- : • i 
 
 • t 
 
 4 ■ ! * f . 
 
 ■ 
 
 W GEORGE A.COLE 
 
 | ENGLISH BOOKSEllEfi&STATIONfifl 
 
 ll.ViaToriialmom. 
 
 FLORENCE 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/saintstheirsymboOOgree 
 
SAINTS AND THEIE SYMBOLS. 
 
SAINTS 
 
 AND THEIR 
 
 SYMBOLS: 
 
 Jl Comparamt in the Churches attb picture 
 Salleras of (Europe. 
 
 E. A. GREENE. 
 
 THIRD EDITION REVISED. 
 
 " I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all 
 nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and 
 before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. . . . And 
 one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed 
 in white robes ? and whence came they ? " 
 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEAELE, & RIVINGTON, 
 
 CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1885. 
 
 [All rights reserved.] 
 
LONDON : 
 GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED, 
 st. iohn's SQUARE. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The object of this little book, as its name implies, is to be of 
 some assistance to the traveller in the Churches and Picture 
 Galleries of Europe. There, the effigies of the saints and 
 scenes from their histories meet us at every turn, and we lose 
 more than half the pleasure we might derive from the con- 
 templation of a work of art, when we are in ignorance of its 
 real meaning, or the lesson it was intended to convey. Mrs. 
 Jameson's beautiful work amply supplies all that could be 
 desired on this subject, but it is of far too extensive a character 
 to be easily carried about or used as a handbook. It is hoped, 
 therefore, that a book like the present volume may be found 
 useful by many, for it is small enough to find a place in any 
 traveller's bag, and to be carried in the galleries as a ready 
 work of reference. The first part, consisting of an alphabetical 
 list of the principal symbols distinguishing the saints in .art, 
 will enable the reader to identify the members of those glorious 
 groups of the redeemed which Orcagna and Fra Angelico 
 loved to paint. The second part, containing accounts of 
 the saints themselves, told in the fewest possible words, 
 
iv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 will serve to explain most of the pictures relating to them. 
 As the book has been compiled solely with a view to art, those 
 only of the saints and legends which are represented in art 
 have been noticed ; and no reference has been made to the 
 authenticity of either saints or legends. 
 
 An acknowledgment is due to the works of Mrs. Jameson, 
 the Eev. S. Baring Gould, and Alban Butler, which have been 
 of great assistance. 
 
 All Saints' Day, 1881. . 
 
 \ 
 
WOODCUTS 
 
 (From Sketches by the Author). 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Part of the Coronation of the Virgin, by Orcagna, in the 
 
 National Gallery Frontispiece 
 
 Six Principal Symbols . 1 
 
 Figure from a fresco, by Taddeo Gaddi, in Sta. Maria 
 
 Novella, Florence 30 
 
 Fragment from the Crucifixion, by Fra Angelico, in San 
 
 Marco, Florence 31 
 
 S. Francis of Assisi, from the Coronation of the Virgin, 
 
 by Fra Angelico, in San Marco, Florence . , . 187 
 
SYMBOLS 
 
 DISTINGUISHING THE 
 
 SAINTS 
 
 IN AST. 
 
 Anchor. Sometimes three balls, 
 or three children in a tub. 
 Bishop's robes. 
 
 Anchor at his side, hung round his 
 ueck, or held in his hand. Pope's 
 or Bishop's robes. 
 
 Angel or Man. 
 
 Angel holding a book. Benedic- 
 tine habit.* 
 
 Angel. Crown of red and white 
 roses. Musical instruments. 
 Palm. 
 
 S. Nicholas of Myra, a.d. 326. 
 Patron saint of Russia, and many 
 seaports ; also of children, es- 
 pecially schoolboys, sailors, 
 merchants, and travellers, and 
 against thieves. 
 
 S. Clement, M., a.d. 100. Third 
 Bishop of Borne. 
 
 S. Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist, 
 M. 
 
 S. Francesca Bomana, a.d. 1440. 
 
 S. Cecilia, Y.M., a.d. 280. Patron 
 saint of music and musicians. 
 
 * Descriptions of the various monastic habits, with other explanatory 
 notes, will be found in the Appendix. 
 
 B 
 
ANG—ARR. 
 
 Angel holding a flame- tipped 
 arrow. Dove. Carmelite habit. 
 
 Angel leading captives. White 
 habit. Blue and red cross on 
 his breast. 
 
 Angel with pyx or chalice. Fran- 
 ciscan habit. Cardinal's hat 
 on a tree or at his feet. 
 
 Angel holding fruit or flowers. 
 Crown. Palm. 
 
 Angel and Lily. Not represented 
 before 1622. 
 
 Angel holding a shield on which 
 are three fleurs-de-lys. 
 
 Angel ploughing, in the back- 
 ground. Spade. In Spanish 
 pictures only. 
 
 Angels crowning her with roses. 
 
 Anvil at his feet or in his hand. 
 In armour. Lion. 
 
 Anvil. Bishop's robes, or as a 
 blacksmith. 
 
 Armour and crown lying at his 
 side. Benedictine habit. 
 
 Arbow. Banner with a red cross. 
 Crown. Sometimes surrounded 
 by many virgins. Palm. 
 
 S. Theresa, a.d. 1582. Patron saint 
 of Spain. Foundress of the Scalzi, 
 reformed Carmelites. 
 
 S. John de Hatha, a.d. 1213. 
 Founder of the Order of Trini- 
 tarians, for the redemption of 
 captives. 
 
 S. Bonaventura, a.d. 1274. 
 
 S. Dorothea of Cappadocia, Y.M., 
 a..d. 303. 
 
 S. Philip Neri, a.d. 1595. Founder 
 of the Order of the Oratorians. 
 
 S. Clotilda of Burgundy, A.D. 534. 
 
 S. Isidore the Ploughman, a.d. 
 
 1170. Patron saint of Madrid 
 and of agriculture. 
 
 S. Rosalia of Palermo, a.d. 1160. 
 
 S. Adrian, M., a.d. 290. Patron 
 saint of Flanders and Germany, 
 of soldiers, and against the 
 plague. 
 
 S. Eloy, Lo, or Eligius, a.d. 659. 
 Patron saint of Bologna, and of 
 blacksmiths and horses. 
 
 S. William of Aquitaine, a.d. 812. 
 
 S. Ursula, Y.M. Dates vary from 
 237 to 451. Patron saint of 
 young girls, and women engaged 
 in the education of their own 
 sex. 
 
AEB—BAL. 
 
 3 
 
 Arrow transfixing his breast or 
 hand, or a hind near pierced by 
 an arrow. Old and in Bene- 
 dictine habit. 
 
 Arrows, pierced by. Bound to a 
 tree or column. 
 
 Arrows. Millstone. Crown. 
 Palm. 
 
 Arrow ; sometimes piercing a 
 
 crown. Wolf near. Boyal robes. 
 
 Awl, or shoemaker's knife. Two 
 men together. Palms. 
 
 Axe. 
 
 Axe in his hand; or sometimes 
 in his head. In armour. 
 
 Axe, lictor's ; also a two-pronged 
 fork. 
 
 S. Giles, Hermit, a.d. 725. Patron 
 saint of Edinburgh, and of woods, 
 lepers, cripples, and beggars. 
 
 S. Sebastian, M., a.d. 288. Patron 
 saint against the plague and 
 pestilence. 
 
 * S. Christina, V.M., a.d. 295. Pa- 
 tron saint of Bolsena, and one of 
 the patron saints of Venice. 
 
 S. Edmund, M., a.d. 870. Patron 
 saint of Bury St. Edmunds. 
 
 SS. Crispin and Crispianus, MM., 
 a.d. 300. Patron saints of Sois- 
 sons. 
 
 S. Matthias, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. Proculus, M , circa 303. Patron 
 saint of Bologna. 
 
 S. Martina, V.M., a.d. 230. 
 
 Bag of money. Book. Pen and 
 inkhorn. 
 
 Balls, three. Bishop's robes. 
 
 S. Matthew, Apostle and Evan- 
 gelist, M. 
 
 S. Nicholas of Myra, a.d. 326. Pa- 
 tron of Kussia, and many sea- 
 ports ; also of children, espe- 
 cially schoolboys, of sailors, 
 merchants, and travellers, and 
 against thieves. 
 
 * It is difficult to distinguish this saint from S. Ursula, but when 
 found in early Italian art and without signs of royalty, it is S. Christina. 
 
 B 9 
 
4 
 
 BAN— BEG. 
 
 Banner with black Imperial eagle. 
 Royal robes. Palm. 
 
 Banner, with red cross. Arrow; 
 Crown. Sometimes surrounded 
 by many virgins. 
 
 Banner with red cross on a white 
 ground. Crown. Palm. Some- 
 times in a red and white mantle. 
 
 Banner, white, with a red cross. 
 Classical armour. Only found 
 near Pisa. 
 
 Banner. Sword. Palm. Young 
 and richly dressed. 
 
 Beasts, surrounded by. Palm. 
 Dark grey or brown mantle. 
 
 Beds in the background. Dark 
 brown habit and hood. 
 
 Beehive. Inkhorn, pen, and papers. 
 White habit, with a cowl and 
 large sleeves. Sometimes demon 
 bound. 
 
 Beehive^ at his feet. Books. 
 Bishop's robes. 
 
 Beggar, half naked, at his feet, 
 or receiving part of his cloak. 
 
 Beggar at his feet. Dark brown 
 habit and hood. 
 
 S. Wenceslaus of Bohemia, M., 
 a.d. 938. 
 
 S. Ursula, Y.M. Dates vary from 
 237 to 451. Patron saint of 
 young girls, and women engaged 
 in the education of their own 
 sex. 
 
 S. Keparata, Y. M., 3rd century. 
 Formerly patron saint of Florence. 
 
 S. Torpe, M., a.d. 70. Patron 
 saint of Pisa. 
 
 S. Julian of Cilicia, M. Patron 
 saint of Rimini. 
 
 S. Thecla, Y.M., 1st century. Patron 
 saint of Tarragona. 
 
 S. Juan de Dios, a.d. 1550. Founder 
 of the Order of Hospitallers or 
 Brothers of Charity. 
 
 S. Bernard of Clairvaux, a.d. 1153. 
 Founder of the Cistercian Order 
 of reformed Benedictines. 
 
 S. Ambrose, a.d. 397. One of the 
 Four Latin Fathers of the 
 Church. Patron saint of Milan. 
 
 S. Martin of Tours, a.d. 397. 
 Patron saint of Tours, Lucca, 
 and penitent drunkards. 
 
 S. Juan de Dios, a.d. 1550. Founder 
 of the Order of Hospitallers or 
 Brothers of Charity. 
 
BEG— BOO. 
 
 5 
 
 Beggar with a dish, old arid very 
 ragged. Sometimes palm and 
 cross. 
 
 Beggars at her feet. Carrying 
 roses in her mantle. Eoyal robes 
 or Franciscan habit. 
 
 Beggars, giving alms to. Widow's 
 veil. Crown. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Bell, sometimes suspended from 
 the top of a crutch. Hog. 
 
 Bell. Sometimes loaf and cruse. 
 
 Blacksmith with anvil, hammer, 
 
 and bellows, or Bishop's robes 
 
 with blacksmith's tools. 
 Blood flowing from his head. 
 
 Generally pierced by a sword or 
 
 axe. Dominican habit. 
 Blood flowing from his head. 
 
 Bishop's robes, or Benedictine 
 
 habit. 
 
 Bones, two human. Scourge. 
 Beehive. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Book transfixed by a sword, or 
 stained with blood. Bishop's 
 robes over the Benedictine habit. 
 
 Books at his feet, or in his hand. 
 Sometimes a heart, flaming or 
 transfixed by an arrow. Bishop's 
 robes. 
 
 Books, trampling under his feet. 
 Bishop's robes. Palm. Sword. 
 
 S. Alexis, a.d. 400. Patron saint 
 of pilgrims and beggars. 
 
 S. Elizabeth of Hungary, a.d. 
 1231. 
 
 *S. Elizabeth of Portugal, a.d. 1336. 
 S. Anthony, Hermit, A.D. 357. 
 
 S. Pol de Leon, a.d. 573. 
 
 S. Eloy, Lo, or Eligius, a.d. 659. 
 
 Patron saint of Bologna, and of 
 
 blacksmiths and horses. 
 S. Peter Martyr, a.d. 1252. 
 
 S. Thomas a Becket, a.d. 1170. 
 
 S. Ambrose, a.d. 397. One of the 
 Four Latin Fathers of the 
 Church. Patron saint of Milan. 
 
 S. Boniface, A.D. 755. Archbishop 
 of Mayence. Apostle and first 
 Primate of Germany. 
 
 S. Augustine, a.d. 430. One of 
 the Four Latin Fathers of the 
 Church. 
 
 S. Cyprian of Antioch, M., A.D. 304. 
 
 * S. Elizabeth of Portugal is distinguished from S. Elizabeth of Hun- 
 gary by her venerable appearance. 
 
6 
 
 BOT—CAE. 
 
 Bottle on the end of a staff. 
 Scallop shell. 
 
 Bottles. Giving alms to the poor. 
 Fur-trimmed tunic and cap. 
 
 Box, or vase, of alabaster. Long 
 fair hair. 
 
 Box of ointment. Surgical instru- 
 ments. Two men together in 
 red robes. 
 
 Branch of olive. White habit. 
 Only found in late pictures. 
 
 Branch of olive. Sword at his 
 feet. Loose physician's robe. 
 Palm. 
 
 Branch of olive. Lamb. Palm. 
 Branch twisted round his body. 
 
 Old and half naked, and with 
 
 long hair. 
 Bread and cruse of water. Bell. 
 Buildings, in his hand. 
 
 Candle on his head, or in his hand. 
 
 Bishop's robes. Wheel. 
 Candle lighted. A demon trying 
 
 to blow it out with bellows. 
 
 Captive kneeling at her feet. 
 Broken fetters in her hand. 
 
 Cardinal, barefooted, with a rope 
 round his neck. 
 
 Cardinal. (Only in a group of 
 Yallombrosan saints.) 
 
 S. James the Great, Apostle, M, 
 Patron saint of Spain. 
 
 S. Omobuono. Patron saint of 
 Cremona and of tailors. 
 
 S. Mary Magdalene, a.d. 68. Pa- 
 tron saint of Provence, Mar- 
 seilles, and of penitent women. 
 
 SS. Cosmo and Damian, MM., a.d. 
 301. Patron saints of the Medici, 
 and of medicine. 
 
 S. Bernard of Tolomei, A.D. 1319. 
 Founder of the Order of Olive- 
 tani, reformed Benedictines. 
 
 S. Pantaleon of Nicomedia, M., 4th 
 century. Patron saint of physi- 
 cians. 
 
 S. Agnes, Y.M., a.d. 304. 
 S. Onofrio, 4th or 5th century. 
 Hermit of Thebes. 
 
 S. Pol de Leon, a.d. 573. 
 S. Petronius, a.d. 430. Patron 
 saint of Bologna. 
 
 S. Erasmus or Elmo, M., a.d. 296. 
 
 S. Genevieve, a.d. 509. Patron 
 saint of Paris. 
 
 S. Radegunda, a.d. 587. Protec- 
 tress of the Order of Trinitarians, 
 for the redemption of captives. 
 
 S. Charles Borromeo, a.d. 1584. 
 Archbishop of Milan. 
 
 S. Bernard degli Uberti, Abbot of 
 Yallombrosa. 
 
CAB— CHI. 
 
 Cardinal's hat, on a tree or at 
 his feet. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Cardinal's hat, at his feet or near 
 him. Emaciated, old, and ragged, 
 or in Cardinal's robes. Lion. 
 Church in his hand. 
 
 Carpenter's or builder's square. 
 
 Cauldron of oil. A boy with the 
 palm. Generally a cock ; some- 
 times lion or wolf. 
 
 Censer. Benedictine habit. Gene- 
 rally accompanying S. Benedict. 
 
 Chatn and fetters in her hand. 
 Peculiar to Eome. 
 
 Chains and fetters. Benedictine 
 habit, or deacon's robes. 
 
 Chalice or Pyx. Franciscan habit. 
 Cardinal's hat on a tree or at 
 his feet. 
 
 Chalice. Dominican habit. Star 
 on his breast. 
 
 Chequered habit. Franciscan 
 cord. Dog at her feet. 
 
 Child on his shoulders. Walking 
 through water. 
 
 Child-Christ in his arms, or on a 
 book. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Child in his arms, or at his feet. 
 
 S. Bonaventura, a.d. 1274. 
 
 S. Jerome, a.d. 420. One of the 
 Four Latin Fathers of the Church. 
 Founder of Monachism in the 
 West. Patron saint of scholars. 
 
 S. Thomas, Apostle, M. Patron 
 saint of builders and architects. 
 
 S. Vitus, M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Saxony, Bohemia, Sicily, 
 of dancers and actors, and of 
 those who find a difficulty in 
 early rising. 
 
 S. Maurus, a.d. 584. 
 S. Balbina, a.d. 130. 
 
 S. Leonard, a.d. 559. Patron saint 
 of prisoners and slaves. 
 
 S. Bonaventura, a.d. 1274. 
 
 S. Thomas Aquinas, a.d. 1274. 
 S. Margaret of Cortona, a.d. 1297. 
 S. Christopher, a.d. 364. 
 S. Antony of Padua, a.d. 1231. 
 
 S. Vincent de Paule, a.d. 1660. 
 Founder of the Sisters of Charity 
 
8 
 
 CHI— CEO. 
 
 Children, three in a tub. Bishop's 
 robes. 
 
 Church with two towers in his 
 hand. Pilgrim with wallet and 
 shell. 
 
 Church in her hand. Royal robes. 
 
 Walking over ploughshares. 
 Church in his hand. Royal robes. 
 
 Sometimes in armour. 
 Church in his hand. Emaciated, 
 
 old, and ragged, or in Cardinal's 
 
 robes. Cardinal's hat near. Lion. 
 
 Cloak, dividing with beggar. 
 
 Club. 
 
 Cock. A boy with the palm. 
 Sometimes lion or wolf. 
 
 Comb, of iron. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Comb, of iron. In armour. Keys 
 
 at his girdle. 
 Cross, transverse, or X -shaped. 
 
 S. Nicholas of Myra, a.d. 326. 
 Patron saint of Russia,and many 
 seaports ; also of children, es- 
 pecially schoolboys, sailors, mer- 
 chants, travellers, and against 
 thieves. 
 
 S. Sebald, a.d. 770. 
 
 S. Cunegunda of Bavaria, a.d. 
 1040. 
 
 S. Henry of Bavaria, a.d. 1024. 
 
 S. Jerome, a.d. 420. One of the 
 Four Latin Fathers of the 
 Church. Founder of Monachism 
 in the West. Patron saint of 
 scholars. 
 
 S. Martin of Tours, A.D. 397. 
 Patron saint of Tours, Lucca, 
 and of penitent drunkards. 
 
 S. James the Less, Apostle, 
 
 S. Vitus, M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Saxony, Bohemia, Sicily, 
 and of dancers and actors, and 
 of those who find a difficulty in 
 early rising. 
 
 S. Blaise, M., A.D. 289. Patron 
 saint of Ragusa, of woolcombers, 
 of wild animals, and against dis- 
 eases of the throat. 
 
