November 6
Atticus of Phrygia M (RM)
Dates unknown. The Roman Martyrology reports: "In Phrygia Saint Atticus, Martyr." Nothing else is known of him (Benedictines).
Barlaam of Khutyn, Abbot
Barlaam is on the Roman calendar, but I can't find any information. He may be the Greek monk from Mount Athos who said that the uncreated light that surrounded Jesus during the Transfiguration was part of God's essential unity and that no human could experience this light and live (Bentley).
Blessed Christina Bruzo (Bruso) V (AC)
(also known as Christina of Stommeln)
Born at Stommeln (near Cologne), Germany, in 1242; died 1312; cultus confirmed in 1908.
Christina Bruzo (Bruso), like her namesake in Belgium, could be styled 'the Astonishing,' since her life is a continuous record of most extraordinary phenomenon which indeed would tax our credulity, but they were recorded by a contemporary Dominican, her parish priest.
In 1268, Christina received stigmatic wounds in her hands, feet, on her forehead and in her side, which bled every Easter. She unsuccessfully tried to keep them secret. She was harassed by terrifying demons: Others saw her hurled against a wall by an unseen power and, according to one report 'spattered and polluted with deluges of indescribable filth.'
She experienced religious raptures and divine ecstasies on Whitsunday 1268, after communion. Christina is said to have viewed the Eucharist as a perpetual commemoration of her marriage to Christ. Her preserved skull shows markings and indentations supposedly corresponding to a crown of thorns (Benedictines, Harrison).
Demetrian of Cyprus B (AC)
Born in Cyprus; died c. 912. Demetrian became a monk and hegoumenos of Saint Antony's and finally bishop of Khytri, both in his native island. He is one of the most venerated of the Cypriote saints (Benedictines).
Edwen of Anglesey V (AC)
7th century. The presumed patron saint of Llanedwen, Anglesey, Edwen is described as having been a daughter of King Saint Edwin of Northumbria (Benedictines).
Efflam of Brittany (AC)
Died c. 700. Efflam, son of a British prince, crossed the Channel to France, where he founded and became abbot of a monastery in Brittany (Benedictines).
Erlafrid of Hirschau, OSB Abbot (AC)
Died after 830. Count Erlafrid of Calw in Swabia founded Hirschau Abbey, where he became a monk (Benedictines).
Felix of Thyniss M (RM)
Date unknown. Felix is considered to be an African martyr who suffered at Thyniss, near Hippona (Bona). He was found dead in prison the day before he was to be executed. Saint Augustine preached a sermon on the martyr's feast day (Benedictines).
Felix of Fondi, OSB (RM)
6th century. Felix, a Benedictine monk of Fondi in southern Italy, was greatly revered by his contemporary Saint Gregory the Great (Benedictines).
Galla
5th century. There is some doubt as to which Galla is honored on this day. She may have been the wife of Saint Eucherius and mother of two saintly sons who were bishops. In 422, Eucherius became a monk at Lérins and this Galla took the veil. She may also be a young girl of Valence (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
Illtud, Abbot (AC)
(also known as Illtyd, Iltut, Illtut)
Died c. 505 (another source says 450-535); feast day formerly on July 7.
Illtud, clearly an outstanding figure and one of the most celebrated Welsh saints, labored chiefly in the southeastern part of the country. His vita written circa 1140 has no historical value; but the Life of Saint Samson, composed about 500 years earlier, has some important references. This author names him as a disciple of Saint Germanus of Auxerre, who ordained him. It calls Illtud 'the most learned of the Britons in both Testaments and in all kinds of knowledge,' and speaks of his great monastic school.
This establishment was Llanilltyd Fawr (Llantwit Major in Glamorgan), where other prominent saints besides Samson are said to have been Illtyd's pupils. The monastery of Llantwit survived in one form or another until the Norman conquest (1066).
The author of Samson's Life also describes Illtud's death, in illustration of the saint's power of prophecy. The passage is an impressive one, but it does not state where or when the death took place.
Nevertheless, most of his life is derived mainly from legend and unreliable sources. According to them, he was the son of a Briton living in Letavia, Brittany (some scholars believe Letavia is an area in central Brednock, England, rather than in Brittany), who came to visit his cousin King Arthur of England about 470.
The later vita says that Illtud married Trynihid and then served in the army of a Glamorgan chieftain. When one of his friends was killed in a hunting accident, Saint Cadoc is said to have counselled him to leave the world behind. This is, of course, improbable because Cadoc would have been a mere lad.
The story continues that Illtud and Trynihid took Cadoc's advice and lived together as recluses in a hut by the Nadafan River until he was warned by an angel to separate from her. He left his wife to become a monk under Saint Dubricius, but after a time resumed his eremitical life by a stream called the Hodnant. He attracted many disciples and organized them into the Llanwit Major monastery, which, according to the ninth-century Life of Saint Paul Aurelian, was originally "within the borders of Dyfed, called Pyr," usually identified as Calder (Caldey) Island off Tenby. The monastery soon developed into a great foundation and a center of missionary activity in Wales.
