April 19
Blessed Bernard the Penitent, OSB Monk (AC)
Born in Provence, France; died at Saint Omer, 1182. Bernard committed some unspecified, apparently horrible, crime for which the bishop of Maguelonne (Provence) mandated seven years of public penance in 1170. Bernard performed the penance loaded with seven heavy iron bands. These he dragged from shrine to shrine-- Compostella, Rome, Palestine--until he reached Saint Bertin (Sithiu) Abbey. There he lived as a hermit until he mustered the courage to ask the monks of the abbey to receive him into their community. The monks readily welcomed him because they regarded him as a living saint. Many miraculous cures occurred at his tomb (Attwater2, Benedictines).
Blessed Burchard of Bellevaus, OSB Cist. Abbot (PC)
Died 1164. Burchard was a favorite disciple of Saint Bernard at Clairvaux. He was successively appointed abbot of Balerne (1136) and Bellevaux (c. 1157) (Benedictines).
Blessed Conrad de'Miliani, OFM (AC)
(also known as Conrad of Ascoli)
Born in Ascoli Piceno; died 1289; cultus confirmed by Pope Pius VI. Conrad joined the Franciscans with Jerome Masci (later Pope Nicholas IV), whose future elevation he foretold. Conrad was sent to evangelize Libya but was recalled to act as advisor to Masci, when he became a cardinal (Attwater2, Benedictines). Blessed Conrad is shown in art as a Franciscan with a cross and rosary preaching to Africans (Roeder).
Crescentius of Florence (RM)
Died c. 396. Subdeacon to Saint Zenobius, the bishop of Florence, Crescentius was also a disciple of Saint Ambrose (Attwater2, Benedictines). In art, Saint Crescentius is a deacon (1) with a censer and chalice, (2) with a censer and book, or (3) tending the sick (Roeder). He is especially venerated in Florence, Italy (Roeder).
Elphege the Martyr, OSB BM (RM)
(also known as Alphege, Aelfheah)
Born c. 954; died in Greenwich, England, in 1012. In the old Saxon Chronicle is the story of Elphege and of his martyrdom at the hands of the Danes. He came of a noble Saxon family, and against his mother's wish became a monk. He served first at Deerhurst Abbey in Gloucestershire, England, but left as a young man to become a hermit in Bath.
Elphege was made an abbot in Bath, and, over his objections, appointed as bishop of Winchester in 984, in which office he served rendered great public service for 22 years. He eliminated poverty in his diocese through his aid to the poor, and continued to live the life of great austerity.
Olaf, King of Norway, after attacking London without success, harried the southern coast and occupied Southampton, whereupon King Ethelred commissioned Elphege to act as his envoy to Olaf in the interests of peace. The mission of Elphege was successful, and he brought Olaf to the king at Andover, where a satisfactory peace was concluded, and where Olaf, already a Christian, was confirmed. The Norwegian King then withdrew his ships and never again invaded England.
In 1006, Elphege was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, and received the pallium from Pope John XVIII in Rome. Then came a series of Danish raids which lasted no less than five years and which caused widespread suffering and disorder. Canterbury itself was captured in 1011 by the invaders and besieged by Earl Edric; the cathedral was burned, the city plundered, and many of its citizens were taken as slaves, including the archbishop who had refused to leave. "The Danes went to their ships and led the archbishop with them. He was then captive who was erewhile the head of the English and of Christendom."
When an epidemic broke out, Elphege was allowed to minister to the ill; otherwise, for two years he remained their prisoner and was only released by death. The chief Witan, clergy and laity, had been detained in London until the Danes had extracted from them 48,000 gold crowns, an exorbitant sum in the money values of that age. A further sum of 3,000 gold crowns was demanded for the permanent release of the archbishop, but he refused to allow this added imposition; there was already widespread calamity and distress and he would allow no further burden. He was given a week in which to find the money and stubbornly refused.
Then the Danes, incensed with anger and inflamed with drink, led him to the scaffold, pelting him with bones and stones and subjecting him to every indignity, although one of them, Thorkell the Tall, tried to save him. Finally, Elphege sank down in weakness, and, out of pity, a Dane called Thrum, who had been converted and baptized in prison, killed him with an axe to put an end to his sufferings. It cannot be said that Elphege died for the faith; but Saint Anselm vindicated his public veneration as a martyr, and his feast is still observed.
According to tradition, Elphege's murder took place at Greenwich, where a church still stands in his name. The following day his body was received in London with great reverence, and buried in Saint Paul's. Ten years later, Danish King Canute, moved by the entreaties of his pious wife, made reparation by removing the body of Elphege to Canterbury, where over his grave by the high altar he built a costly shrine (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Gill).
In art, Saint Elphege is portrayed as a bishop with an axe, carrying loaves of bread in his chasuble. He might also be shown (1) keeping a wolf from sheep or (2) struck with the axe by the Danes (Roeder). Elphege is venerated at Greenwich and Winchester (Roeder).
Emma
11th century. Emma, widow of Ludger, was favored with the gift of working miracles. She supported the poor of Bremen (Encyclopedia).
Expeditus (RM)
Date unknown. There is a saint Expeditus recorded in the Roman Martyrology for today included with Hermogenes and Companions; however, the cultus of Saint Expeditus didn't develop until very late and was probably based on a play of words: expedito means "expeditiously" so this saint is invoked in moments of urgency. Sheppard (1969) claims that the name arose due to a copyist's error when, in the 19th century, a box of relics was sent to nuns in Paris marked `spedito' (sent off) and taken as a name. This story is probably untrue because Expeditus was already invoked in the 18th century in Germany and Sicily in cases of pressing emergency (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Sheppard). Expeditus is depicted as a classical warrior with a palm and cross, which has Hodie written on it. At his feet is a raven with the word Cras (Roeder). He is invoked for prompt solutions (Roeder).