 S. Hippolytus, M., a.d. 258. The 
 
 gaoler of S. Laurence. 
 S. Andrew, Apostle, M. Patron 
 
 saint of Scotland and Russia. 
 
GEO. 
 
 9 
 
 Cross at the end of a staff, or 
 sometimes small in his hand, or 
 T-shaped. 
 
 Cross. Light grey habit. Beard- 
 less. Sometimes a crutch. 
 
 Cross, blue and red on his breast. 
 White habit. Sometimes angel 
 leading captives. 
 
 Cross. Lily. Pyx. Franciscan 
 habit. Black veil. 
 
 Cross. Dragon. Crown. Palm. 
 
 Cross, T-shaped. Javelins. Lily. 
 Crown. Palm. 
 
 Cross, black, embroidered on a 
 white robe. 
 
 Cross, red, on his breast. In ar- 
 mour. Sometimes as a Moor, 
 or with eagle on banner^ and 
 shield. 
 
 Cross, large. Royal robes. 
 
 Crown and sceptre at his feet. 
 Franciscan habit, or Bishop's 
 robes embroidered with the 
 fleur-de-lys. 
 
 Crown and sceptre at his feet. 
 Hermit's garb. A doe by his 
 side. . 
 
 Crown and sceptre at his feet, or 
 by his side. Lily. Young and 
 in royal robes. 
 
 S. Philip, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. John Gualberfco, A.D. 1073. 
 Founder of the Yallombrosan 
 Order of reformed Benedictines. 
 
 S. John de Matha, A.D. 1213. 
 Founder of the Order of Trini- 
 tarians for the redemption of 
 captives. 
 
 S. Clara, a.d. 1253. Founder of 
 the Order of Franciscan Nuns 
 called Poor Clares. 
 
 S. Margaret, Y.M., a.d. 306. 
 S. Miniato, M., a.d. 254. 
 
 S. Apollinaris of Ravenna, M., a.d, 
 79. 
 
 S. Maurice, M., a.d. 286. Patron 
 saint of Austria, Savoy, and 
 Mantua, and of foot soldiers. 
 
 S. Oswald, a.d. 642. 
 
 S. Louis of Toulouse, a.d. 1297. 
 
 S. Procopius, a.d. 1053. 
 
 S. Casimir of Poland, a.d. 1483. 
 
10 
 
 CEO—CUP 
 
 Crown. Benedictine habit. Palm. 
 
 Crown op Thorns in his hand. 
 Franciscan habit, or royal robes 
 embroidered with the fleur-de- 
 lys. 
 
 Crown op Thorns. Stigmata. 
 Lily. Dominican habit. 
 
 Crowns, three, embroidered on his 
 robe. Globe and Cross. In ar- 
 mour. Ermine mantle. 
 
 Crucifix, sometimes a crutch. 
 Light grey habit. Beardless. 
 
 Crucifix, wreathed with the lily. 
 Star on his breast or above his 
 head. Benedictine habit. 
 
 Crucifix. Dominican habit. Some- 
 times wings. 
 
 Crucifix. Pyx. Dominican habit. 
 
 Crucifix. Lily. Surplice over 
 black habit. 
 
 Crucifix. Eagged clothes, and 
 long loose hair. 
 
 Crutch, sometimes with a bell 
 hanging from it. Hog. 
 
 Crutch. Long beard. White 
 habit. 
 
 Crutch, Cross, or Crucifix. Light 
 grey habit. Beardless. 
 
 Cup, with serpent. Eagle. 
 
 S. Flavia, M., a.d. 540. 
 
 S. Louis IX., King of Prance, a.d. 
 1270. 
 
 S. Catherine of Siena, a.d. 1380. 
 S. Charlemagne, a.d. 814. 
 
 S. John Gualberto, a.d. 1073. 
 Founder of the Yallombrosan 
 Order of reformed Benedictines. 
 
 S. Nicholas of Tolentino, a.d. 1309. 
 
 S. Vincent Ferraris, a.d. 1419. 
 
 S. Hyacinth, a.d. 1257. 
 
 S. Francis Xavier, a.d. 1552. 
 Patron saint of India. 
 
 S. Eosalia of Palermo, a.d. 1160. 
 S. Anthony, Hermit, a.d. 357. 
 
 S. Eomualdo, a.d. 1027. Founder 
 of the Order of Camaldolesi, 
 reformed Benedictines. 
 
 S. John Gualberto, a.d. 1073. 
 Founder of the Yallombrosan 
 Order of reformed Benedictines. 
 
 S. John, Apostle, Evangelist. 
 
CTTP—BOJE. 
 
 11 
 
 Cup, broken. Benedictine habit. 
 
 Cup, broken. Palm. 
 Cup and wafer. Tower. Feather. 
 Sword. Crown. Palm. 
 
 Cup and sponge, with drops of blood. 
 
 Dates, cluster of, on palm. Cross. 
 Young and richly dressed. 
 
 Demon, bound. Inkhorn, pen, and 
 papers. White habit. Some- 
 times beehive. 
 
 Demon, bound, at his feet. White 
 over black habit. Monstrance 
 or Cup. 
 
 Demon, holding bellows, and trying 
 to blow out a torch or candle. 
 
 Demon, trying to blow out a lan- 
 tern. 
 
 Dish, breasts on. Shears. Palm. 
 
 Dish. Old and dressed as a beg- 
 gar or pilgrim. Sometimes 
 Cross or Palm. 
 
 Dish, eyes on. Sword or wound 
 in her neck. Lamp. Palm. 
 
 Distaff. Sheep. Sometimes bas- 
 ket of loaves. 
 
 Doe by his side. Hermit's garb. 
 Crown and sceptre at his feet. 
 
 S. Benedict, a.d. 543. Founder of 
 the Benedictine Order. 
 
 S. Donato of Arezzo, M. 
 
 S. Barbara, V.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Mantua and Ferrara; 
 of arms, armourers and fortifica- 
 tions, and against thunder and 
 lightning. 
 
 S. Pudentiana, a.d. 148. 
 
 S. Ansano, M. Patron saint of 
 Siena. 
 
 S. Bernard of Clairvaux, a.d. 1153. 
 Founder of the Cistercian Order 
 of reformed Benedictines. 
 
 S. Norbert, a.d. 1134. Founder 
 of the Order of Prernonstra- 
 tesians. 
 
 S. Genevieve, a.d. 509. Patron 
 saint of Paris. 
 
 S. Gudula, a.d. 712. Patron saint 
 of Brussels. 
 
 S. Agatha, V.M., a.d. 251. Patron 
 saint of Malta and Catania. 
 
 S. Alexis, A d. 400. Patron saint 
 of pilgrims and beggars. 
 
 S. Lucy, Y.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Syracuse, and against 
 diseases of the eye. 
 
 S. Genevieve, a.d. 509. Patron 
 saint of Paris. 
 
 S. Procopius, a.d. 1053. 
 
12 
 
 BOG-BRA. 
 
 Dog, with a torch in its mouth. 
 Star on forehead. Lily. Do- 
 minican habit. 
 
 Dog by his side. Pilgrim's shell 
 and staff. Pointing to a wound 
 in his leg. 
 
 Dog at her feet. Chequered habit. 
 
 Dove on his shoulder, or hovering 
 over his head. Pope's robes. 
 
 Dove. Benedictine habit. Lily. 
 Generally accompanying S. 
 Benedict. 
 
 Dove. Heart with I.H.S., or Angel 
 holding name-tipped arrow. Car- 
 melite habit. 
 
 Dragon at his feet. In armour. 
 Standard. Palm. 
 
 Dragon in his hand, its mouth 
 bound with threads. Pope's or 
 Bishop's robes, with an ox at his 
 feet. 
 
 Dragon at his feet. Bishop's 
 robes. 
 
 Dragon at his feet. In armour. 
 
 Dragon under her feet. Cross. 
 Crown. Palm. 
 
 Dragon, bound, at her feet. Pot 
 of holy water. Keys at her 
 girdle. Ladle. 
 
 Dragon, driving into the sea. 
 
 S. Dominic, A.D. 1221. Founder 
 of the Dominican Order. 
 
 S. Eoch, a.d. 1327. Patron saint 
 of the sick, particularly the 
 plague-stricken. 
 
 S. Margaret of Cortona, a.d. 1297. 
 
 S. Gregory, a.d. 604. One of 
 the Four Latin Fathers of the 
 Church. 
 
 S. Scholastica, A.D. 543. Sister of 
 S. Benedict. 
 
 S. Theresa, a.d. 1582. Patron 
 saint of Spain. Foundress of 
 the Scalzi, reformed Carmelites. 
 
 S. George, M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of England, Germany, and 
 Venice, and of soldiers and ar- 
 mourers. 
 
 S. Sylvester, Pope, a.d. 335. 
 
 S. Mercuriale, 2nd century. Bishop 
 of Forli. 
 
 S. Theodore, M., a.d. 319. Patron 
 
 saint of Venice. 
 S. Margaret, V.M., a.d. 306. 
 
 S. Martha of Bethany, a.d. 84. 
 Patron saint of cooks and house- 
 wives. 
 
 S. Pol de Leon, a.d. 573. 
 
IE AG— FIB. 
 
 13 
 
 Eagle. Sometimes a cup and 
 serpent. 
 
 Eagle by her side. Lion. Palm. 
 Eyes on a book. Benedictine habit. 
 Eyes on a dish. Sword or wound 
 in her neck. Lamp. Palm. 
 
 Face of Christ on a cloth. 
 Falcon. In armour. 
 
 Feather. Tower. Chalice and 
 wafer. Sword. Crown. Palm. 
 
 Fetters and chains, Benedictine 
 habit, or Deacon's robes. 
 
 Fetters in his hand, or at his 
 feet. White habit. Blue and 
 red cross on his breast. 
 
 Fetters and chains in her hand. 
 
 Peculiar to Rome. 
 Fetters, broken, in her hand. A 
 
 captive kneeling at her feet. 
 
 Finger on his lip. Five stars 
 over his head. 
 
 Fire in his hand. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Fire near him, or under his feet 
 Crutch with bell. Hog. \ 
 
 S. John, Apostle, Evangelist. 
 
 S. Prisca, V.M., a.d. 275. 
 
 S. Ottilia, M., a.d. 720. 
 
 S. Lucy, V.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 
 saint of Syracuse, and against 
 
 diseases of the eye. 
 
 S. Veronica, M. 
 
 S. Bavon, a.d. 657. Patron saint 
 of Ghent and Haarlem. 
 
 S. Barbara, Y.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Ferrara and Mantua ; 
 also of arms, armourers and 
 fortifications, and against thun- 
 der and lightning. 
 
 S. Leonard, a.d. 559. Patron 
 saint of prisoners and slaves. 
 
 S. John de Matha, a.d. 1213. 
 Founder of the Order of the 
 Trinitarians for the redemption 
 of captives. 
 
 S. Balbina, a.d. 130. 
 
 S. Radegunda, a.d. 587. Protec- 
 tress of the Order of Trinitarians 
 for the redemption of captives. 
 
 S. John Nepomuc, a.d. 1393. 
 Patron saint of silence, bridges, 
 and running water. 
 
 S. Brice or Britius, a.d, 444. 
 Bishop of Tours. 
 
 S. Anthony, Hermit, a.d. 357. 
 
14 
 
 FIR— GOO. 
 
 Fire. Throwing water on a burn- 
 ing house. 
 
 Fish and keys. 
 
 Fish. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Fish with a key in its mouth. 
 Bishop's robes. 
 
 Fish suspended from the crozier. 
 Bishop's robes. 
 
 Fish at his feet. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Flame of Fire in his hand, or on his 
 breast. Lily. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Fleur de Lys embroidered on 
 Eoyal robes. Crown of thorns. 
 
 Fleur de Lys embroidered on 
 Bishop's robes. Sometimes Fran- 
 ciscan habit. Crown and sceptre 
 at his feet. 
 
 Flowers in her hand, or crowned 
 by. Palm. 
 
 Flowers, three. Swan. Carthu- 
 sian habit. 
 
 Fork, two-pronged. Lictor's axe. 
 
 Fountain. Sword. Sometimes head 
 in his hand. 
 
 Globe, surmounted by cross, 
 three crowns on robe. In 
 armour. Ermine mantle. 
 
 Goose by his side. Sometimes 
 Bishop's robes. 
 
 S. Florian, M. A patron saint of 
 Austria. 
 
 S. Peter, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. Ulrich, a.d. 973. Patron sain; 
 of Augsburg. 
 
 S. Benno, a.d. 1100. 
 
 S. Zeno, a.d. 380. Patron saint 
 of Verona. 
 
 S. Corentin of Brittany, a.d. 495. 
 
 S. Antony of Padua, A.D. 1231. 
 
 S. Louis IX., King of France, a.d. 
 1270. 
 
 S. Louis of Toulouse, a.d. 1297. 
 
 S. Dorothea of Cappadocia, V.M., 
 a.d. 303. 
 
 S. Hugh of Lincoln, a.d. 1126. 
 
 S. Martina, V.M., a.d. 230. 
 
 S Alban, a.d. 305. England's pro- 
 tomartyr. 
 
 S. Charlemagne, a.d. 814 
 
 S. Martin of Tours, a.d. 397. 
 Patron saint of Tours and Lucca, 
 and of penitent drunkards. 
 
GEA — SUA, 
 
 15 
 
 Grate or Gridiron. Sometimes 
 only embroidered on his robe. 
 
 Hair, long, fair. Yase or box of 
 alabaster. 
 
 Hair and beard long. Very old 
 and half naked. Sometimes a 
 raven near. 
 
 Hair and beard long. Yery old 
 and clothed only with branches. 
 
 Halberd (in Germany). 
 
 Hammer, anvil, tongs, &c. Bishop's 
 robes, or sometimes as a black- 
 smith. 
 
 Harrow. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Hat, cardinal's, near. Old and 
 
 emaciated. Sometimes Cardinal's 
 
 robes. Lion. 
 
 Hat, cardinal's, at his feet or on a 
 tree. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Hawk. Shield with nine balls. 
 
 Head, blood flowing from, or 
 pierced by a sword. Bishop's 
 robes, or Benedictine habit. 
 
 Head, blood flowing from, or 
 pierced by a sword or axe. Do- 
 minican habit. 
 
 Head of a man under her feet. 
 Wheel. Crown. Palm. 
 
 S. Laurence, M., a d 258. Patron 
 saint of Nuremberg and Genoa. 
 
 S. Mary Magdalene, a.d. 68. 
 Patron saint of Provence and Mar- 
 seilles, and of penitent women. 
 
 S. Paul the Hermit of Thebes, a.d. 
 344. 
 
 S. Onofrio, 4th or 5th century. 
 Hermit of Thebes. 
 
 S. Jude or Thaddeus, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. Eloy, Lo, or Eligius, a.d. 659. 
 Patron saint of Bologna, and 
 of blacksmiths and horses. 
 
 S. Frediano of Lucca, a.d. 560. 
 
 S. Jerome, a.d. 420. One of the Four 
 Latin Fathers of the Church, 
 Founder of Monachism in the 
 West. Patron saint of scholars. 
 
 S. Bonaventura, a.d. 1274. 
 
 S. Quirinus the Tribune, a.d. 130. 
 S. Thomas a Becket, a.d. 1170. 
 
 S. Peter Martyr, a.d. 1252. 
 
 S. Catherine of Alexandria, Y.M., 
 a.d. 307. Patron saint of Yenice, 
 and places of education, of 
 science, philosophy, and elo- 
 quence, and against diseases of 
 the tongue. 
 
16 
 
 KEA—JELIN. 
 
 Head, carrying his own. Some- 
 times sword. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Head, carrying his own. Only 
 found in Eouen. 
 
 Head, carrying half, with a mitre 
 on it. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Head, carrying her own. Palm. 
 
 Head, carrying her own, accom- 
 panied by a 
 
 Roman soldier with Palm. 
 King. 
 
 Queen with a veil. 
 
 Head, carrying his own. In ar- 
 mour. Axe in his hand or head. 
 
 Head in his hand. Fountain in 
 background. Sword. 
 
 Heart, flaming, or transfixed with 
 an arrow. Bishop's robes. Book 
 at his feet or in his hands. 
 
 Heart, crowned by thorns. I.H.S. 
 in the sky. 
 
 Heart with I.H.S. Carmelite 
 habit. Sometimes Crucifix and 
 Lily or Dove. 
 
 Hermit praying in a hollow tree. 
 
 Hermit. Yery old, with long hair, 
 and half naked. Sometimes a 
 raven near. 
 
 Hind pierced by an arrow, some- 
 times through his hand. Bene- 
 dictine habit. 
 
 S. Denis, M., 1st century. Patron 
 saint of France. 
 
 S. Clair, M., 3rd century. 
 
 S. Nicasius, M., a.d. 400. Bishop of 
 Eheims. 
 
 S. Valerie, M. Patron saint of 
 Aquitaine. 
 
 S. Grata, a.d. 300. 
 
 S. Alexander. 
 S. Lupo. 
 S. Adelaide. 
 
 S. Proculus, M., circa 303. Patron 
 saint of Bologna. 
 
 S. Alban, a.d. 305. England's pro- 
 tomartyr. 
 
 S. Augustine, a.d. 430. One of 
 the Four Latin Fathers of the 
 Church. 
 
 S. Ignatius Loyola, a.d. 1556. 
 Founder of the Society of Jesuits. 
 
 S. Theresa, a.d. 1582. Patron saint 
 of Spain. Foundress of the 
 Scalzi, reformed Carmelites. 
 
 S. Bavon, a.d. 657. Patron saint 
 of Ghent and Haarlem. 
 
 S. Paul the Hermit of Thebes, 
 a.d. 344. 
 
 S. Giles, Hermit, a.d. 725. Patron 
 saint of Edinburgh, and of woods, 
 lepers, cripples, and beggars. 
 
HOG—JUD. 
 
 17 
 
 Hog. Bell and crutch. 
 
 Horn, drinking. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Horses, tied to wild. In armour. 
 Keys at his girdle. 
 
 House, throwing water on a burn- 
 ing. 
 
 Huntsman. Stag with a crucifix 
 between its horns. (Hardly ever 
 found in Italy.) 
 
 I.H.S. on heart. Carmelite habit. 
 Sometimes crucifix and lily or 
 dove. 
 
 I.H.S. in the sky. Heart crowned 
 by thorns. 
 
 I.H.S. on a tablet surrounded by 
 rays. Franciscan habit. Some- 
 times three mitres. 
 
 Ink-horn, pen, and papers. White 
 habit. Beehive. Bound demon. 
 
 Instruments, surgical. Two men 
 in red robes. Palms. 
 
 Javelin with the point reversed. 
 
 Lily. Palm. 
 Javelin or lance at his feet. 
 
 Bishop's robes. Palm. 
 
 Javelins. T-shaped cross. Lily. 
 Crown. Palm. Eed robe. 
 
 Judge or Doctor of Laws. Some- 
 times surrounded by widows and 
 orphans. 
 
 S. Anthony, Hermit, a.d. 357. 
 S. Cornelius. Bishop of Rome. 
 S. Hippolytus, M., a.d. 258. The 
 
 gaoler of S. Laurence. 
 S. Florian, M. A patron saint of 
 
 Austria. 
 