Many extravagant miracles were attributed to him (he was fed by heaven when forced to flee the ire of a local chieftain and take refuge in a cave; he miraculously restored a collapsed seawall), and he is reputed to have sent or taken grain to relieve a famine in Brittany, where the place and church names attest to some connection with Illtud.
His death is reported at Dol, Brittany, where he had retired in his old age, at Llanwit, and at Defynock. One Welsh tradition has him as one of the three knights put in charge of the Holy Grail by Arthur, and another one even identifies him as Galahad (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Doble, Walsh).
Israel
Died 1014. The priest Israel became vicar general of Limoges, and then canon regular at Dorat (Encyclopedia).
Leonard of Noblac, Abbot (RM)
(also known as Lienard, Lithenard)
Born c. 466; died c. 559. Leonard of Noblac was one of the most popular saints of Western Europe in the late Middle Ages, but the account of his life is unreliable because it was not written until the 11th century. Doubtless his popularity was due to the very large number of miracles and aids attributed to his intercession, and to the enthusiasm of the returning crusaders, who looked on him as the patron saint of prisoners.
Tradition has it that, like many young nobles, when Leonard was about six years old he went to live with Saint Remigius, archbishop of Rheims. About 495 he went to the court of his cousin Clovis, King of the Franks, at the summons of Queen Clotilde. After accompanying Clovis in a victorious war against the Germans, Leonard was baptized by Saint Remigius, who had previously baptized Clovis, Leonard's godfather (some say they were baptized the same day). Clovis offered Leonard a bishopric, but he turned it down. Seeking no earthly rewards, Leonard renounced the life of a Frankish nobleman and withdrew from the court about the year 501. Instead he went to the monastery of Micy in Orleans and became a monk under Saint Mesmin and Saint Lie. Seeking even more solitude he built himself a little hut in a forest of Pauvin near Limoges, Aquitaine, in a place called Nobiliac and lived on vegetables and fruit. His zeal and devotion sometimes carried him to the neighboring churches where his preaching would inflame others to imitate his life.
The legend says that one day the king went hunting in this forest, accompanied by his wife, who was pregnant. The moment of birth arrived, and it was clear that the queen was in difficulties. Leonard fell to prayer on her behalf, and her baby was delivered safely. In gratitude the king said that the saint should be given as much land as he could ride round in one day on his donkey. Leonard rode all day, was granted many acres and there founded the abbey of Noblac around which grew the town of Saint-Léonard. He used this abbey as a base to preach the Gospel throughout the whole region. Leonard was also known for the miracles wrought on his behalf.
A more conservative version says that after saving Clotilde, he left his solitude to preach to the people and to try to pacify warring princes. In 540, after visiting Saint Remy and living for several years in a monastery at Micy, he returned from his mission. The saint appears to have had a remarkable charity towards prisoners for whom he provided both corporal and spiritual help. Some were miraculously delivered from their chains by his prayers; others were released by the king at Leonard's request out of respect for his sanctity--a frequent privilege of certain holy bishops during that period. Leonard died in solitude in his monastery in the forest of Pauvin in Limousin about 599, aged about 99 years.
Leonard was the first saint of the French royal family. Although he was nearly 100 when he died, he is usually represented in art as a young man of about 30, because he appeared to many people at different times as a handsome young man in the flower of his youth. Today Leonard is regarded as the patron saint of childbirth, prisoners (because King Clovis promised that any prisoner converted by the saint would be released), prisoners of war (Bohemond, the crusader prince of Antioch, was released from a Islamic prison in 1103 and visited Noblac to make an offering in gratitude), and those in danger from brigands, robbers, and thieves (perhaps because the public was in danger from the very prisoners whom Leonard was responsible for releasing ) (Attwater, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth, White).
He is portrayed in art vested as an abbot holding chains in his hand of a deacon with fetters or locks. Sometimes shown freeing prisoners, with prisoners nearby in stocks, or with a horse or ox near him (Roeder). He is venerated at Orleans (Abbey of Micy) and Noblac, and is the patron of cattle, domestic animals and prisoners (Roeder)
Leonard of Reresby (PC)
Born in Thryberg, Yorkshire; 13th century. According to local tradition, this Leonard was a crusader, who, taken prisoner by the Saracens, was miraculously set free and returned safely home (Benedictines).
Leonianus of Autun (AC)
Born in Pannonia (Hungary); died c. 570; cultus approved in 1907. Leonianus was taken as a captive to Gaul. On regaining his freedom, lived as a recluse near Autun until he embraced the monastic life at the abbey of Saint Symphorianus there (Benedictines).