George of Antioch BM (RM)
Died 814. Saint George was a monk before becoming bishop of Antioch, Pisidia. He participated in the second Council of Nicaea (797), which condemned the iconoclasts. He stand against the heresy led him to be banished by emperor Leo V the Armenian. George died in exile (Benedictines).
Geroldus of Einsiedeln, OSB Hermit (AC)
(also known as Gerold)
Died 978. Of the lineage of the dukes of Saxony, Saint Geroldus bestowed his property to Einsiedeln Abbey, where his two sons, Udalric and Cuno, were monks. Geroldus himself became a hermit under obedience to its abbot, in a village near Mitternach. His sons, whose feasts are not celebrated, followed him into isolation and under his direction spent their time between work and prayer. After Geroldus's death, his hermitage became a place of pilgrimage (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
Hermogenes, Caius & Companions MM (RM)
Date unknown. Hermogenes, Caius, Expeditus, Aristonicus, Rufus, and Galata were Armenian martyrs believed to have died at Melitene (Benedictines).
Blessed James of Oldo, OFM Tert. (AC)
Born in Lodi, Italy; died 1404. James enjoyed married life and good living. During a plague, he was converted to true faith and together with his wife became a Franciscan tertiary. They turned their home into a church and eventually James was ordained a priest
Blessed James Duckett M (AC)
Born at Gilfortrigs, Skelsmergh, Westmorland, England; died at Tyburn, England, in 1602; beatified in 1929. James converted to Catholicism and settled in London as a bookseller. After being imprisoned several times (totalling nine years incarceration) for printing and selling Catholic books, James was martyred by hanging (Benedictines).
Lazarus
10th century. Saint Lazarus, an Oriental king, travelled to Rome with his daughter Aza. They continued their pilgrimage to Gaul, where they settled in Moyenmoutier (Encyclopedia).
Leo IX, Pope (RM)
Born in Alsace, France, in 1002; died in Rome, April 19, 1054; canonized in 1087.
Pope Leo, baptized Bruno, curiously combined the life of a holy man with that of an army officer. He was a deacon when Emperor Conrad II, his cousin, invaded Italy. In spite of his holy orders, Bruno readily joined the emperor's army and fought valiantly. While still a deacon and a soldier, Bruno was chosen to be bishop of Toul in 1026 when he was visiting there.
During his 20 years as prelate of Toul, he was known as a stern bishop, who disciplined lax priests and brought order into the monasteries of his diocese. Then in 1048 he was elected pope. He took his spiritual advisor, Hildebrand (later Pope Saint Gregory VII), with him to Rome.
What he had done formerly on a small scale he attempted to apply to the whole Church. First he began in earnest to reform the curia. Leo combatted simony, enforced celibacy among the clergy, encouraged development of the chant and the liturgy, condemned Berengarius, and strove to prevent the schism between the Eastern and Western churches that was being engineered by Emperor Michael Coerularius. Then, he tirelessly travelled throughout western Europe to enforce his reforms, and became known as the pilgrim pope. Wherever he went he called together the bishops and clergy in councils, inspiring them to follow his lead.
Leo IX decided to consolidate the material position of the papacy by adding parts of southern Italy to his territories, but this proved to be his undoing. The Normans invaded these new territories; the warrior pope himself led an army in their defense- -an action that caused even Saint Peter Damian to criticize him. Unfortunately, too, the Normans defeated him. Pope Leo IX was captured at Civitella and imprisoned at Benevento. Although his captors declared themselves to be the pope's loyal subjects, they did not release Leo for several months.
In prison Leo began to learn Greek, in an attempt to understand better the teachings of the Eastern Church, which was now split from Rome. But his health was failing. On his release, the pope ordered his bed to be placed in Saint Peter's Basilica next to a coffin. There he died (Benedictines, Bentley, Encyclopedia).
Paphnutius of Jerusalem M (RM)
Date unknown. A priest martyred at Jerusalem (Benedictines). Paphnutius may be shown in art with Saint Thäis (Roeder).
Socrates and Dionysius MM (RM)
Died 275. Martyrs of Pamphylia who were stabbed to death under Aurelian (Benedictines).
Timon the Deacon M (RM)
1st century. One of the first seven deacons (Acts 6:5), Saint Timon is said to have been crucified in Corinth, though there are conflicting stories about his life (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
Ursmar of Lobbes, OSB Abbot B (RM)
(also known as Ursmer)
Died 713. Abbot-bishop of Lobbes on the Sambre, Ursmar founded other monasteries (Aulne and Wallers in Belgium) and did fruitful missionary work in bringing the Gospel to Flanders (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia). In art, Saint Ursmar is depicted as a Benedictine abbot casting out a devil (Roeder).
Vincent of Collioure M (RM)
Died c. 304. A martyr at Collioure, Languedoc, under Diocletian. His acta are worthless (Benedictines).
Wernher the Glass-Blower M (AC)
(also known as Werner)
Born in Germany; died 1275. Wernher was a 14-year-old boy in the service of a Jewish family at Oberwessel who was alleged to have been martyred on Maunday Thursday after he had received Holy Communion. He is venerated at Trier (Benedictines, Gill).
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.