 S. Hubert, a.d. 727. Bishop of 
 Liege Patron saint of dogs and 
 the chase. 
 
 S. Theresa, a.d. 1582. Patron 
 saint of Spain. Foundress of 
 the Scalzi, reformed Carmelites. 
 
 S. Ignatius Loyola, a.d. 1556. 
 Founder of the Society of Jesuits. 
 
 S. Bernardino of Siena, a.d. 1444, 
 Founder of the Order of Obser- 
 vants, reformed Franciscans. 
 
 S. Bernard of Clairvaux, a.d. 1153 
 Founder of the Cistercian Order 
 of reformed Benedictines. 
 
 SS. Cosmo and Damian, MM., a.d. 
 301. Patron saints of the Medici, 
 and of medicine. 
 
 S. Filomena, M., a.d. 303. 
 
 S. Lambert, M., a.d. 709. 
 
 S. Miniato, M., a.d. 254. 
 
 S. Ives of Bretagne, a.d. 1303. 
 Patron saint of lawyers. 
 
18 
 
 KEY— LIC. 
 
 Keys. 
 
 Keys at his girdle. In armour. 
 
 Sometimes an iron comb or 
 
 bound to horses. 
 Keys at her girdle. Pot of holy 
 
 water. Ladle. Dragon at her 
 
 feet. 
 Knife. 
 
 Knife, shoemaker's, or awl. Two 
 men together. Palm. 
 
 Labarum, or Standard of the Cross. 
 
 Classical costume. 
 Ladle. Dragon at her feet. Pot 
 
 of holy water. 
 
 Lamb. Crucifix. 
 
 Lamb. Olive-branch. Palm. 
 
 Lamb. Lily. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Stigmata. 
 Lamp. Sword or wound in her 
 
 neck. Eyes on dish. Palm. 
 
 Lance (in Italian pictures). 
 
 Lance, or Halberd. 
 
 Lance at his feet. Bishop's robes. 
 Palm. 
 
 Lantern. Demon trying to blow 
 it out. 
 
 Leg, pointing to a wound in. Pil- 
 grim's shell and staff. Some- 
 times dog. 
 
 Lictor's axe. 
 
 S. Peter, Apostle, M. 
 S. Hippolytus, M., a.d. 258. The 
 gaoler of S. Laurence. 
 
 S. Martha of Bethany, a.d. 84. 
 Patron saint of cooks and house- 
 wives. 
 
 S. Bartholomew, Apostle, M. 
 
 SS. Crispin and Crispianus, MM., 
 
 a.d. 300. Patron saints of Sois- 
 
 sons. 
 
 S. Constantine, a.d. 335. 
 
 S. Martha of Bethany, a.d. 84. 
 Patron saint of cooks and house- 
 wives. 
 
 S. John the Baptist. 
 
 S. Agnes, V.M., a.d. 304. 
 
 S. Francis of Assisi, a.d. 1226. 
 Founder of the Franciscan Order. 
 
 S. Lucy, Y.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Syracuse, and against 
 diseases of the eye. 
 
 S. Matthias, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. Jude or Thaddeus, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. Lambert, M., a.d. 709. 
 
 S. Gudula, a.d. 712. Patron saint 
 of Brussels. 
 
 S. Eoch, a.d. 1327. Patron saint 
 of prisoners and the sick, espe- 
 cially the plague-stricken. 
 
 S. Martina, V.M., a.d. 230. 
 
LIL—LIO. 
 
 19 
 
 Lily. 
 
 Ltly. Dominican habit. Star on 
 his forehead. 
 
 Lily. Franciscan habit. Stig- 
 mata. 
 
 Lily, "["-shaped cross. Javelins. 
 Crown. Palm. Red robe. 
 
 Lily. Franciscan habit. Flame of 
 fire in hi3 hand or on his breast. 
 
 Lily. Young and in royal robes. 
 Crown and sceptre at his feet or 
 by his side. 
 
 Lily. Crucifix. Surplice over 
 black habit. 
 
 Lily and Angel. (Not represented 
 before 1622.) 
 
 Lily. Dove. Benedictine habit. 
 
 Lily. Cross. Pyx. Franciscan 
 habit. 
 
 Lily. Crown of thorns. Domini- 
 can habit. Stigmata. 
 
 Lily. Sword. Lion. Palm. 
 
 Lily. Javelin with point reversed. 
 Palm. 
 
 Lion, generally winged, 
 
 Lion. Emaciated, old, and ragged, 
 or in cardinal's robes. Cardinal's 
 hat near. 
 
 C 
 
 S. Joseph. 
 
 S. Dominic, A.D. 1221. Founder of 
 the Dominican Order. 
 
 S. Francis of Assisi, a.d. 1226. 
 Founder of the Franciscan Order, 
 
 S. Miniato, M., a.d. 254. 
 
 S. Antony of Padua, a.d. 1231. 
 
 S. Casimir of Poland, a.d. 1483. 
 
 S. Francis Xavier, a.d, 1552. Pa- 
 tron saint of India. 
 
 S. Philip Neri, a.d. 1595. Founder 
 of the Order of the Oratorians. 
 
 S. Scholastica, a.d. 543. Sister of 
 S. Benedict. 
 
 S. Clara, a.d. 1253. Founder of 
 the Order of Franciscan nuns 
 called Poor Clares. 
 
 S. Catherine of Siena, a.d. 1380. 
 
 S. Euphemia, Y.M., 307. 
 S. Filomena, Y.M., a.d. 303. 
 
 S. Mark, Evangelist, M. 
 
 S. Jerome, a.d 420. One of the 
 Four Latin Fathers of the 
 Church. Founder of Monachism 
 in the West. Patron saint of 
 scholars* 
 
 2 
 
20 
 
 £10— MIT. 
 
 Lion. A boy with the palm. 
 Generally a cock. Sometimes a 
 wolf and cauldron of oil. 
 
 Lion. Anvil. Sword or axe. In 
 armour. 
 
 Lion. Eagle. Palm. 
 
 Lion. Lily. Sword. Palm. 
 
 Loaves, three small, at her side. 
 Old and worn. Long hair. 
 
 Loaves in a basket. A shep- 
 herdess's dress and a distaff. 
 
 Man, or Angel. 
 
 Man under his feet. In armour. 
 Standard and Palm. 
 
 Man's head under her feet. Wheel. 
 Crown. Palm. 
 
 Millstone. In armour. 
 Millstone. 
 
 Millstone. Arrows. Crown. Palm. 
 
 I 
 
 Mitres, three, on a book, or at his 
 feet. White habit. 
 
 S. Vitus, M., a.d. 303. Patron saint 
 of Bohemia, Saxony, and Sicily, 
 of dancers and actors, and of 
 those who find a difficulty in 
 early rising. 
 
 S. Adrian, M., a.d. 290. Patron 
 saint of Flanders and Germany, 
 of soldiers,and against the plague. 
 
 S. Prisca, M., a.d. 275. 
 
 S. Euphemia, V.M., a.d. 307. 
 
 S. Mary of Egypt, a.d. 433. Patron 
 saint of penitents and anchorites. 
 
 S. Genevieve, a.d. 509. Patron 
 saint of Paris. 
 
 S. Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist, M. 
 
 S. Gereon, M. One of the Theban 
 Legion. 
 
 S. Catherine of Alexandria, Y.M., 
 a.d. 307. Patron saint of Venice, 
 and places of education, of 
 science, philosophy, and elo- 
 quence, and against diseases of 
 the tongue. 
 
 S. Victor of Marseilles, M., a.d. 303. 
 
 S. Florian. A patron saint of Aus- 
 tria. 
 
 S. Christina, M., a.d. 295. Patron 
 saint of Bolsena, and one of the 
 patron saints of Venice. (See p. 
 3, note). 
 
 S. Bernard of Clairvaux, a.d. 1153. 
 Founder of the Cistercian Order 
 of reformed Benedictines. 
 
MIT- OLI. 
 
 Mitres, three. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Monstrance of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment. White over black habit. 
 Sometimes demon bound. 
 
 Moor, in armour, red cross on his 
 breast. 
 
 Moor in armour. 
 
 Mounds, three, surmounted by a 
 cross or flag. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Mountain, burning, in the back- 
 ground. Bishop. Palm. 
 
 Mule, kneeling. Flame in his 
 hand. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Musical instruments. Palm. 
 
 Neck, sword or wound in, rays 
 issuing from ib. 
 
 Nun kneeling at his feet. 
 
 Nun. Black and white habit, with 
 red band across her forehead. 
 Crosier. Pilgrim's staff. 
 
 Olive-branch. White habit. Only 
 found in late pictures. 
 
 S. Bernardino of Siena, a.d. 1444. 
 Founder of the Order of Obser- 
 vants, reformed Franciscans. 
 
 S. Norbert, a.d. 1134. Founder of 
 the Order of Premonstratesians. 
 
 S. Maurice, M., a.d. 286. Patron 
 saint of Austria, Savoy, and 
 Mantua, and of foot soldiers. 
 
 S. Victor of Milan, M., a.d. 303. 
 
 S. Bernardino of Siena, a.d. 1444. 
 Founder of the Order of Obser- 
 vants, reformed Franciscans. 
 
 S. Januarius, a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Naples. 
 
 S. Antony of Padua, a.d. 1231. 
 
 S. Cecilia, Y.M., a.d. 280. Patron 
 saint of music and musicians. 
 
 S. Lucy, Y.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Syracuse, and against 
 diseases of the eye. 
 
 S. Vincent de Paule, a.d. 1660. 
 Founder of the Sisters of Charity. 
 
 S. Bridget of Sweden, a.d. 1373. 
 Founder of the Order of Brigit- 
 tines. 
 
 S. Bernard of Tolomei, a.d. 1319. 
 Founder of the Order of Olive- 
 tani, reformed Benedictines. 
 
22 
 
 0 LI— POT. 
 
 Olive-branch. Lamb. Palm. 
 Organ. 
 
 Otter by his side. Bishop's robes. 
 Ox. 
 
 Ox at his feet. Pope's or Bishop's 
 robes. Dragon in his hand. 
 
 Padlock on his mouth, or in his 
 hand. Five stars over his head. 
 
 Papers and seals. Rich attire. 
 Picture of the Blessed Virgin. 
 Pig. Crutch and bell. Old. 
 Pincers or shears. Palm. 
 
 Pincers holding a tooth. 
 
 PiNCERS,holding tongue in. Bishop's 
 robes. 
 
 Ploughshares, walking over. 
 Royal robes. Church in her 
 hand. 
 
 Pomegranate surmounted by a 
 cross. Dark brown habit. 
 
 Pot of holy water, and asperges. 
 Dragon at her feet. Ladle. 
 
 Pots, earthenware. Two young 
 girls with palms. 
 
 S. Agnes, Y.M., a.d. 304. 
 
 S. Cecilia, V.M., a.d. 280. Patron 
 
 saint of music and musicians. 
 S. Cuthbert of Durham, a.d. 687. 
 S Luke, Evangelist, M 
 S. Sylvester, Pope, a.d, 335. 
 
 S. John Nepomuc, A.D. 1393. Pa- 
 tron saint of silence, bridges, and 
 running water. 
 
 S. Eleazar of Sabran, a.d. 1300. 
 
 S. Luke, Evangelist, M. 
 
 S. Anthony, Hermit, a.d. 357. 
 
 S. Agatha, Y.M., a.d. 251. Patron 
 saint of Malta and Catania. 
 
 S. Apollonia of Alexandria, V.M., 
 a.d. 250. Patron saint against 
 the toothache. 
 
 S. Lieven, M., a.d. 656. 
 
 S. Cunegunda of Bavaria, a.d. 
 1040. 
 
 S. Juan de Dios, A.d. 1550. Poun- 
 der of the Order of Hospitallers, 
 or Brothers of Charity. 
 
 S. Martha of Bethany, a.d. 84. 
 Patron saint of cooks and house- 
 wives. 
 
 SS. Justa and Rufina, M.M., a.d. 
 304. 
 
FBI— BOP. 
 
 23 
 
 Priests, two. Palms. 
 
 Purse. Pen and inkhorn. Palm. 
 
 Purses, three. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Pyx. Franciscan habit. Cardinal's 
 hat near. 
 
 Pyx. Crucifix. Dominican habit. 
 
 Pyx, Lily. Cross. Franciscan 
 habit and cord. 
 
 Raven with a loaf in its beak. 
 Benedictine habit. 
 
 Raven on a stone. Palm. Deacon's 
 robes. 
 
 Raven. Very old and half naked. 
 Long hair and beard. 
 
 Ring. Sceptre surmounted by a 
 dove. Royal robes. 
 
 Rod, or Asperges. Benedictine 
 habit. 
 
 Rod. Crutch and bell. Hog near 
 him. 
 
 Rope round his neck. Cardinal's 
 robes. Barefooted. 
 
 SS. Peter Exorcista and Marcel- 
 linus, MM., a.d. 304. 
 
 S. Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist, 
 M. 
 
 S. Nicholas of Myra, a.d. 326. 
 Patron saint of Russia and 
 many seaports ; also of children, 
 especially schoolboys, sailors, 
 merchants, and travellers, and 
 against thieves. 
 
 S. Bonaventura, a.d. 1274. 
 
 S. Hyacinth, a.d. 1257. 
 
 S. Clara, a.d. 1253. Founder of 
 the Order of Franciscan nuns 
 called Poor Clares. 
 
 S Benedict, a.d. 543. Founder of 
 the Benedictine Order. 
 
 S. Vincent, M., a.d. 304. Patron 
 saint of Lisbon, Valencia, Sara- 
 gossa, Milan, and Chalons. 
 
 S. Paul the Hermit of Thebes, 
 a.d. 344. 
 
 S. Edward the Confessor, a.d. 1066. 
 
 S. Benedict, a.d. 543. Founder of 
 the Benedictine Order. 
 
 S. Anthony, Hermit, a.d. 357. 
 
 S. Charles Borromeo, a.d. 1584. 
 Archbishop of Milan. 
 
24 
 
 JZOS—SHU. 
 
 Eoses, red and white, in her robe. 
 
 Franciscan habit or royal robes. 
 Eoses, crown of, or holding them 
 
 in her hand. Palm. 
 Eoses, crown of, red and white. 
 
 Musical instruments. Angel. 
 
 Palm. 
 
 Eoses, crown of. Franciscan 
 habit. 
 
 Eoses falling from his mouth. 
 
 White over brown habit. 
 Eule, builder's. 
 
 Saw. Sometimes Fishes. 
 Scourge, with three knotted thongs. 
 Bishop's robes. 
 
 Scourge, with lead on the thongs. 
 Sword at his feet. 
 
 Sea, walking over, or in the back- 
 ground. Dominican habit. 
 
 Serpents at her side, or feeding 
 
 from a basket. 
 Seven youths surrounding her. 
 
 Veil. Palm. 
 
 Shears. Palm. 
 
 Sheep. Distaff. Basket of loaves. 
 
 Shell. Long staff and wallet. 
 Sometimes bottle on staff. 
 
 S. Elizabeth of Hungary, a.d. 
 1231. 
 
 S. Dorothea of Cappadocia, V.M , 
 A. p. 303. 
 
 S. Cecilia, V.M., a d. 280. Patron 
 saint of music and musicians. 
 
 S. Eosa di Viterbo, a.d. 1261. 
 
 S. Angelus the Carmelite, a.d. 
 1220. 
 
 S. Thomas Apostle, M. Patron 
 saint of builders and architects. 
 
 S. Simon Zelotes, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. Ambrose, a.d. 397. One of the 
 Four Latin Fathers of the 
 Church. Patron saint of Milan. 
 
 *S. Gervasius, M., a.d. 69. 
 
 S. Eaymond of Penaforte, a.d. 
 1275. 
 
 S. Yerdiana, a.d. 1242. 
 
 S. Felicitas and her seven sons, 
 
 MM., a.d. 173. Patron saint of 
 
 male heirs. 
 S. Agatha, Y.M., a.d. 251. Patron 
 
 saint of Malta and Catania. 
 S. Genevieve, a.d. 509. Patron 
 
 saint of Paris. 
 S. James the Great, Apostle, M. 
 
 Patron saint of Spain. 
 
 * The companion with whom he is often represented is S. Protasius. 
 
sm—spi. 
 
 25 
 
 Shield with black eagle. Royal 
 
 robes. Palm. 
 Shield with nine balls. Hawk. 
 Ship. Anchor. Three balls. 
 
 Bishop's robes. 
 
 Shoemakers, two. 
 
 Sieve, broken. Benedictine habit. 
 
 Skin, carrying his own. Knife. 
 Skull. Franciscan habit. Stig- 
 mata. 
 
 Soldier. Eed cross on his breast. 
 Sometimes as a Moor. Palm. 
 
 Spade. Old. 
 
 Spade. Labourer's dress. Some- 
 times an angel ploughing in the 
 background. (In Spanish pic- 
 tures only). 
 
 Spear. Eoman soldier's dress. 
 
 Spear at his feet. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Spider over a cup. White over 
 black habit. Sometimes demon 
 bound. 
 
 Spit. In armour. 
 
 S. Wenceslaus of Bohemia, a.d. 
 938. 
 
 S. Quirinus the Tribune, M., a.d 130. 
 
 S. Nicholas of Myra, A.d. 326. 
 Patron saint of Russia, and many 
 seaports, also of children, es- 
 pecially schoolboys, sailors, mer- 
 chants, and travellers, and 
 against thieves. 
 
 SS. Crispin and Crispianus, MM., 
 a.d. 300. Patron saints of 
 Soissons. 
 
 S. Benedict, a.d. 543. Founder of 
 the Benedictine Order. 
 
 S. Bartholomew, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. Francis of Assisi, a.d. 1226. 
 Founder of the Franciscan ordpr. 
 
 S. Maurice, M., a.d. 286. Patron 
 saint of Austria, Savoy, and 
 Mantua, and of foot soldiers. 
 
 S. Phocas of Sinope, M., a.d. 303. 
 Patron saint of gardens and 
 gardeners. 
 
 S. Isidore the Ploughman, a.d. 
 1170. Patron saint of Madrid 
 and agriculture. 
 
 S. Longinus, a.d. 45. The cen- 
 turion at the crucifixion. Patron 
 saint of Mantua. 
 
 S. Lambert, M., a.d. 709. 
 
 S. Norbert, a.d. 1134 Founder of 
 the Order of Premonstratesians. 
 
 S. Quintin, M., a.d. 287. 
 
26 
 
 SPO—STO. 
 
 Sponge, with drops of blood. Cup. 
 
 Staff, long, with, wallet or bottle. 
 Scallop shell. 
 
 Staff. Old. Franciscan habit. 
 
 Stag. Eich secular attire. Some- 
 times a boat in the background. 
 
 Stag with crucihx between its 
 horns. In armour. 
 
 Stag with crucifix between its 
 horns. Huntsman's dress or 
 bishop's robes. (Hardly ever 
 found in Italy.) 
 
 Star on his forehead. Lily. Do- 
 minican habit. 
 
 Star on his breast. Dominican 
 habit. 
 
 Star on his breast or above his 
 head. Crucifix wreathed with 
 lily. Benedictine habit. 
 
 Star, holding up, in both hands. 
 
 Stars, five, over his head. Finger 
 on his lip or padlock. 
 