Blessed Margaret of Lorraine, OFM Widow (AC)
(also known as Marguerite)
Born in 1463; died 1521; cultus confirmed in 1921. A daughter of Duke Frederic of Lorraine, Margaret married in 1488 René, duke of Alençon, who died in 1492, leaving her a widow with three children. She devoted herself exclusively to their upbringing and to works of charity. When they were of age, she followed her sister-in-law Philippa into the Poor Clares and founded a convent at Argentan in 1519 (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
Melaine of Rennes B (RM)
(also known as Mellion, Melanius)
Died c. 530-535; feast day formerly January 6. With Saint Remi, Saint Melaine shares the title of Apostle of France. A Breton by birth, Melanie succeeded Saint Amandus in the see of Rennes, France, during the critical time when the Franks were overrunning Gaul. He is said to have almost completely succeeded in abolishing idolatry from his diocese and was highly revered by King Clovis, whom he served as an adviser. An extant letter written by Saint Melaine calls for his priests to renounce the abuse of 'wandering from cabin to cabin, celebrating Mass on portable altars, accompanied by women who administered the chalice to the faithful.' His cultus spread rapidly in Brittany. Saint Gregory of Tours relates that the abbey of Saint-Melaine was constructed around his tomb (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer). In art, Saint Melanius is depicted with a ship carrying his corpse sailing upstream. Sometimes the bishop stands on a devil or he is shown driving out the devil (Roeder). Saint Melaine is the patron of Mullion on the Lizard peninsula, and Saint Mellyan in Cornwall since the medieval period (Farmer).
Blessed Nonius Alvarez de Pereira (AC)
(also known as Nuñes, Nuñez)
Born at Bomjardin near Lisbon, Portugal, 1360; died in Lisbon, November 1, 1431; cultus approved for Portugal and the Carmelites in 1918.
Nuñes was born to a traditional military family. He married at 17, and was named commander of Portugal's armies in 1383, when he was only 23, by the grand master of the knights of Aviz, who became King John I. The knights led a revolt against Spanish domination and established Portugal as an independent state when they defeated the Castillan army at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, and John became king. After the death of his wife in 1422, Nuñes became a Carmelite lay brother in a friary he had founded in Lisbon, where he died.
Called the Great Constable, he is one of the premier national heroes of Portugal, celebrated in the 16th century epic Chronica Condestavel (Benedictines, Delaney).
Pinnock
A church in Cornwall is called Saint Pinnocks, but it is probably that Pinnock is a corruption of Winnoc.
Severus of Barcelona BM (RM)
(also known as Severus of Rome)
Died 633. Bishop Severus of Barcelona was martyred under the Arian Visigoths, who put him to death by driving nails into his temples. He is a minor patron of Barcelona (Benedictines). He is portrayed as a bishop with a large nail in his head or hand (Roeder).
Blessed Simon of Aulne, OSB Cist. (AC)
Died 1215. Simon was a Cistercian lay-brother at Aulne renowned for his gift of mystical prayer, his visions, and his ecstasies. On this account he was invited to Rome by Innocent III (Benedictines).
Stephen of Apt B (PC)
Born at Agde, France, in 975; died in 1046. Stephen was elected bishop of Apt in southern France, in 1010. He rebuilt the cathedral (Benedictines).
Ten Martyrs of Antioch (RM)
Died 637. The R.M. says, "Ten holy martyrs, who are said to have suffered at the hands of the Saracens," i.e., after their seizure of Antioch. Some records put their number at forty or more (Benedictines).
Winnoc of Wormhoult, OSB Abbot (RM)
(also known as Winoc)
Died 717. Winnoc was of royal blood and, while probably of British origin, was raised in Brittany. It is likely that, like many others, his family fled to the Continent to escape the Saxons. He became a monk at Sithiu under Saint Bertin, by whom he was eventually sent with three companions to establish a new foundation among the Morini at Wormhoudt near Dunkirk. He became its first abbot and from that center evangelized the whole neighborhood. Winnoc's name figures in many medieval English calendars; he is apparently titular saint of Saint Winnow near Lostwithiel (Attwater, Benedictines).
Saint Winnoc is depicted as an abbot with a crown and scepter at his feet, turning a hand-mill. There is generally a church and a bridge near him. Sometimes he is shown (1) in ecstasy while grinding corn, or (2) with Saint Bertinus. Abbot of Wormhoult. Venerated at Sithiu (Roeder). He is the patron of millers (Encyclopedia).
About Saints of the Day
These summaries were prepared in 1998 by St. Patrick's parishioner Katherine I. Rabenstein and are reproduced on www.saintpatrickdc.org with the permission of the author. Note that the content has not been updated since that time and represents the research of the author. An alphabetical index of all saints on our site is available. Source references are also available. HTML formatting © 2007-2008 by St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Washington, D.C.
