th century. Among the ancient Anglo-Saxon saints was Cuthman, a native of Devon or Cornwall (judging by his name; some ancient documents seem to indicate that he was possibly born at Chidham near Bosham, c. 681), who spent his youth as a shepherd on the moors. A grey and weather-beaten stone high among the heather is said to mark the spot where he used to sit, and around which he drew a wide circle in the gorse, outside which his sheep were not allowed to wander. When his father died and his mother was left poor, Cuthman proved himself a good son