 Stigmata. Franciscan habit. Some- 
 times a Lamb. 
 
 Sttgmata. Lily. Crown of thorns. 
 Dominican habit. 
 
 Stone, beating his breast with. 
 
 S. Pudentiana, a.d. 148. 
 
 S. James the Great, Apostle, M. 
 Patron saint of Spain. 
 
 S. Francis de Paule, a.d. 1508. 
 Founder of the Order of Minimes, 
 reformed Franciscans. 
 
 S. Julian Hospitator, a.d. 313. 
 Patron saint of travellers, boat- 
 men, and wandering minstrels. 
 
 S. Eustace, M., a.d. 118. 
 
 S. Hubert, a.d. 727. Bishop of 
 Liege. Patron saint of the chase 
 and dogs. 
 
 S. Dominic, a.d. 1221. Founder of 
 the Dominican Order. 
 
 S. Thomas Aquinas, a.d. 1274. 
 
 S. Nicholas of Tolentino, a.d. 1309. 
 
 S. Swidbert, A.D. 713. 
 
 S. John Nepomuc, a.d. 1393. Pa- 
 tron saint of silence, bridges, 
 and running water. 
 
 S. Francis of Assisi, a.d. 1226. 
 Founder of the Franciscan Order. 
 
 S. Catherine of Siena, a.d. 1380. 
 
 S. Jerome, a.d. 420. One of the 
 Four Latin Fathers of the Church. 
 Founder of Monachism in the 
 West. Patron saint of scholars. 
 
STO—SWO. 
 
 27 
 
 Stone (millstone). Arrows. Crown. 
 Palm. 
 
 Stone (millstone). In armour. 
 
 Stone (millstone). Sometimes a 
 burning house in the back- 
 ground. 
 
 Stones. Deacon's robes. Palm. 
 Stones, carrying, in his chasuble. 
 
 Swan. Flowers. Carthusian habit. 
 Sword. 
 
 Sword and scales. 
 
 Sword at his feet. Olive or palm. 
 Sometimes hands nailed to a tree 
 over his head. 
 
 Sword. Books at his feet. Bishop's 
 robes. Palm. 
 
 Sword in his hand, or piercing his 
 head. Bishop's robes. 
 
 Sword, pierced by, or in his head. 
 Dominican habit. 
 
 Sword. Tower. Cup and wafer. 
 Feather. Crown. Palm. 
 
 Sword in her neck. Eyes on dish. 
 Lamp. Palm. 
 
 S. Christina, Y.M., a.d. 295. Pa- 
 tron saint of Bolsena, and one of 
 the patron saints of Yenice. 
 (See p. 3, note). 
 
 S. Victor of Marseilles, a.d. 303. 
 
 S. Florian, M. A Patron saint of 
 Austria. 
 
 S. Stephen, Protomartyr. 
 
 S. Alphege, Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury. 
 
 S. Hugh of Lincoln, a.d. 1126. 
 
 S. Paul, Apostle, M. 
 
 S. Michael the Archangel. 
 
 S. Pantaleon of Nicomedia, M., 4th 
 century. Patron saint of physi- 
 cians. 
 
 *S. Cyprian of Antioch, a.d. 304. 
 
 S. Thomas a Becket, a.d, 1170. 
 
 S. Peter Martyr, a.d„ 1252. 
 
 S. Barbara, Y.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Mantua and Ferrara, 
 arms, armourers, and fortifica- 
 tions, and against thunder and 
 lightning. 
 
 S. Lucy, V.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Syracuse, and against 
 diseases of the eye. 
 
 * Generally seen in company with S. Justina, see Unicorn. 
 
28 
 
 SWO-TBE, 
 
 Sword. Lion. Lily. Palm. 
 Sword. Crown. Palm. 
 
 T> blue, on his shoulder. Some- 
 times crutch with bell, and hog. 
 
 Tongs, holding tongue in. Bishop's 
 robes. 
 
 Tongs, or pincers. Palm. 
 Tooth held in pincers. 
 
 Tower. Feather. Chali#B and 
 wafer. Sword. Crown. Palm. 
 
 Towee, leaning, in a city, held in 
 his hand. 
 
 Towers in his hand, or in the 
 background. Young and richly- 
 dressed. Palm with dates. 
 
 Tree, foot on prostrate. Bishop's 
 robes over Benedictine habit. 
 
 Tree, hands nailed to, over hia 
 head. Sword at his feet. 
 
 ^Tree, hollow, hermit praying in. 
 
 Tree coming into leaf, in the back- 
 ground. Bishop's robes. 
 
 S. Euphemia, V.M., a.d. 307. 
 
 S. Justina of Padua, Y.M., a.d. 
 303. Patron Saint of Padua and 
 Venice. 
 
 S. Anthony, Hermit, a.d. 357. 
 S. Lieven, M., a.d. 656. 
 
 S. Agatha,, Y.M., a.d. 251. Patron 
 saint of Malta and Catania. 
 
 S. Apollonia of Alexandria, Y.M., 
 a.d. 250. Patron saint against 
 toothache. 
 
 S. Barbara, Y.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Mantua and Ferrara, 
 of arms, armourers, and forti- 
 fications, and against thunder 
 and lightning. 
 
 S. Petronius, a.d. 430. Patron 
 
 saint of Bologna. 
 S. Ansano, M. Patron saint of 
 
 Siena. 
 
 S. Boniface, a.d. 755. Archbishop of 
 Mayence. Apostle and first Pri- 
 mate of Germany. 
 
 S. Pantaleon of Nicomedia, M., 4th 
 century. Patron saint of physi- 
 cians. 
 
 S. Bavon, a.d. 657. Patron saint 
 
 of Ghent and Haarlem. 
 S. Zenobio of Florence, a.d. 417. 
 
TWO—WHE. 
 
 29 
 
 Two men in red robes and caps, 
 with surgical instruments. 
 
 Two men in armour. Palms. 
 Two priests. Palms. 
 
 Two men, one old, the other young. 
 Palm and sword. 
 
 Unicorn at her feet. Palm. 
 Unicorn. Crown. Palm. 
 
 Vase, or box of alabaster. Long 
 fair hair. 
 
 Wallet and long staff. Scallop 
 shell. 
 
 Wallet, large, over the shoulder, 
 dark-brown habit, peaked hood. 
 
 Wheel. Sometimes head of a 
 man under her feet. Crown. 
 Palm. 
 
 Wheel, small. Bishop's robes. 
 Candle on his head or in his 
 hand. 
 
 SS. Cosmo and Damian, MM., a.d. 
 
 301. Patron saints of the Medici 
 
 and of medicine. 
 SS. John and Paul, MM., a.d. 362. 
 SS. Peter Exorcista and Marcel- 
 
 linus, MM., a.d. 304. 
 SS. Nazarius and Celsus, MM. 
 
 a.d. 69. Patron saints of Milan. 
 
 S. Justina of Antioch, Y.M., a.d. 
 304. 
 
 *S. Justina of Padua, Y.M., a.d. 
 303. Patron saint of Padua and 
 Venice. 
 
 S. Mary Magdalene, a.d. 68. Pa- 
 tron saint of Provence, Mar- 
 seilles, and of penitent women. 
 
 S. James the Great, Apostle, M. 
 
 Patron saint of Spain. 
 S. Felix de Cantalice, a.d. 1587. 
 
 S. Catherine of Alexandria, V.M., 
 a.d. 307. Patron saint of Venice, 
 and of places of education, of 
 science, philosophy, eloquence, 
 and against diseases of the 
 tongue. 
 
 S. Erasmus or Elmo, M., a.d. 296. 
 
 * She is easily confused with S. Justine of Antioch, but if the picture 
 is by a Venetian painter, or at Venice, it would be S. Justina of Padua. 
 
30 
 
 WIN— WO U 
 
 Wings. Dominican habit. Crucifix. 
 
 Wolf. Sometimes holding a 
 crowned head. Royal robes. 
 
 Wolf. A boy with palm. Gene- 
 rally a cock. Sometimes a lion 
 or cauldron of oil. 
 
 Wound, pointing to, in his leg. 
 Pilgrim's shell and staff. Some- 
 times dog near. 
 
 Wound in her neck, rays coming 
 from it. Sometimes eyes on a 
 dish. Lamp. Sword. Palm. 
 
 S. Vincent Ferraris, a.d. 1419. 
 
 S. Edmund, M., a.d. 870. Patron 
 saint of Bury St. Edmunds. 
 
 S. Vitus, M., a d. 303. Patron saint 
 of Sicily, Saxony, and Bohemia, 
 of dancers and actors, and those 
 who find difficulty in early 
 rising* 
 
 S. Roch, a.d., 1327. Patron saint of 
 Sicily, of prisoners and the sick, 
 especially the plague-stricken. 
 
 S. Lucy, V.M., a.d. 303. Patron 
 saint of Syracuse, and against 
 diseases of the eye. 
 
SAINTS 
 
 AND THEIR 
 
 LEGENDS 
 
 AS ILLUSTRATED 
 
 IN ART. 
 
 S. Abbondio, a.d. 468, Apr. 2. Bishop and patron saint of Como 
 
 though born in Thessalonica. 
 S. Achilleo. See 8. Nereo. 
 S. Adelaide. See S. Grata. 
 
 S. Adelaide, or Alice, of Germany, a.d. 999, Dec. 12, was 
 the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, and early married 
 Lothaire, King of Italy. After his death she was imprisoned 
 by his successor at Pavia, but escaped, and fled to Germ any 
 where she married the Emperor, Otho I. She spent her life in 
 good works, and educated her son most carefully herself. Yet 
 after the death of his father, he allowed himself to be influenced 
 for evil by his wife, and he banished Adelaide from court. 
 Misfortune, however, befell him, and he recalled his mother, 
 though his wife continued hostile to her After a reign of nine 
 years Otho II. and his wife both died and Adelaide became 
 Begent. She continued her works of mercy, particularly en- 
 couraging and building religious houses. She died when 
 travelling, at Salcis. 
 
 S. Adelbert, a.d. 927, was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine, and 
 
32 
 
 ABE— AFJR. 
 
 travelled as a missionary from Northumbria to Bohemia, where 
 he converted S. Ludmilla, the grandmother of S. Wenceslaus. 
 
 S. Adman, a.d. 290, Sept. 8, patron saint of Flanders and Ger- 
 many, of soldiers, and against the plague, was long con- 
 sidered in the North of Europe the chief military saint next to 
 S. George. He was born of a noble Roman family, and served 
 in the army under the Emperor Galerius Maximian. When 
 superintending the martyrdom of some Christians during the 
 tenth persecution, he was so struck by their constancy that he 
 was himself converted. His wife Natalia was already a 
 Christian, though secretly, and when Adrian was imprisoned 
 for the faith she comforted and strengthened him, greatly 
 rejoicing that he was found worthy to suffer for Christ. When 
 she was forbidden to see him, she disguised herself as a man, 
 and thus visited him in prison and supported him in the inter- 
 vals of torture. Adrian was martyred by having his limbs 
 struck off on an anvil, and then being beheaded. He died 
 in the arms of Natalia, and was buried at Byzantium. Soon 
 after this the Emperor wished to make Natalia marry one of 
 his officers, but she fled to Byzantium, and lived near the tomb 
 of her husband where she was comforted with many visions of 
 him. And soon her pure spirit was released that she might 
 follow him, and when she died Adrian with angels met her, 
 and together they entered the presence of God. Natalia is one 
 of the great martyrs in the Greek Church, as her sufferings 
 are considered to have been worse than loss of life. 
 
 S. Afea of Augsburg, a.d. 307, Aug. 5, patron saint of Augsburg, 
 was a native of that city, where she led an evil life. She 
 was converted to the faith by a priest named Narcissus, 
 who took refuge in her house from persecution. She enabled 
 him to escape, but was herself taken for concealing Christians, 
 and confessing the faith she was burned alive. Her mother 
 Hilaria and her three maidens, Digna, Eunomia and Eutropia, 
 formerly as wicked as herself, but converted with her, were also 
 soon after martyred. 
 
AFR—AGJST. 
 
 33 
 
 S. Afba of Brescia, a.d. 121, patron saint of Brescia, was a noble 
 lady living in Brescia, and was converted to the faith by the 
 example of SS. Faustino and Giovita, and like them suffered 
 martyrdom. 
 
 S. Agatha, a.d. 251, Feb. 5, patron saint of Malta, Catania, and 
 against fire, was a young Christian maiden, living at Catania, in 
 Sicily. She was beloved by the prefect Quintianus, but notwith- 
 standing his promises and threats she refused him steadfastly. 
 This so enraged him against her, that his love was turned to 
 hatred, and finding that she was a Christian, he delivered her 
 up to the most horrible tortures, after which she was cast into 
 a dungeon. But there she was visited by S. Peter, who healed 
 all her wounds. Quintianus, when he saw that she was healed, 
 was still more enraged, and ordered her to be burnt; but just 
 as the fire was kindled a great earthquake occurred, and the 
 terrified people, thinking it was sent as a punishment for the 
 persecution of Agatha, released her from the flames. Still in 
 great suffering, she was again thrown into the dungeon, and 
 here her earnest prayers for death were heard, and her spirit 
 departed. About a year after her death there was a terrible 
 eruption of Mount Etna, and all the Catanians took refuge 
 near her tomb. Taking hence her veil, they put it on a lance 
 as a banner, and walked in procession to meet the stream of 
 fire, which at once turned aside from their city, and the eruption 
 ceased. Then all the heathen in Catania were converted to 
 the true faith. 
 
 S. Agnes, Yirgin and Martyr, a.d. 304, Jan. 21, was a Roman 
 maiden of great beauty. When only thirteen years old she was 
 asked in marriage by the son of the prefect Sempronius, but 
 she refused him, saying she was already betrothed to One 
 greater than any earthly suitor. On hearing this the prefect's 
 son fell ill with disappointment and jealousy. His father, much 
 enraged against Agnes, whom he now found to be a Christian, 
 subjected her to cruel tortures and indignities. The young 
 
 B 
 
34 
 
 AGN—ALB. 
 
 man, thinking she must now be subdued to his will, entered her 
 prison, but was at once struck blind and apparently lifeless. 
 The prayers of Agnes, however, restored him, and Sempronius 
 then would have saved her ; but the people declared she was a 
 sorceress, and called for her death. Accordingly she was laid 
 on a burning pile ; but the fire was miraculously extinguished, 
 Agnes remaining safe, though the executioners perished in 
 the flames. Then by order of the prefect she was slain with 
 the sword, upon the pile. The Christians buried her in the 
 Via jSTomentana, and her tomb became their place of assembly 
 for devotion ; and there one day she appeared to them with 
 a lamb by her side, and told them of her perfect happiness and 
 glory. 
 
 S. Agnes of Monte Pulciano, a.d. 1317, April 20. In very early 
 years this saint became remarkable for devotion, and after six 
 years spent in a Dominican convent she became abbess, at the 
 age of fifteen. Her fasting and austerities were very great ; 
 she slept on the ground with a stone for a pillow for many 
 years. A convent was built for her near Monte Pulciano by 
 her own people, and there she lived during the rest of her 
 life, working many miracles, and greatly beloved by all around 
 her. 
 
 S. Ale an, a.d. 305, June 22. England's protomartyr. Born at 
 Yerulam, he was educated as a heathen, but was converted 
 and baptized by a priest who took refuge in his house from the 
 persecution under Diocletian. When the priest was pursued, 
 Alban changed clothes with him and surrendered in his stead. 
 After cruel tortures he was led forth to execution. On the way 
 the river Oolne had to be crossed, and so great a multitude was 
 following that the bridge was too small to enable them all to 
 pass ; but at the prayer of the saint the water parted, and 
 they all crossed dry-footed. On reaching the place of execu- 
 tion, Alban prayed for water to quench his thirst, and imme- 
 diately a fountain sprang up before him. He was then 
 
ALB— ALE. 
 
 35 
 
 beheaded. The place of his burial having been forgotten, it 
 was miraculously revealed to Offa, King of Mercia, by an 
 angel, and over the spot where the remains were found he built 
 a great church and monastery. 
 
 S. Albert the Benedictine. See S. Adelbert. 
 
 S. Albert the Carmelite, a.d. 1214, April 8, founder of the Carmelite 
 Order, was Bishop of Yercelli, and Patriarch of Jerusalem. As 
 he was embarking at Acre to attend a Lateran council in 
 Rome, he was murdered by a man who hated him for having 
 reproved his sins. For this cause he is considered a martyr. 
 
 S. Alexander. See S. Grata. 
 
 S. Alexis, a.d. 400, July 17, patron saint of pilgrims and beggars, 
 was a rich Roman noble, who in his earliest childhood 
 dedicated himself to God, and was noted for his holiness and 
 charity. His parents were anxious that he should marry, and 
 chose for him a beautiful bride. He dared not disobey them, 
 yet he had made a vow to serve God alone, so he allowed the 
 marriage to be celebrated in great pomp, and immediately 
 afterwards escaped, only saying farewell to his bride. He fled 
 to Mesopotamia, where the fame of his good deeds caused him 
 to be regarded as a saint. Therefore, fearing for his humility, 
 he departed and embarked in a ship, intending to go to Tarsus, 
 but the vessel was driven by storms back to his own country. 
 All the time of his absence his wife and parents had been 
 seeking him vainly, but now that he had returned he was so 
 altered that he could not be recognized. He even begged of 
 his own father, Euphemian, who, thinking of his lost son, 
 possibly in as miserable a condition, ordered his servants to 
 provide for him. They, however, ill-treated the supposed 
 beggar, and only allowed him to live in a hole under the steps. 
 Here he lived several years ; and though he suffered many 
 indignities, and was in constant hearing of his relations 
 mourning for his loss, he remained firm in his original resolution. 
 At last, when he felt he was dyin£, he wrote his own history 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 ALI—AMB. 
 
 and laid it in his bosom. Just at that time the Pope, during 
 the celebration of mass, heard a voice telling him to seek in 
 the house of Euphemian for the man of God who should pray 
 for Eome. Then he and all present, among whom was 
 Euphemian himself, hurried to the house, and there found 
 Alexis lying on the steps, dead, with the writing in his hand 
 and a light shining from his face, and they knew that this was 
 the servant of God of whom the voice spoke. Great was the 
 astonishment of his parents when they read the writing and 
 learned his strange history ; and as the people heard of it they 
 flocked to visit his relics, at which all who had any diseases 
 were healed. The church of S. Alexis was built on the site 
 of his father's house, and still encloses the steps on which 
 he died. His great sufferings and patience have won for 
 S. Alexis the title of martyr, though he did not actually die a 
 violent death. 
 
 S. Alice. Bee S. Adelaide of Germany. 
 
 S. Aloysius. See S. Louis Gonzag-a. 
 
 S. Alphege, a.d. 1012, April 19. Archbishop of Canterbury. When 
 the Danes took and burnt the city of Canterbury, S. Alphege 
 was first imprisoned, and then stoned to death, for refusing to 
 ransom his life. His remains were interred in S. Paul's 
 Cathedral, and ten years later were translated to Canterbury. 
 
 S. Ambrose, a.d. 397, April 4. One of the Four Latin Fathers of 
 the Church, Bishop and patron saint of Milan. S. Ambrose 
 was born at Treves in Gaul, and it is related of him that when 
 he was an infant a swarm of bees fastened on his mouth with- 
 out doing him any harm, which signified his future eloquence. 
 He studied in Eome, and afterwards was appointed Prefect of 
 Liguria. Just at that time the Bishop of Milan died, and a 
 great dispute arose between the Catholics and the Arians as to 
 who should succeed him. Ambrose by his eloquence at length 
 pacified them. Then was heard a child's voice, crying "Ambrose 
 shall be Bishop but he objected, saying he had not even been 
 
ANA— AND. 
 
 37 
 
 baptized ; but bis reluctance was overcome by tbe persistence 
 of the people, and be was baptized, and consecrated Bishop 
 eight days after. He devoted himself to the duties of his 
 office, which he performed with no respect of persons, with- 
 standing even the Emperor when he had done wrong. For on 
 one occasion Theodosius, enraged by a sedition in Thessalonica, 
 ordered a general massacre there, and soon afterwards pre- 
 sented himself to worship in the cathedral ; but S. Ambrose 
 sternly refused him admittance, and in spite of commands 
 and entreaties remained firm till the Emperor had performed 
 public penance for his sin. The preaching of S. Ambrose had 
 a wonderful power over his hearers ; and on one occasion a 
 heretic who went intending to scoff, saw an angel prompting 
 him, and was at once converted to the trnth by this sight. 
 Many visions are also recorded of this saint. At the consecra- 
 tion of the cathedral of Milan the relics of SS. GtEBVasitts and 
 Peotasius were miraculously revealed to him ; and at another 
 time, while celebrating mass he fell into a trance and beheld 
 the bnrial of S. Martin of Tours, then taking place in France. 
 The Bishop of Vercelli, who was attending him on his death- 
 bed, fell asleep, but an angel awoke him in time to administer 
 the last Sacraments, and then all present beheld S. Ambrose 
 carried up to heaven by angels. 
 
 S. Anastasia, a.d. 304, Dec. 25, was a Eoman lady, although she 
 ranks among the Greek saints. Being persecuted by her own 
 family for professing Christianity, she was comforted and 
 sustained in all her trials by S. Chrysogontjs. After stead- 
 fastly enduring much suffering, she was burnt to death, and 
 he was beheaded and his body thrown into the sea. 
 
 S. Andeea Corsini, a.d. 1373, Feb. 4, was a noble Florentine, who 
 till the age of sixteen led a wild and evil life. At last the 
 grief of his mother touched his heart, and he entered a Carme- 
 lite church to pra}^. Here such a change was wrought in him 
 that he became a Carmelite friar in less than a year. He 
 
38 
 
 AND— ANT. 
 
 afterwards was made Bishop of Fiesole, and died at the age 
 of 70. 
 
 S. Andrew the Apostle, a.d. 70, Nov. 30. Patron saint of Scot- 
 land and Russia. Beyond what is told of S. Andrew in the 
 New Testament, legends relate that he travelled to Scythia, 
 Cappadocia, and Bithynia, and was the first to preach the 
 Gospel to the Muscovites in Salmatia. After many journeys 
 and sufferings he came to Achaia, where among his converts 
 was the wife of the proconsul. This so enraged her husband 
 that he commanded that S. Andrew should be crucified on a 
 cross of the form which has since borne his name. When he 
 first beheld it he knelt, and adored it as already consecrated by 
 the sufferings of his Lord. He was bound to the cross with 
 cords, and thus did not die until after two days, during which 
 he preached to his people to remain steadfast in the faith. 
 
 S. Angeltjs the Carmelite, a.d. 1220, May 5, came from the East 
 to preach in Sicily. There he rebuked a great lord named 
 Berenger for his openly sinful life, who in fury at his boldness 
 caused him to be hanged on a tree and shot to death with 
 arrows. 
 
 S. Anianus, a.d. 86, April 5, was a shoemaker of Alexandria, 
 converted by S, Mark, and for his zeal and piety ordained 
 Bishop of Alexandria. He governed his church with wisdom 
 and prudence for twenty-two years. 
 
 S. Anne, Mother of the Blessed Yirgin. See S. Joachim. 
 
 S. Ansano, of Siena, was a Eoman nobleman, whose nurse had 
 secretly baptized him, and brought him up in the Christian 
 faith. When he was nineteen he declared his faith, and con- 
 verted many by his preaching. He suffered in the persecution 
 under Diocletian, and was beheaded on the banks of the river 
 Arbia. 
 
 S. Anthony, a.d. 357, Jan. 17, was born at Alexandria, of rich and 
 noble parents ; but having been always of a thoughtful and 
 melancholy disposition, as soon as he was old enough, he gave 
 
ANTONY. 
 
 39 
 
 all his possessions to the poor and withdrew into the desert, 
 where already a small company of hermits had retreated. Here 
 the piety and firmness of S. Anthony were assailed by every 
 possible form of temptation the devil conld devise, evil spirits 
 attacking and tearing him till he was almost dead. Yet never 
 for one instant did he fail, though he remained for twenty 
 years in one cell, sustaining incessant and violent conflict, un- 
 seen by man, but miraculously supported and strengthened. 
 When at length he emerged from his solitude, his preaching 
 and miracles had such power that they drew five thousand 
 hermits around him in the wilderness. After seventy years' 
 life in the desert, when he was ninety years old, pride crept 
 into his heart at the thought that no one had lived in solitude 
 and self-denial so long as he. But then it was revealed to 
 him that there was one Paul, who had been alone in the 
 wilderness ninety years. Therefore he set forth in search of 
 Paul, meeting on the way a centaur and a satyr, the latter of 
 whom begged him to pray for himself and his race. At length. 
 Anthony found Paul in a cave, but was only admitted after 
 many prayers and entreaties. They held long conversation 
 together, during which a raven suddenly flew down to them 
 with a. loaf in its beak, and Paul explained that every day for 
 ninety years this raven had brought him half a loaf, but now 
 for Anthony's sake the portion was doubled. After they had 
 eaten and returned thanks, Paul told Anthony he was about 
 to die, and bade him return and fetch his cloak to bury him in. 
 Full of grief, Anthony obeyed, and on his return found Paul 
 already dead. He wrapped his body in the cloak, and then 
 two lions appeared, coming out of the desert, and they dug the 
 grave, in which Anthony buried him. Anthony survived Paul 
 fourteen years, dying in peace at the age of 105. 
 S. Antony of Padua, a.d. 1231, June 13, was born in Portugal, 
 and having entered the Franciscan Order, sailed for Morocco, 
 to preach. There he fell so seriously ill that he was obliged 
 
40 
 
 ANTONY. 
 
 to return, but contrary winds drove his ship to the shores of 
 Italy. Just then S. Francis was holding the first General 
 Chapter of his Order, where S. Antony's education and learning 
 made him a valuable assistant, and he also preached and 
 taught in many of the universities. He travelled about Italy, 
 doing much good and preaching to the people. On one occa- 
 sion, when the inhabitants of Simini refused to hear him, he 
 turned to the sea and spoke to the fishes, who rose to the sur- 
 face in great numbers to listen to him. Many miracles are 
 recorded of this saint, of which we can only mention a few of 
 the most important. A noble lady, stabbed by her husband in 
 a fit of jealousy, was restored by the prayers of Antony, and 
 the husband reformed from that hour. A child scalded to 
 death and a young girl drowned were both restored by the 
 same means. A Portuguese youth loved a lady whose family 
 was at feud with his own. Her brother slew him, and cast 
 the blame on Antony's father. The saint, although he was 
 then in Padua, suddenly appeared as his father was being led 
 to execution, and caused the dead body of the youth to speak 
 and name the true authors of the deed. S. Antony, when 
 preaching the funeral sermon of a miser, on the text " Where 
 the treasure is," &c, said, "His heart is in his treasure-chest, 
 and there you will find it." His friends immediately searched 
 the chest, and there found the heart, which at the same time 
 proved to be absent from the miser's body. A youth once 
 confessed to S. Antony, that in a moment of rage he had 
 kicked his own mother. The saint, filled with indignation, 
 declared that the offending foot deserved to be cut off. The 
 youth in his remorse did cut it off, but when S. Antony 
 heard of it he healed him by his prayers. A sceptical soldier 
 once declared he would as soon believe in these miracles as that 
 a glass cup he held would not be broken, dashing it from a 
 balcony to the ground as he spoke. The marble on which it 
 fell was split, but the cup remained whole, and this wonder 
 
ANTONINO, 
 
 41 
 
 finally converted the soldier. Again : a heretic named Bova- 
 dilla entertained donbts on the subject of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment, and, nnconvinced by S. Antony's arguments, still 
 required a miracle^ Then the saint, carrying the Host, met 
 Bovadilla's mule, and commanded it to fall on its knees, which 
 it did at once, and notwithstanding every inducement to make 
 it rise, remained in that position till the Host had passed. 
 S. Antony died in his thirty- sixth year, after a life of devotion 
 and self-denial, in which he was often supported by visions of 
 the Infant Christ. After his death he appeared to comfort 
 the Paduans under the cruelties of Eccellino, and to foretell 
 the death of the tyrant. S. Antony was canonized in 1232, 
 and the great Church of S. Antonio was begun at Padua in his 
 honour immediately afterwards. 
 S. Antonino, a.d. 1461, May 10, was born in Florence of noble 
 parents, and early showed a pious, thoughtful disposition. In 
 his childhood he would spend , hours in prayer before a 
 crucifix, still kept in the Church of Or S. Michele. He was 
 very anxious to enter the Dominican convent at Fiesole, and, 
 after putting him to some severe tests, the Prior consented. 
 Here he soon became noted for his talents, as well as for his 
 devotion and humility, and here also he became acquainted 
 with Fra Angelico, then a brother in the convent. When, 
 some time later, the Pope offered the archbishopric of Florence 
 to Fra Angelico, he declined it, feeling himself unequal to the 
 task, but begged that it might be given to Antonino instead. 
 The Pope granted his prayer, and Antonino fully justified 
 his friend's confidence, for he filled his high office with the 
 greatest wisdom and prudence, and devoted his whole life to 
 good works. He was particularly careful of the poor, depriving 
 himself of all but bare necessaries for their sake ; and some 
 of the charitable institutions he organized exist to this day. 
 He died at the age of seventy, to the great grief of all his 
 people, and was buried in the convent of S. Mark. 
 
42 
 
 APO — ATM. 
 
 S. Apollinaris, of Ravenna, a.d. 79, July 23, came to Rome with 
 S. Peter from Antioch, and was sent by the Apostle to preach 
 the Gospel in Ravenna. He became the first bishop of this 
 city, and converted many to the true faith by his preaching 
 and miracles. He was at last imprisoned, but his gaoler 
 . allowed him to escape, and he fled to Rimini. His enemies, 
 however, overtook him, and in their fury so beat and ill- 
 treated him that he died. The Church of S. Apollinaris in 
 Classis is built on the site of his martyrdom. 
 S. Apollonia, of Alexandria, a.d. 250, Feb. 9, was born in answer 
 to the prayers of her mother, who, though a heathen, had 
 been instructed by some pilgrims to ask in the name of the 
 Holy Virgin. When Apollonia was grown up she was 
 directed by an angel to S. Leonine, a disciple of S. Anthony, 
 that he might baptize her. Immediately afterwards the 
 angel clothed her in white, and bade her return to Alexandria, 
 and there preach the faith. She obeyed, and many were con- 
 verted by her words. Her father, however, was enraged at 
 her conduct, and finding himself unable to move her gave 
 her up to the prefect. He desired her to worship an idol 
 but instead she made the sign of the cross, and the idol fell 
 broken to pieces, and a demon flew from it, crying that he 
 was cast out by the " holy virgin Apollonia." Then she was 
 bound to a pillar, and all her teeth were pulled out one by 
 one, and as she still remained steadfast in the faith she was 
 burnt to death. 
 
 S. Athanasius, a.d. 373, May 2. One of the Four Greek Fathers of 
 the Church, from whom the Athanasian Creed is named. In 
 his early life he received a learned education in Alexandria, but 
 later he renounced the world, and retired into the desert. He 
 did not spend his whole life there, however, for he returned to 
 Alexandria, where he eventually became Bishop. At the 
 Great Council of Nice, in 325, he stood forth as the opponent 
 of Arius, and indeed his whole life was one conflict with the 
 
AJID—AUG. 
 
 43 
 
 Arians. He was finally victorious, though he suffered much, 
 and was exiled twenty years. 
 
 S. Auditore, a.d. 280, Sept. 22. One of the Theban Legion, for 
 which see S. Maurice. 
 
 S. Augustine, a.d. 430, Aug. 28, one of the Four Latin Fathers 
 of the Church, was born in Numidia, his father being a 
 heathen, but his mother, S. Monica, a Christian. His 
 early life was spent in every form of vice and dissipation, 
 to the great sorrow of his mother, who never ceased her 
 earnest prayers for his conversion. At length he travelled to 
 Milan, and there met S. Ambrose, who converted and baptized 
 him. It was on the occasion of the baptism of Augustine 
 that the Te Deum was composed, SS. Ambrose and Augus- 
 tine each reciting a verse in turn. Augustine now devoted 
 his life to good works and became Bishop of Hippo, a town 
 near Carthage, where he died thirty years later, during the 
 siege by the Yandals. His writings are very celebrated. The 
 subject from his life most often represented in art is the " Vision 
 of S. Augustine," the story of which is that while meditating on 
 his "Discourse on the Trinity," as he walked by the seashore, he 
 saw a child trying to fill a hole in the sand with water he was 
 bringing from the sea in a shell. Augustine inquired what 
 he was doing, and the child said he intended to empty all the 
 waters of the sea into his hole. " That is impossible," ex- 
 claimed Augustine. "Not more impossible," returned the 
 child, " than for a finite mind to contain the Infinite " — and 
 he vanished. 
 
 S. Augustine, or Austin, of Canterbury, a.d. 604, May 26, was sent 
 by Pope Gregory to preach the Gospel in England. He con- 
 verted Ethelbert, King of Kent, whose whole kingdom also 
 became Christian. Austin was the first Primate of England, 
 and the rest of his life was spent in a controversy with the 
 British Bishops, endeavouring to make them acknowledge the 
 supremacy of the Pope, and those who refused, he deprived of 
 
44 
 
 AVE— BAB. 
 
 their sees. The Benedictine Order was first introduced in 
 England by him. 
 S. Aventore, a.d. 286. One of the Theban Legion, for which see 
 S. Maurice. 
 
 S. Balbina, a.d. 130, March 31, was the daughter of the Prefect 
 Quirinus, and discovered bhe lost chains of S. Peter. 
 
 S. Barbara, a.d. 303, Dec. 4. Patron saint of Perrara and Mantua, 
 arms, armourers, and fortifications, a,nd against thunder and 
 lightning. S. Barbara was the only daughter of Dioscorus, a 
 noble of Heliopolis. Her father loved her so much, that fear- 
 ing he should lose her by marriage, he hid her from the eyes 
 of man in a high tower. Here she spent her time in thought 
 and study, which brought her to the conclusion that her 
 father's gods could not be the true ones. Hearing of the fame 
 of Origen she wrote to him for instruction, and he sent her one 
 of his disciples in the disguise of a physician, who converted 
 and baptized her. One day, after this, she told the workmen 
 engaged on her tower to build three windows, instead of two 
 as they had planned, saying to her father that she desired it 
 because it was through three windows (the Trinity) that the 
 soul received light. Thus he saw she was a Christian, and 
 filled with rage would have killed her, but she escaped to the 
 top of her tower, and was carried thence by angels. A shep- 
 herd showed Dioscorus her place of concealment, whence he 
 dragged her by the hair, and finding imprisonment and ill- 
 treatment powerless to move her, he gave her up to the pro- 
 consul. Under his orders she suffered cruel tortures ; but as 
 all was in vain, her father carried her off to a mountain 
 and beheaded her himself. As he was descending the moun- 
 tain a great storm of thunder and lightning arose, and utterly 
 consumed him. 
 
 S. Barnabas the Apostle, June 11, was a Levite, born in Cyprus, 
 
BAR— BAY. 
 
 43 
 
 and related to S. Mark. Beyond what is recorded of him 
 in the Acts of the Apostles, tradition tells that after the 
 separation from S. Panl he travelled as far as Italy, where he 
 became the first Bishop of Milan. He never parted from the 
 Gospel of S. Matthew, written by the evangelist himself, which 
 healed the sick by its tonch. His preaching roused the 
 anger of the Jews, and they killed him with much cruelty. He 
 was buried by S. Mark, and the place of his burial long after 
 was revealed to Antemius, who found him with the Gospel 
 lying on his breast, and removed his remains to Constanti- 
 nople. 
 
 S. Bartholomew the Apostle, Aug. 24 Traditions vary as to 
 the origin of this saint, some saying that he was the son of a 
 prince, others that he was a husbandman. On the dispersion 
 of the Apostles he travelled as far as India, but on his return 
 through Armenia he was taken as a Christian, and having 
 been flayed alive, was crucified. 
 
 S. Basil the Great, a.d. 380, June 14, one of the Four Greek 
 Fathers of the Church, was one of a family of saints, of whom 
 he was the greatest. When he had finished his studies, he retired 
 into the desert for some years, for he felt that his heart was lifted 
 up by the reputation his talents had gained for him. On his 
 return he was made Bishop of Csesarea, and was in continual 
 conflict with the Arians. The Emperor Yalens, who held that 
 heresy, wished to force Basil to conform to the Arian rites, 
 and entered the church with that object ; but Basil paid no 
 heed to him, and Yalens on approaching the altar fell in a 
 swoon. Still his heart remained hardened, and the saint could 
 hardly obtain any concessions for the Catholics. S. Basil 
 founded Monachism in the East, and gave a rule which has 
 been the foundation of all other orders. His theological 
 writings are of great importance and celebrity. 
 
 S. Bavon, a.d. 657, Oct. 1, patron saint of Ghent and Haarlem, 
 was Duke of Brabant, and spent his life in gaiety and world- 
 
46 
 
 BENEDICT. 
 
 liness ; but when he was fifty his wife died, and his heart being 
 softened, he was brought to repentance by S. Amand, Bishop 
 of Mgestrich. Leaving all his possessions to be given to the 
 poor, he entered a monastery at Ghent, and afterwards desiring 
 more complete seclusion, withdrew into a hollow tree in a 
 forest, and there spent the remainder of his life. 
 S. Benedict, a.d. 543, March 21, founder of the Benedictine 
 Order, was born in Spoleto, of noble parents, and was 
 educated in Borne ; but the evil he saw in the world so dis- 
 gusted him, that when he was fifteen he retired from it and 
 lived as a hermit. His nurse, who was devoted to him, 
 insisted on following him, and cooked food for him which she 
 obtained by begging. One day she broke a pot or sieve she 
 had borrowed, but Benedict at once renewed it by a miracle. 
 At length desiring greater solitude, he fled from her to a cave 
 in Subiaco, where a hermit named Bomano supplied him with 
 food. Here he lived three years, enduring many temptations. 
 At one time he was so haunted by the remembrance of a 
 beautiful Boman woman, that be threw himself into a thicket 
 of thorns and brambles, where his flesh was cruelly torn, and 
 he never suffered from the temptation again. On the death of 
 Bomano, Benedict had no one to provide for him, but an angel 
 guided a priest who had prepared some food for himself to the 
 saint's cave, where they shared it together. Soon the fame of 
 Benedict spread abroad, and all the people of the neighbour- 
 hood brought him offerings, and those who were sick came to 
 him to be healed. Many hermits had gathered near, and 
 they begged him to become their head. He accepted reluc- 
 tantly, and they were soon alarmed at the severity of his life, 
 and gave him poison in a cup of wine. Benedict made the 
 sign of the cross over it, and at once it fell broken to the earth. 
 After this he left them and returned to his cave ; but he could 
 not be alone, for crowds of hermits settled round him, and he 
 gave them a rule and set superiors over them. Among others 
 
BENEDICT. 
 
 47 
 
 two Roman senators brought their sons, Manrus and Placidus, 
 to Benedict, and he taught them, and they became his con- 
 stant companions. Once S. Placidus fell into a lake whence 
 he was drawing water; S. Benedict seeing him in a vision, 
 sent S. Maurus to his aid, who walked on the water as if 
 it had been dry land, and so rescued him. Again when his 
 life was attempted by a priest, Florentius, who offered him a 
 poisoned loaf ; at his bidding a raven carried it where it could 
 do no harm. Then he sent seven young women into one of 
 the monasteries to tempt the monks ; but Benedict left Subiaco, 
 and soon after Florentius was crushed by a fall of his house. 
 Now one of the monks always left the choir at the hour of 
 prayer, and S. Benedict beheld that he was led by a little 
 black demon visible to no one else ; so he touched the monk 
 with his rod, and exorcised the demon. When some of the 
 convents were in want of water, the prayers of S. Benedict 
 caused a torrent to spring out of the earth. A poor peasant 
 dropped the blade of his axe into the water, while cutting 
 wood, but S. Benedict held the handle in the water, and the 
 blade at once rose and joined to it. On Monte Cassino was* a 
 temple where the worship of Apollo was still carried on ; Bene- 
 dict went there, and having converted the people to the truth, 
 destroyed the temple, and built two chapels on its site. On the 
 same mountain he laid the foundation of the celebrated first 
 Benedictine monastery, where he gave the original rule of the 
 Order. It is said the Evil One did all in his power to hinder 
 the building, and a demon sat on a great stone that was 
 required, and could only be moved by the prayers of S. 
 Benedict. Again, on digging the foundations, an idol was 
 discovered emitting a terrible fire, but the prayers of the 
 saint removed it. He restored to life a monk who was 
 crushed while working at the building, and also a sick child at 
 the prayers of its parents. The King of the Goths, Totila, 
 heard of the fame of S. Benedict, and came to visit him, but 
 
48 
 
 BEN. 
 
 wishing to prove his power, he disguised himself, while his 
 armour-bearer put on the royal robes. Benedict at once 
 detected him, and Totila, quite overcome, prostrated himself 
 before the saint, who reproved his sins, and foretold what 
 should happen to him in the future. Now S. Benedict had a 
 sister, S. Scholastica, who had formed a society of nuns 
 not far from her brother. He visited her once a year, and the 
 last time, Scholastica, feeling that it was so, begged him not 
 to depart; but as he persisted, a great storm came on in 
 answer to her prayers, and he was obliged to remain longer 
 with her. Three days after he saw her soul in the form of a 
 dove flying to heaven. Not long afterwards S. Benedict 
 himself died at the foot of the altar, and at the same 
 moment two of his disciples beheld a path going up to 
 heaven covered with rich drapery, and a voice said, " This is the 
 path by which Benedict, the beloved of God, is now ascend- 
 ing to heaven." 
 
 S. Benedict of Aniane, a.d. 821, Feb. 12, was an officer in the army 
 of Charlemagne, who turned to the religious life after a 
 narrow escape from drowning. Distressed by the lax habits 
 of the monks, which he could not restrain, he retired to a 
 hermitage on the river Aniane, where he was surrounded by 
 many followers. He built a large monastery at Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, to which he gave the original rule of S. Benedict in all 
 its strictness. His life was spent in furthering monastic reform. 
 
 S. Benedict, or Bennet, Bishop of Wearmouth, a.d. 703, Jan. 12, 
 founded two Benedictine monasteries in England, and spent 
 much time and thought in beautifying churches and improv- 
 ing the services. He travelled far in search of skilled work- 
 men for this object, and introduced chanting into England, 
 " according to the Gregorian manner." He wrote many books 
 of instruction for schools and monasteries ; and the Venerable 
 Bede was one of his pupils. 
 
 S. Benno, a.d. 1100, June 16, was Bishop of Meissen, in Saxony. 
 
BEBZTABD. 
 
 49 
 
 The Emperor Henry IV., who had been excommunicated, 
 wished to force an entrance into the Cathedral of Meissen, 
 but Benno locked the doors and threw the key into the river 
 Elbe. He then withdrew to Rome, and when some time after 
 he returned to his diocese, he commanded a fisherman to cast 
 his net into the river, who on obeying him brought up a fish 
 with the lost key in its mouth. 
 S. Bernard of Clairvaux, a.d. 1153, Aug. 20. Founder of the 
 Order of the Cistercians, reformed Benedictines. This great 
 man was born near Dijon, of noble parents, and was carefully 
 brought up by his mother. After completing his education 
 at Paris, he entered the Benedictine monastery of Citeaux at 
 the age of twenty. He suffered many trials and temptations, 
 but he soon made himself of note, for at twenty-five he was 
 sent to found another monastery, which eventually became 
 the great Abbey of Clairvaux. The fame of Bernard spread 
 far abroad ; his word became an authority, and he was called 
 upon to reconcile disputes between Kings, and even Popes. The 
 second Crusade was undertaken in consequence of his preach- 
 ing. His theological works are very celebrated. He wrote 
 often of the Blessed Virgin, and it is said that once while he 
 was doing so, she appeared to him in a vision to comfort and 
 strengthen him. Three bishoprics were offered him, but he 
 refused them all. He died, worn out by labour and anxiety, 
 in his 63rd year. 
 
 S. Bernard of Menthon, a.d. 1008, June 15, was a Savoyard of 
 noble birth, who early renounced the world for the religious 
 life. He became Archdeacon of Aosta, and founded the two 
 hospitals of the Great and the Little S. Bernard, where the 
 monks, with the assistance of dogs, search for travellers lost 
 in the snow. He ruled the diocese with wisdom and devotion 
 for forty -two years. 
 
 S. Bernard dei Tolomei, a.d. 1319. Founder of the Olivetani, a 
 branch of the Benedictine Order, He was born at Siena, of 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 BJEE. 
 
 noble parents, and was for a long time a lawyer ; bat at 
 length he felt an irresistible longing for the religious life, 
 and retired to a (< monte nliveto " near his native city. He 
 was followed by many others, whom he formed into a com- 
 munity under the reformed rule of S. Benedict, to which he 
 gave the name of Olivetani. 
 S. Bernard degli ITberti was Cardinal, and Abbot of Yallom- 
 brosa. 
 
 S. Bernardino of Siena, a.d. 1444, May 20. Founder of the Order 
 of Observants, reformed Franciscans. This saint was of a 
 noble Sienese family, and was early noted for holiness of life, 
 as well as for beauty and talent. At seventeen he entered 
 a community for the care of the sick ; and the plague breaking 
 out soon after, he devoted himself to the relief of the sufferers, 
 and though he did not take the disease, his health never 
 recovered from the fatigue. At twenty -three he joined the 
 Franciscan Order, and the power of his preaching was so 
 great that all who heard him were converted to a better way 
 of life. He always held in his hand a tablet bearing the 
 "LH.S." surrounded with rays. A manufacturer of dice and 
 cards complained to S. Bernardino that since his preaching 
 he had been ruined by the cessation of all demand for these 
 articles. Then the saint advised him to make tablets like his 
 own, which he did, and they soon became so popular that the 
 man made a fortune. The Duke of Milan was offended at 
 S. Bernardino's preaching, and finding threats powerless to 
 silence him, sent him a present of a hundred gold ducats. 
 The saint at once refused them ; but as the messenger declared 
 he could not take them back, he spent them in releasing 
 debtors from prison. His care for the poor was very remark- 
 able, and he established the "Monte di Pieta," for lending 
 money on small pledges, to save them from the usury of 
 the Jews. He also founded a reformed order of Franciscans, 
 called " Observants," because they strictly observed the origi- 
 
BIB— BON. 
 
 51 
 
 nal rule. Three bishoprics were offered him, but he refused 
 them all, and died worn out with preaching and labour. 
 S. Bibiana, a.d. 362, Dec. 10, was a Eoman virgin, who, with her 
 father, mother, and sister, suffered martyrdom under Julian 
 the Apostate. She was slain with a dagger after being 
 nearly scourged to death, and her body left unburied till 
 found by a dog. 
 
 S. Blaise, or Biag-io, a.d. 289, Feb 3, patron saint of Ragusa, of 
 wool-combers, wild animals, and against diseases of the throat, 
 was Bishop of Sebaste, in Cappadocia, but was driven by 
 persecution to the mountains, where he took refuge in a cave. 
 The place was infested with wild beasts, but they were quite 
 subdued by S. Blaise, and lived in peace around him, coming 
 each morning to ask his blessing. Some hunters discover- 
 ing him accused him of sorcery, and dragged him before 
 the prefect. On the way he healed the only child of a poor 
 woman who was choked by a fish-bone, and caused a wolf to 
 restore to another poor woman her pig which it had taken. 
 Being brought before the governor, S. Blaise was scourged 
 and cast into a dungeon to starve, but the woman whose pig 
 he had restored, killed it, and gave it him to eat. Then he was 
 taken out again, and his flesh cruelly torn with iron combs 
 like those used by wool-combers, after which he was be- 
 headed. 
 
 S. Bonaventuha, a.d. 1274, July 14. Cardinal, and Bishop of 
 Albano. This saint, called the " Seraphic Doctor," was born 
 in Tuscany, and baptized by the name of Giovanni. But 
 S. Francis having restored him when a child from a dangerous 
 illness by his prayers, exclaimed, " 0 buona ventura ! " and 
 ever after he was called by this name. He entered the Fran- 
 ciscan Order as soon as he grew up, and became one of its 
 most celebrated members. He went to Paris to study theology, 
 and was much honoured by S. Louis, but he was always so 
 humble that he did not consider himself worthy to receive the 
 
 M 2 
 
52 
 
 BONIFACE. 
 
 Blessed Sacrament, so it was brought to him by an angel. 
 Being made General of his Order, he did much good in re- 
 storing harmony and discipline. The archbishopric of York 
 was offered him, but he declined it ; and some years after, 
 when the Pope desired to make him a cardinal, the nuncio 
 found the saint washing plates, and was desired to hang the 
 red hat on a tree till he should be ready. He was a great 
 writer and preacher, and assisted in the General Council of 
 Lyons, but soon after this he died, worn out by fatigue. One 
 of his principal works was the " Life of S. Francis;" and there 
 is a legend, that, having left it unfinished at his death, he 
 came back afterwards for three days to complete it. 
 
 S. Boniface, a.d. 755, June 5. Archbishop of Mayence, Apostle 
 of Germany. This saint's real name was Winifred, and he 
 was born in Devonshire of noble parents. He early entered 
 the neighbouring Benedictine monastery of Nutsall, but the 
 quiet seclusion of the life oppressed him, and he felt himself 
 called to preach the Gospel in heathen lands. At length he 
 sailed to Germany, and found a war raging there which made 
 all his efforts useless, so he returned to Nutsall. His brethren 
 wished to make him abbot, but he would not relinquish his 
 original dream, and leaving them again went to Rome, hoping 
 for help from the Pope. Thence, having obtained his com- 
 mission he travelled to Germany across the Alps, where his 
 preaching was now very successful. He converted many to 
 the faith, and cut down the great oak sacred to Thor. He 
 was made Archbishop of Mayence and Primate of Germany, 
 and founded many religious houses, in one of which S. George 
 of Utrecht was brought up. When he was seventy-four he 
 laid aside all his honours, and only taking with him his 
 favourite work, St. Ambrose's " De Bono Mortis," went alone 
 into the wilderness. Here he was attacked by a troop of 
 heathens, anxious to avenge their gods, and beaten to death. 
 
 S. Borromeo. See S. Charles Borromeo. 
 
BRI—BBU. 
 
 53 
 
 S. Brice, or Britius, a.d. 444, Nov. 13, was successor of S. Martin 
 in the see of Tonrs. 
 
 S. Bridget, or Bride, of Ireland, a.d. 500, Feb. 1, was baptized 
 by S. Patrick, and as she grew up devoted herself to good 
 works in the service of God. She was very beautiful, and her 
 father was anxious she should marry a powerful chief, but she 
 utterly refused, retreating for solitude to a grove of oaks once 
 sacred to idol-worship. Here she worked so many miracles 
 that crowds gathered round her, and thus she formed the 
 convent of Kildare, (or " place of the oak "), which afterwards 
 became so celebrated. 
 
 S. Bridget of Sweden, a.d. 1373, Oct. S. Founder of the Order 
 of the Brigittines. This saint was of the royal house of 
 Sweden, and married a neighbouring prince at the age of 
 sixteen. After his death she quitted the world, and founded 
 the monastery of Wastem, which she placed under the 
 Augustinian rule, with certain modifications revealed to her 
 in a vision. Her visions and revelations were very numerous. 
 After her death she was succeeded as abbess by her daughter, 
 S. Catherine of Sweden. 
 
 S. Bruno, a.d. 1100, July 18. Founder of the Carthusian Order of 
 reformed Benedictines. He was born at Cologne, of noble 
 parents, and sent to Paris to study theology, under the noted 
 doctor Raymond. While Bruno was there Raymond died, 
 and, as he was celebrated for apparent holiness and wisdom, 
 a great multitude assembled at his funeral. But in the midst 
 of the service the dead man sat up and cried, " By the justice 
 of God I am condemned." The priests and people fled in 
 terror, and did not return till the next day to go on with the 
 service. But twice more the same thing happened, and there- 
 fore, full of horror, they cast the body into an unhallowed 
 grave. This awful incident had such an effect on Bruno that 
 he retired from the world with six companions. They wan- 
 dered to Grenoble, where S. Hugh, taught by a vision of 
 
54 
 
 CAS -CAT. 
 
 seven stars, gave them a cave in the mountain for a dwelling. 
 In 1084 Bruno founded a monastery at the village of Char- 
 treuse, which afterwards "became the Grande Chartreuse, to 
 which he gave the rule of S. Benedict, with many extra 
 severities. The Pope sent for him to Borne, and offered him 
 the Archbishopric of Beggio, but he refused all honours, and, 
 wearying of the life at court, withdrew to Calabria, where 
 he founded another monastery, in which he lived till his death. 
 He was not canonized until 1623. 
 
 S. Casimib, of Poland, a.d. 1483, March 4. Patron saint of 
 Poland. He was the son of Casimir IY. of Poland, but of so 
 gentle and retiring disposition, and so devoid of ambition 
 that he refused the crown of Hungary. He loved study, and 
 composed many hymns. He gradually withdrew from the 
 world entirely, and died at the age of twenty, from decline. 
 
 S. Cassian, Aug. 13, patron saint of Imola, was a schoolmaster of 
 that city, who was martyred by his heathen pupils with their 
 iron styles used for writing. 
 
 S. Catherine of Alexandria, a.d. 307, Nov. 25. Patron saint of 
 Venice, of philosophy, science, eloquence, places of education, 
 and against diseases of the tongue. This saint was an 
 Egyptian princess, and in her early years devoted herself 
 entirely to study, becoming famed far and wide for her learn- 
 ing. On the death of her father she succeeded to the throne, 
 though she continued the same retired life. Her counsellors 
 prayed her to marry, but she could not be satisfied with any- 
 thing less than absolute perfection, and they despaired of her 
 consent. There were hermits in the desert, near Alexandria, 
 and one of them, at the bidding of the Blessed Virgin Mary, came 
 to Catherine, and told her the husband she desired was the King 
 of Glory himself, giving her at the same time pictures of 
 Christ and His Mother. His image so filled her mind that 
 
CATHERINE. 
 
 55 
 
 she neglected all her studies, and spent her time in contem- 
 plation. One night she had a dream that she was presented 
 to the King of Glory, but that he turned from her as not 
 fair enough for him. Full of grief, she asked the hermit 
 what she could do to become worthy of the King, and when 
 he found she was still a heathen, he taught her the Christian 
 faith, and she was baptized. That night she had another 
 dream, that she was again presented to the King of Glory, 
 and that he accepted, and was betrothed to her. On waking 
 she found the ring on her finger, and from that time she 
 utterly despised all the things of this world, and thought 
 only of her meeting with her Heavenly Bridegroom. Soon 
 after this, a great persecution arising in Alexandria, Catherine 
 stood forth, and argued with all the philosophers of the 
 kingdom, and such was the power of her wisdom that they 
 were first silenced and then converted. This so incensed 
 the Emperor Maximin that he ordered them all to be burnt, 
 and Catherine comforted and supported them to the end. 
 She herself was cast into a dungeon to be starved to death, 
 but angels ministered to her, and the empress visiting the 
 cell, found it filled with light. This wonder so overwhelmed 
 her that she and 200 of her attendants at once accepted the 
 faith. They were all slain ; and Catherine, having indignantly 
 refused Maximin's offers of marriage, was, by his orders, 
 bound between four spiked wheels, which, turning in different 
 directions, would rend her to pieces. But, in a moment, fire 
 fell from heaven, and consumed the wheels, and 3000 persons 
 were killed by flying pieces of them. Then, after being cruelly 
 scourged, S. Catherine was beheaded, and angels carried her 
 body to its grave on Mount Sinai. 
 S. Catherine of Bologna, a.d. 1463, March 9, also called S. 
 Caterina dei Yigri, was a maid of honour at the Court of 
 Ferrara, who joined the Poor Clares, among whom she 
 was so reverenced for her holiness that she became abbess 
 
56 
 
 CATHERINE. 
 
 while still young. She had some talent as a painter, and 
 a few of her pictures still remain at Bologna. 
 S. Catherine of Siena, a.d. 1380, April 30. This saint, one 
 of the great lights of the Dominican Order, was born at 
 Siena, where her house is still shown, as the Oratory of 
 S. Catherine. She was always grave, and thoughtful beyond 
 her years, and when she was only seven, in consequence of a 
 vision, solemnly dedicated herself to God. When she grew 
 up, her parents, vexed at her constant dreams and visions, 
 desired that she should marry like their other children; but she 
 steadily refused, till, roused to anger, they treated her very 
 hardly, making her do all the work of the house, amid 
 mockery and ridicule. One day, however, her father suddenly 
 entered her room, and saw her kneeling in prayer, with a 
 white dove resting on her head, and, believing now in her 
 vocation, he allowed her to enter the Dominican convent. 
 She only joined the third order, however, and never became a 
 fully professed nun. She still lived in her little cell at her 
 parents' house, but, having taken a vow of silence for three 
 years, she entirely secluded herself, only going every day to 
 pray in the Church of S. Dominic. Here she underwent 
 terrible temptations and trials, but with fasting and scourging 
 she overcame them all, being supported also by many visions 
 of Christ Himself. Then she left her retirement, and 
 ministered to the sick, not turning away from the most re- 
 pulsive diseases, though she was often met with thankless- 
 ness and indifference. Meeting one day some impenitent, 
 despairing robbers, on their way to execution, she accom- 
 panied them, speaking to them with such power and love that 
 they were comforted, and died confessing their sins. Once, 
 while S. Catherine was at Pisa, praying before a crucifix, 
 she fell into a trance, and received the stigmata, which she 
 retained to the end of her life. Her fame being now spread 
 far abroad, she was called on to mediate between the Pope 
 
CECILIA. 
 
 57 
 
 and hostile states. She succeeded in inducing Pope Gregory 
 XI. to return from Avignon to Rome, and herself accompanied 
 him on his entry. On the breaking out of the Great Schism 
 she took the part of Urban VI., and would have been em- 
 ployed by him on political missions, but her health failed, 
 and she died at the age of thirty-three, worn out with labour 
 and suffering. 
 
 S. Cecilia, a.d. 280, Nov. 22. Patron saint of music. She was 
 of a noble Eoman family, and was brought up by her parents 
 in the Christian faith. She early developed an extraordinary 
 talent for music ; she invented the organ, and sang hymns, 
 composed by herself, with such sweetness and beauty that 
 angels came from heaven to hear and join with her. She 
 secretly dedicated herself to the service of God, but was ob- 
 liged by her parents to marry a heathen noble named 
 Valerian. She told him of her faith and vow, and that she had 
 a guardian angel who watched her day and night. Valerian 
 was converted by her teaching, and received baptism from S. 
 Urban, who had been driven by persecution to take refuge in 
 the catacombs. Returning to his wife's room, he saw an angel, 
 who placed a crown of roses on the head of each, and told 
 Valerian to ask what be would, and his desire should be 
 granted. Valerian prayed that his beloved brother, Tiburtius, 
 should also know the truth ; and the angel, telling him his 
 request was pleasing to God, vanished. Soon after Tiburtius 
 entered, and being surprised at the heavenly roses, Cecilia 
 explained all to him, and such was the power of her words 
 that he, too, was converted, and went to S. Urban for bap- 
 tism. The three together devoted their lives to good works, 
 but were soon denounced to the prefect as Christians, and the 
 two brothers cast into a dungeon. Here they converted their 
 gaoler Maximus, who soon after suffered martyrdom with 
 them. Cecilia took the bodies, and buried them together in 
 the catacomb of S. Calixtus. The prefect, desiring to possess 
 
58 
 
 CEL—CHA. 
 
 himself of her wealth, put her to many tortures, ordering her 
 to be thrown into her own bath filled with boiling water. As 
 she remained quite unharmed, he commanded that she should 
 be beheaded ; but the executioner quailed, and, having given 
 her three wounds in the neck, fled. After this she lived three 
 days, spent in prayer and almsgiving. At her desire, S. Urban 
 made her house into a place of worship, and a church now 
 stands on the site (S. Cecilia in Trastevere), where remains of 
 her bath-room are still to be seen. She was buried in the 
 catacomb of S. Calixtus, but in the ninth century the place 
 of her burial was revealed to Pope Pascal L, and he trans- 
 ferred her body to the Church of S. Cecilia, which he was 
 then rebuilding, and where it now rests. 
 £>. Celsus. See S. Nazarius. 
 
 S. Cesaeeo, a.d. 300, Nov. 1, suffered martyrdom at Terracina 
 being put into a sack and cast into the sea for opposing the 
 worship of Apollo. 
 
 S. Chad, a.d. 669, March 2, succeeded his elder brother Cedd as 
 Abbot of the Monastery of Lastingham, which they had 
 founded. He was made Bishop of Mercia and Northumbria, 
 and fixed his see at Lichfield, where he built a church, and did 
 many good works, converting and baptizing all in the neigh- 
 bourhood. He died two years after this, having been warned 
 of his end by a vision of Cedd surrounded by angels calling 
 him to Heaven. 
 
 S. Charles Borromeo, a.d. 1584, ISTov. 4, Cardinal, and Arch- 
 bishop of Milan. Eorn of one of the greatest Lombard 
 families, he entered into possession of a Benedictine monastery 
 at the age of twelve, and was made Cardinal, and Archbishop 
 of Milan at twenty-three. He did a great work in his diocese, 
 entirely devoting his life to the reform of abuses, and to the 
 care and relief of the sick and poor, spending upon them all 
 his great riches, and keeping bare necessaries only for him- 
 self. When the plague broke out in Milan all who could, fled 
 
CITA—CIIB. 
 
 from the city, but S. Char'es went there and ministered to the 
 sufferers, inducing many, by his example, to join in his labours. 
 During this period he walked through the city three times in 
 his cardinal's robes barefoot, and with a rope round his neck, 
 and falling before the crucifix in the cathedral, offered himself 
 a sacrifice for the people. Still he had made enemies by his 
 vigorous measures of reform, and one day, while kneeling 
 before the altar, he was fired at by a Franciscan friar, but the 
 bullet was happily arrested by the rich embroidery of his 
 cope. He died in 1584, and a magnificent shrine was raised 
 over his remains in Milan. 
 
 S. Charlemagne, a.d. 814, Jan. 28. The life of the great Emperor 
 of the West being a matter of history, it will not be necessary 
 to relate it here, as there are no legendary additions to it. 
 
 S. C heron, third century, was a Bishop of Chartres, who on his way 
 to visit S. Denis at Paris was attacked and beheaded by 
 robbers ; but nevertheless proceeded on his journey carrying 
 his head in his hand. 
 
 S. Christina, a.d. 295, July 24, patron saint of Bolsena and 
 Venice, was the daughter of Urbanus, Governor of Tiro, a 
 town on the shores of the Lake of Bolsena, and had secretly 
 accepted the Christian faith. One day, grieved at having 
 nothing to give to a number of sick and poor, she remembered 
 her father's gold and silver idols, and breaking them to pieces, 
 distributed them to the beggars. Her father on his return, 
 beside himself with rage, threw her into a dungeon and 
 had her cruelly scourged, but angels came and healed her 
 wounds. She was then tied to a millstone and cast into the 
 lake, but angels upheld the millstone, and she floated back to 
 land. Finding this in vain, her father threw her into a furnace 
 of fire, but she remained there five days unhurt. More furious 
 than ever, he dragged her before the idol of Apollo to sacrifice, 
 but when she looked upon it it fell down before her, which so 
 terrified her father that he died. His successor, however, 
 
60 
 
 CHRISTOPHER. 
 
 continued the persecution of S. Christina. To prevent her 
 singing the praises of God he cut out her toogue, but she sang 
 more sweetly than before. Then he put her in a dungeon 
 with many snakes and poisonous reptiles, but they did her no 
 harm. At last in despair the governor had her bound to a 
 pillar and shot with arrows, and in this manner she at length 
 received " the hardly earned crown of martyrdom." 
 S. Christopher, a.d. 364, July 25, was a giant in the land of 
 Canaan, known by the name of Offero, who in his pride of 
 great strength resolved to serve none but the greatest king on 
 earth. At last he thought he had found the master he desired, 
 and entered his service ; but lie soon observed that 'at any 
 mention of the name of Satan this king trembled. Offero 
 forced from him the confession that he feared the evil spirit, 
 and determining to serve him no longer, went in search of the 
 Satan who was stronger than he. He soon met a terrible being 
 at the head of a great host, and, hearing it was he whom he 
 sought, entered his service. On their march they passed a cross, 
 at the sight of which Satan was filled with terror, and Offero 
 obliged him to own that he feared one Jesus Christ of Nazareth 
 who had died on it. Therefore Offero at once left the service 
 of the devil, and wandered on, till at last he met a hermit, and 
 asked him the way to Christ. The hermit told him he must 
 fast and pray ; but Offero said such service he could not under- 
 stand. So then the hermit told him to use his great strength 
 to carry the weak over a stream near by, which was swollen to 
 a torrent. This service Offero gladly accepted, and he built 
 himself a hut of boughs by the river, where he lived ready to 
 come to the aid of any who needed him. He had pulled up a 
 whole palm-tree as a staff, and supported by this, unweariedly 
 carried all who called him across the river. One night he 
 heard a child's voice calling him, and after much search with 
 his lantern, he found a little child by the water's edge who 
 begged to be taken over. Offero at once took him on his 
 
CHR — CLA. 
 
 61 
 
 shoulder, but the winds aud waves rose fiercely, and the child 
 weighed heavier than anything he had borne before, and it 
 sometimes seemed as if Offero could never reach the opposite 
 shore. 1 When at last he did so, the Child told him it was the 
 Maker of the World he had carried on his shoulder, and that 
 He had thus accepted his service. In token of this He bade 
 Offero plant bis staff, which at once bore leaves and fruit. 
 The Child vanished, but Offero fell down and worshipped, and 
 from that day his name was changed to Christopher, for he 
 had borne Christ. Travelling soon after to a city called Samos 
 he was taken as a Christian, and remaining steadfast in the 
 faith, was scourged and beheaded. On his way to death he 
 prayed that all who beheld him, putting their trust in God, 
 should not suffer from earthquake, tempest, or fire. It is for 
 this cause that representations of S. Christopher are so large 
 and frequent, for it was an old belief that " Whosoever shall 
 behold the image of S. Christopher, on that day shall not faint 
 or fail." 
 
 S. Chbysanthus and Dabia, a.d. 284. S. Daria was a vestal 
 virgin, who being converted to the Christian faith by S. 
 Chrysanthus, extinguished the sacred fire, and was therefore 
 buried alive with him, who, according to some accounts, was 
 betrothed or married to her. 
 
 S. Chrysogonus. See An astasia. 
 
 S. Cheysostom. See S. John Ckrysostom. 
 
 S. Clair, third century, was an English noble who came as a 
 missionary to France, but was martyred between Rouen and 
 Pontoise by a band of ruffians, who beheaded him. 
 
 S. Clara, a.d. 1253, Aug. 12. Founder of the Poor Clares, Fran- 
 ciscan nuns. She was born at Assisi, of noble parents, but 
 fired by the example of S. Francis, she desired to leave all to 
 dedicate herself entirely to the service of God. Being urged 
 by her parents to marry, she went to S. Francis for advice, 
 and he counselled her at once to withdraw from the world 
 
62 
 
 CLEMENT. 
 
 appointing the next Palm Sunday to receive her. That morn- 
 ing she accompanied her family to church to receive palm 
 branches. Clara, however, feeling unworthy to advance and 
 receive hers remained behind, and the bishop, touched by her 
 modesty, brought it to her. In the evening she fled to S. 
 Francis, who received her at the door of the Porzioncula, 
 where she made her solemn profession. She took refuge in a 
 neighbouring convent, whence her relations tried in vain to 
 drag her. Her sister Agnes and several other ladies joined 
 her, and thus was formed the community of u Poor Clares," 
 who followed closely the rule of S. Francis in all its severity. 
 On one occasion a band of Saracens attacked their convent of 
 S. Damiano, at Assisi. The nuns were rilled with terror, but 
 S. Clara, rising from a bed of suffering, took the pyx contain- 
 ing the Sacred Host in her hands, knelt on the threshold in 
 front of them, and began to sing " Thou hast rebuked the 
 heathen," &c. ; the enemy, panic-stricken, fled. The fame of 
 this miracle drew many more around her, and the Pope visited 
 her himself and confirmed the rule of the order, which spread 
 rapidly through all Christian lands. S. Clara died at the age 
 of sixty, in a trance, in which she heard angels' voices calling 
 her. 
 
 S. Clement, a.d. 100, Nov. 23, was the fellow-labourer of S 
 Paul mentioned in Phil. iv. 3. Becoming Bishop of Borne, the 
 third from S. Peter, he converted many to the faith, including 
 Domitilla, who being niece of Domitian, protected S. Clement 
 during his reign. But in the persecution under Trajan he was 
 sent with numbers of other Christians to work in stone 
 quarries. Once when they suffered from want of water, S. 
 Clement prayed, and then beheld the Lamb of God standing 
 on a mountain near. On his digging at this spot a torrent of 
 water rushed forth, which refreshed them all. This miracle 
 roused the anger of the heathen, and they cast the saint into 
 the sea bound to an anchor. But at the prayer of his brethren 
 
CLO—COS. 
 
 63 
 
 the sea retreated three miles, and disclosed a ruined temple, in 
 which the body of S. Clement reposed. And this miracle was 
 repeated on every anniversary of his martyrdom. 
 
 S. Clotilda, a.d. 534, June 3, was a Burgundian princess, and the 
 wife of Clovis, King of the Franks. She prayed and strove 
 long in vain for the conversion of her husband, but one day 
 when he was almost defeated in battle, he called upon the God 
 of Clotilda, and was finally victorious. At his baptism by S. 
 Pemi a dove brought the vial of oil miraculously from heaven, 
 and S. Clotilda having had a vision that an angel brought 
 three lilies, for her, Clovis, and S. Bemi, the banner of France 
 was changed from three toads to the Fleur de Lys. 
 
 S. Cloud, a.d. 560, Sept 7, was a grandson of S. Clotilda, who, 
 when his brothers were murdered by their uncles to obtain 
 the kingdom, fled to a Benedictine monastery, where he became 
 a monk, and thus saved his life. 
 
 S. Constantine, a.d. 335. The life of the Emperor Constantine is 
 a matter of history. For the legend of Constantine and 
 Sylvester, see S. Sylvester. 
 
 S. Cobentin, a.d. 495. Patron saint of Quimper and a great part 
 of Brittany. He was a hermit, living in the forest of Ploma- 
 diern, near Chateaubin, to whom a most remarkable fish was 
 sent to nourish him. Every morning it swam into the spring 
 near his hermitage, and S. Corentin, having cut a slice off it, 
 the fish swam away, lively as ever. King Gradlon, hunting 
 with his court in the forest, beheld the miracle, and was so 
 much impressed by it, that he gave S. Corentin his country- 
 house for a monastery, where S. Griienole, among many others, 
 was educated. Later the province of Cornouaille was erected 
 into a diocese, and S. Corentin made first Bishop of 
 Quimper. 
 
 SS. Cosmo and Damian, a.d. 301, Sept. 27. Patron saints of 
 the Medici and of medicine. These two brothers were Ara- 
 bians, brought up in the Christian faith, who devoted their 
 
64 
 
 COS— CEO. 
 
 lives to the study of medicine and the care of the sick. They 
 became most skilful in their art, and the fame of their 
 wondrous cures spread far and wide ; at last being denounced 
 as Christians, they were cast into the sea, but were saved by 
 angels ; and then into the fire, but it did not harm them. They 
 were next bound to crosses and stoned, but the stones, instead 
 of hitting them, struck their enemies, so that many were killed. 
 Finally , these two saints were beheaded, three of their brothers 
 also suffering with them. Long afterwards a man who had a 
 cancer in his leg was praying to SS. Cosmo and Damian in 
 their church in Rome, when he fell into a profound sleep, and 
 dreamt that the saints came and cut off his diseased leg, re- 
 placing it by one of a dead Moor and anointing it witn 
 miraculous ointment so that it joined perfectly. On awaking 
 he found that he had the leg of the Moor ; and search being 
 made for the dead body, it was discovered that truly there had 
 been an exchange of legs. 
 
 S. Costanzo, second century, was a Bishop of Perugia, who suf- 
 fered martyrdom under Marcus Aurelius. 
 
 SS. Crispin and Crispianus, a.d. 300, Oct. 25. Patron saints of 
 Soissons. These two brothers accompanied S. Denis from 
 Home to France to preach the Gospel. They were shoemakers, 
 and worked for the poor for nothing, angels providing them 
 with leather. They were martyred at Soissons, being beheaded 
 after suffering many tortures. 
 
 Cross. The legend of the Holy Cross ^is a subject so often met 
 with in art that it may be useful to insert it here. When 
 Adam was sick unto death he sent his son Seth to the Gate of 
 Paradise to pray for him. There an angel gave him three 
 seeds to put under his father's tongue after his death, or 
 according to other accounts the branch of a tree, to plant 
 upon his grave. On his return Adam was dead, and Seth 
 obeyed the commands of the angel. A tree grew and 
 flourished from the tomb of Adam, and it was with a branch 
 
CBOSS. 
 
 65 
 
 of this that Moses turned the waters of Marah sweet. In 
 the days of Solomon it was cut down for the building of the 
 temple ; but the workmen were unable to make use of it, and it 
 was thrown away into a pond or stream, where it served as a 
 bridge. The Queen of Sheba coming to visit Solomon would 
 have crossed this bridge, but having a vision of the Son of 
 God crucified upon it, she fell down and worshipped it. Solo- 
 mon, hearing of this, buried it in the ground, and the spot became 
 afterwards the Pool of Bethesda, whose healing powers came ' 
 from the sacred wood as well as from the angel. At the time 
 of our Lord's Passion it floated on the surface of the water, and 
 was taken to make the Cross. After the Crucifixion it re- 
 mained buried for three hundred years, till it was discovered 
 by S. Helena, the mother of Constantine, together with the 
 crosses of the two thieves, under a temple of Yenus. As they 
 did not know which was the Cross of Christ, they were all 
 taken to a sick woman, and when she touched the True Cross 
 she was immediately healed. S. Helena then divided it in 
 halves, one of which she left at Jerusalem, the other she 
 carried to Constantinople, and part of this latter was sent to 
 Rome, where the Church of Sta. Croce in Gerusalemme was 
 built to contain it. In 615 Chosroes, King of Persia, carried 
 away the part of the Cross left at Jerusalem, and building a 
 great tower placed it there beside himself, and desired all men 
 to worship him as king of kings. This aroused the indig- 
 nation of the Emperor Heraclius, and he went against 
 Chosroes with an army, and defeated him, and recovered the 
 True Cross. He brought it back to Jerusalem with great 
 rejoicing, but, as he was about to enter the city, the wall closed 
 up and prevented him. Then an angel appeared, and reproved 
 him for daring to enter in pomp and splendour that gate 
 through which his Lord had passed barefoot and riding 
 upon an ass. Heraclius at once dismounted, and takiug 
 off all his royal robes he took the Cross on his shoulder and 
 
66 
 
 cujst—cyp. 
 
 walked barefoot up to the wall, which then parted and let him 
 enter, and he restored the holy relic whence it had been taken. 
 
 S. Cunegunda, a.d. 1040, March 3, was the wife of S. Henry, 
 King of Bavaria, who without any foundation suspected her 
 of evil, but she triumphantly proved her innocence by walking 
 unharmed over red-hot ploughshares. Soon after this she 
 entered a Benedictine convent, where she spent the rest of her 
 life in hard labour and charitable works. She was buried 
 with her husband in Bamberg Cathedral. 
 
 S. Cunibert, a.d. 660, Nov. 12, was Bishop of Cologne, who, 
 guided by a dove, discovered the remains of S. Ursula and her 
 companions. He was a friend and counsellor of King Dago- 
 bert, Pepin d'Heristal, and other rulers of his time. 
 
 S. Cuthbert, a.d. 687, March 20, was in his youth a shepherd, 
 but was called by the vision of an angel to leave worldly 
 things and seek only the heavenly. Therefore he went for 
 instruction to S. Aidan at Melrose Abbey. Another vision, 
 of angels carrying the soul of his master to heaven, induced him 
 to enter the monastery, and thence he travelled far, preaching, 
 and converting many. After a time he withdrew to Lindis- 
 farne, and lived a life of seclusion on the island now called 
 Holy Isle, but then an abode of evil spirits, and angels pro- 
 vided him with bread. He was made Bishop of Lindisfarne, 
 where he was greatly beloved, and many miracles were wrought 
 by his prayers. Once, when he was lying on the shore ap- 
 parently dead from long prayers and mortification, two otters 
 came out of the water and licked him all over till life returned 
 to him. After his death miracles were performed at his shrine, 
 and pilgrimages made to it ; but his bones were finally trans- 
 ferred to the Cathedral of Durham, for protection against the 
 Danes. 
 
 S. Cyprian, a.d. 258, Sept. 16, was Bishop of Carthage, and 
 suffered martyrdom in the reign of Valerian. He left many 
 valuable writings. 
 
67 
 
 SS. Cyprian and Justina of Antioch, a.d. 304, Sept. 26. S- 
 Justina was a fair and wise maiden, living at Antiocti, who, 
 having dedicated herself to the service of God, rejected the 
 addresses of a youth who wished to marry her. In despair he 
 went to Cyprian, a magician of that city, who was skilful in 
 every diabolical art, and asked his help to charm her. But 
 when Cyprian saw the maiden, he loved her, and desired her 
 for himself. He tried to tempt her -with the aid of all his 
 demons, but in vain. Astonished at her constancy, he de- 
 clared he would worship none other than her God, and was 
 converted and baptized. • He became remarkable for his good 
 deeds and his humility, till at last, persecution breaking out, he 
 and Justina were both taken and thrown into a cauldron of 
 boiling pitch; by a miracle, they escaped unhurt, and were 
 therefore beheaded. 
 
 S. Cyril of Alexandria, a.d. 444, Jan. 28, was the Patriarch of 
 that city, and took a prominent part in the theological con- 
 troversies of the time. His good fame is much sullied by the 
 murder of Hypatia, committed with every cruelty by his 
 followers in a church. He is sometimes added as a fifth in 
 pictures of the Four Greek Fathers. 
 
 SS. Cyril and Methodius were two Greek monks of the Order of 
 S. Basil, who went to preach to the Slavonic tribes of Bulgaria. 
 Methodius was a painter, and, being asked by the King of 
 Bulgaria for something terrible, painted " The Last Judg- 
 ment," in explanation of which Cyril preached such a powerful 
 sermon that all who heard it were at once converted. In this 
 manner they worked together with great success for many 
 years. 
 
 S. Damian. See S. Cosmo. 
 
 S. Daria. See S. Chrysanthus. 
 
 S. Delphine. See Eleazar. 
 
 S. Denis, first century, Oct. 9. Patron saint of France. In art 
 
 p 2 
 
68 
 
 DIEGO. 
 
 the legend which confuses S. Denis, Bishop of Paris in the 
 third century, with Dionysius the Areopagite, is so universally 
 represented th at it must be thus related here. Dionysius was 
 an Athenian philosopher, who, while studying astrology in 
 Egypt, was much perplexed by the sudden darkening of the 
 whole world for three hours, which took place during the 
 crucifixion. On his return to Athens he heard S. Paul preach 
 there of " The Unknown G-od," and being converted was 
 ordained priest, and then first Bishop of Athens. He travelled 
 to Jerusalem to behold the Blessed Virgin, and was as- 
 tonished at the glory which surrounded her. He was also 
 present at her death and burial, of which he left an account 
 in writing. He next travelled to Rome, and was present at 
 the martyrdom of S.Paul, and thence was sent by S. Clement 
 to preach in Prance. At Paris he made many converts, and 
 was able to send missionaries into other countries. At length, 
 being accused to the Emperor, he was imprisoned with his two 
 companions, SS. Rusticus and Eleutherius, who had come 
 with him from Rome, and soon after they were all beheaded 
 together. Their bodies having been left to the wild beasts, 
 Denis, that his remains should not be dishonoured, took his 
 head in his hands, and walked thus two miles to the place now 
 called Montmartre. The relics of all these martyrs were 
 afterwards placed in the abbey of S. Denis. 
 S. Diego d'Alcala, a.d. 1463, 'Nov. 3, was cook at the Capuchin 
 convent of Alcala, and having been canonized at the request 
 of Philip II., various legends were told of him. It is said that 
 while engaged in cooking he became so rapt in ecstasy as to 
 be lifted off the earth, and meanwhile angels continued his 
 occupation for him. On being detected in giving away bread 
 to the poor, he opened his habit, which was found full of roses. 
 He rescued a child whose mother had shut him into an oven 
 and lighted the fire by mistake, and restored sight to another 
 child who was blind, by anointing his eyes with oil from the 
 lamp before the altar. On one occasion, when he and a lay 
 
DIG— DOM. 
 
 69 
 
 brother were ready to peris h with hunger on a journey, angels 
 came and spread a repast before them. 
 S. Digna. Bee S. Afka of Augsburg. 
 
 S. Dominic, a.d. 1221, Aug. 4. Founder of the Order of Domini- 
 cans, or Preaching Friars. This saint was of a noble Castilian 
 family. Before he was born his mother dreamt that she gave 
 birth to a black and white dog with a torch in its mouth, and at 
 his baptism a star descended, and rested on his brow. He early 
 gave evidences of a saintly and ascetic disposition, beginning to 
 do penance at six years old. Having accompanied his Bishop 
 on a political mission to France, Dominic was so distressed at 
 the heresy of the Albigenses, which he found widely spread 
 there, that he first entertained the idea of an order of preachers 
 for the conversion of heretics. He obtained from the Pope, 
 who had had a dream of S. Dominic upholding the falling 
 Church, authority to preach in the Yaudois. There one day, 
 finding the heretics obstinate against his teaching, he threw 
 his book into the fire, but at once it leaped out uninjured ; 
 this happening three times, while the books of the heretics 
 were consumed, converted many. The fierce war against the 
 Albigenses broke out about this time, but it is very uncertain 
 how far S. Dominic was concerned in it. He continued his 
 preaching, in which he was joined by several others ; and this 
 laid the foundation of his Order, though it was not finally con- 
 firmed till later. Being in Rome, he went to S. Peter's to pray for 
 a blessing on his Order, and there SS. Peter and Paul appeared, 
 and gave him a staff and a Book of the Gospel, telling him to 
 go forth, for God had chosen him to preach His Word. He 
 also founded an Order of Dominican nuns, and reformed the 
 convents in Borne. Once, while he was in the monastery of 
 S. Sabina, in Pome, the brothers who lived by begging could 
 not procure any food, but S. Dominic made them all sit at the 
 table, and pronounced the blessing, when immediately two 
 angels appeared bearing bread and wine, which they set before 
 the brethren and then vanished. A young Lord Napoleon, 
 
70 
 
 DONATO. 
 
 nephew of Cardinal di Fosse Nova, having been killed by a 
 fall from his horse, S. Dominic laid the body before the altar, 
 when at his command the youth arose whole and well. On 
 another occasion, when he was attending a banquet at the 
 funeral of a child, he desired that the dead body should be 
 laid on the table, and then restored it to life. During the war 
 against the Albigenses, some English pilgrims, to avoid entering 
 the heretical city of Toulouse, endeavoured to cross the river 
 Garonne in a small boat. It was overturned in a storm, but 
 the pilgrims were all saved through the intercession of S. 
 Dominic. The indefatigable labours of the saint at length 
 brought on a fever, of which he died at Bologna. At the time 
 of his death a monk at Brescia beheld his soul borne up to 
 heaven on a throne by the Blessed Virgin and angels. His 
 remains were carried in great state to the splendid shrine at 
 Bologna, where they now repose. 
 S. Donato of Arezzo, fourth century, was the companion in his 
 youth of Julian the Apostate, but the Emperor having turned 
 from the faith, persecuted the Christians. Donato's father 
 being one of the victims, the saint fled with one companion, a 
 monk Hilarion, to Arezzo, where they converted many, per- 
 forming several miracles. Once a tax-gatherer going on a 
 journey left all the money he had collected in the care of his 
 wife, who buried it, but died suddenly without being able to 
 tell any one the spot. Her husband on his return in great 
 distress appealed to S. Donato, and having prayed at her tomb 
 the saint commanded her to declare where she had hidden the 
 money. To the wonder of all she at once responded. After 
 he was made Bishop of Arezzo, while he was celebrating mass 
 the chalice was broken by some pagans, but at the prayer of 
 S. Donato it joined again before a drop was spilt. The number 
 of conversions resulting from this miracle so incensed his 
 enemies that after much torture they beheaded him, Hilarion 
 being at the same time scourged to death. 
 
DOB—DUJST. 
 
 71 
 
 S. Dorothea of Cappadocia, a.d. 303, Feb. 6, was brought up a 
 Christian, and became famed for her beauty and piety. . On the 
 outbreak of the persecution, having refused to sacrifice to 
 idols, she was imprisoned. Her two sisters, who had apos- 
 tatized, were sent to persuade her to do the same ; but her 
 example of faith and steadfastness brought them back to the 
 truth, and they suffered martyrdom, being supported to the 
 end by Dorothea. She herself after many tortures was con- 
 demned to be beheaded. On her way to execution a young 
 man named Theophilus, mocking her, asked her for some of 
 the flowers and fruit from the garden to which she was going, 
 and she promised to send some to him. Just after her death 
 a heavenly youth appeared, bearing three roses and three 
 apples, which he carried to Theophilus from her and said that 
 she awaited him in the garden. When Theophilus received 
 them his heart was touched, and being converted to the faith 
 he also suffered martyrdom. 
 
 S. Dunstaist, a.d. 968, May 19, was a monk of Glastonbury, who, 
 through the fame of his talents, was called to court, where, 
 however, his influence became so great that he was driven 
 away as a sorcerer. He retired to Glastonbury, where he 
 occupied himself in working in metals ; and his musical powers 
 being remarkable, he made himself an organ with brass pipes. 
 One day, it is said, while he was working in his cell, the devil 
 came to tempt him, but the saint seized him with red-hot 
 pincers, and he fled in pain and terror. The King, whose 
 conscience was aroused by a narrow escape from an accident, 
 repented of his injustice to Dunstan, recalled him to court, 
 and made him Abbot of Glastonbury ; but his successor, Edwin, 
 offended at Dunstan's reproof of his sins, drove him away 
 again. On the accession of Edgar to the throne he came 
 finally into power, and was made Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 He founded many schools and religious houses, and did his 
 
72 
 
 EBB— EDM. 
 
 utmost to extend civilization and learning. He left many 
 writings relating his visions, and several miracles are recorded 
 of him. 
 
 S. Ebba was a princess, and Abbess of Coldmgham. "When the 
 Danes attacked her convent, she and all her nuns disfigured 
 their faces, lest they should fall a prey to the enemy. 
 Horrified at the sight they presented, the Danes set fire to the 
 convent, and the whole sisterhood thus suffered martyrdom. 
 
 S. Edith of Wilton, a.d. 984, Sept. 16, was the daughter of King 
 Edgar. Her mother, Wilfrid a, was a nun whom the King 
 had dragged from her convent. She escaped, and returned 
 as soon as possible, and her daughter was born in the con- 
 vent. Her father gave Edith a rich dowry, but she refused to 
 live at court, and spent all her money in founding the con- 
 vent of Wilton. Her learning and beauty made her famous. 
 She was also remarkable for the costliness of her attire, and 
 defended herself against the reproofs of S. Ethel wold, saying 
 that God could see the heart beneath any garment. She died 
 in her twenty -third year. 
 
 S. Edith of Polesworth was a daughter of King Egbert, and became 
 a nun in the convent of Polesworth, under S. Modwena. 
 
 S. Edmund, a.d. 870, Nov. 20, was King of East Anglia at the 
 time of a great invasion of the Danes. He was utterly de- 
 feated by them in the battle of Hoxne ; and afterwards, as he 
 refused to be subject to an infidel, he was bound to a tree, 
 shot to death with arrows, and afterwards beheaded. When 
 the Christians wished to bury the body the head could no- 
 where be found, till at last they discovered it guarded by a 
 wolf, who allowed them to take it, and followed it to the 
 burial. Being placed on the body it united instantly, showing 
 only a red line where it had been severed. A great church 
 and monastery were built over the shrine of the saint, and 
 the town round them was called Bury St. Edmunds. 
 
JED W— ELK 
 
 73 
 
 S. Edward the Confessor, a.d. 1066, Jan. 5, was the third son of 
 King Ethelred of England, but even before his birth was 
 declared heir to the throne in preference to his brothers, 
 because of a prophecy of S. Dnnstan. When he came to the 
 throne he released his subjects from the tax of Danegelt, 
 because when the money was brought to him he beheld a 
 demon dancing on it. A young man once, thinking the King 
 asleep, took as much money as he could carry out of his 
 coffer. Edward saw him, but only observed, "Be not so 
 covetous;" and when his treasurer lamented the loss, said 
 that he who had taken it probably needed it more than they 
 did. This saint had many visions : once he beheld Christ on the 
 altar during the celebration of mass, and another time he 
 foresaw the drowning of the leader of a Danish fleet coming 
 to invade England. One day, as King Edward was returning 
 from hearing mass in honour of S. John the Evangelist, a 
 pilgrim begged from him, and he gave him a ring from his 
 own finger. Twenty-four years after, two English pilgrims, 
 returning from the Holy Land, met another pilgrim, who told 
 them to go and salute their king, and thank him for the 
 alms he had given a poor pilgrim many years ago. He also 
 gave them the ring to take back to Edward, with the message, 
 " In six months thou shalt quit the world, and remain with 
 me for ever." The astonished pilgrims asked who he was ; 
 and he replied, " I am John the Evangelist/' and then vanished. 
 The pilgrims delivered the ring and the message to the King, 
 who prepared joyfully for his departure, and died on the 
 following Epiphany. 
 
 S. Egidio. See S. Giles. 
 
 SS. Eleazar, or Elzear, and Delphike, a.d. 1300. S. Eleazar, 
 Count of Sabran, and S. Delphine, his wife, were both mem- 
 bers of the Third Order of S. Francis. They devoted them- 
 selves to good works, and Eleazar ruled his affairs with 
 prudence and wisdom. Once, just after his father's death, 
 
74 
 
 JSLE—ELI. 
 
 he found among his papers letters falsely calumniating him- 
 self, and recommending his father to disinherit him. Instead 
 of taking revenge, Eleazar burnt the letters in the presence 
 of their author, who was by this means converted into a true 
 friend. Delphine survived her husband many years, but after 
 his death always lived in strict seclusion. 
 
 S. Eletjthebius. See S. Denis. 
 
 S. Eligius. See S. Eloy. 
 
 S. Elisabeth, mother of S. John the Baptist. See S. John the 
 Baptist. 
 
 S. Elizabeth of Hungary, a.d. 1231, Nov. 19, was the daughter 
 of the King of Hungary, but being betrothed at four years 
 old to Louis, son of the Landgrave of Thuringia, she was 
 at once sent to that court, and brought up there. During 
 her father-in-law's lifetime she was happy, but after his death 
 the landgravine, hating her retiring disposition and devotion 
 to charity, ridiculed and ill-treated her, in which course she 
 was followed by her daughters and the whole court. Louis 
 loved her tenderly, but had not sufficient strength of character 
 to protect her. The one object of her life was the care of 
 the sick and poor ; all she had she gave away, saving up even 
 her food to have more to give. She was under the direction 
 of a priest named Conrad, a stern, harsh man, who laid the 
 severest penances on her. At the royal banquets she frequently 
 ate only a piece of bread, and she always wore sackcloth 
 beneath her robes. Once, as she was proceeding to a state 
 banquet in all her royal robes, a miserable half-naked beggar 
 appealed to her mercy for the love of God. She could not 
 then stay to minister to him, so she took off her royal mantle 
 and gave it him. Just as she was confessing to her husband 
 what she had done, her maid came in with the mantle, that she 
 had found hanging in the wardrobe. Then Elizabeth was 
 filled with awe, for she knew that it was the Lord Himself 
 who had come to prove her. Another time she found a poor 
 
ELIZABETH. 
 
 75 
 
 leprous child, deserted by every one, and she took him in her 
 arms and laid him on her own bed. The landgravine, en- 
 raged, called Louis to see, but when he came he found, instead 
 of a leper, a radiant Infant, who smiled on them and vanished. 
 She visited the poor of Eisenach daily, carrying them supplies 
 of food herself. And one day her husband met her on the way, 
 and asked what she had in her mantle. As she hesitated to 
 tell him he opened it, and found it full of red and white 
 roses. Then taking one of the roses for himself, he bade her 
 go on her way. During a terrible famine, followed by the 
 plague, she entirely supported the people, and founded 
 hospitals, nursing those herself whom no others would touch. 
 In 1226 Louis took the Cross, to the unspeakable grief of his 
 wife, and on his way died of fever, at Otranto, in Calabria. 
 His brother Henry at once seized all his possessions, and 
 turned Elizabeth out of the castle in the depth of the winter. 
 No one dared give her shelter, and at last she took refuge in 
 an inn, where she maintained herself by spinning wool. But 
 when the knights who had gone with Louis returned, they 
 were full of indignation, and dethroned Henry, making 
 Elizabeth's son Herman, landgrave. The city of Marburg 
 was bestowed on Elizabeth, and she lived there with her 
 daughters. She was accompanied by Conrad, under whom 
 her life became one course of penance. She parted from all 
 her children, fearing to love them too much ; and at last, worn 
 out with humiliation and privation, she died, at the age of 
 twenty-four. She was buried amid the sorrow of all her 
 people, and the Church of S. Elizabeth was soon built over 
 her shrine, and attracted innumerable pilgrims. 
 S. Elizabeth of Portugal, a.d. 1336, July 8, was daughter of 
 Pedro III., King of Aragon, and grand-niece of S. Elizabeth of 
 Hungary. When quite young she married Dionysius, King of 
 Portugal, who treated her with cruelty and neglect. She bore 
 all her trials with the utmost patience for forty years, always 
 
76 
 
 ELM— EL 0. 
 
 striving to reconcile the dissensions in her family, for which 
 reason she is known in Spain as S. Isabel de Paz. She did 
 much good to the sick and poor, and was a member of the 
 Third Order of S. Francis. 
 S. Elmo. See Erasmus. 
 
 S. Eloy, Eligius, or Lo, a.d. 659, Dec. 1. Patron saint of Bologna 
 and ISToyon ; also of all workers in metals, blacksmiths, farriers, 
 and horses. This saint was born of poor parents near 
 Limoges. Being apprenticed to a goldsmith in that city, he 
 soon showed snch a remarkable talent in metal work that he 
 was sent to Paris to work for Clotaire II. The King wished 
 for a golden throne set with jewels, and was anxionsto find an 
 honest as well as a skilful man to make it. Eloy undertook 
 the work, and made two thrones instead of one out of the 
 materials given him. He thus became a favourite at court, 
 and in the reign of Dagobert was made Master of the Mint. 
 The dies used for the coins were cut by him, and some bearing 
 his name still remain. So great was his holiness of life that 
 he was at length made Bishop of Noyon, and preached with 
 wonderful eloquence in many lands, going, it is said, even as 
 far as Denmark and Sweden. He never abandoned his art, 
 but now only used it to make sacred vessels for the church and 
 beautiful shrines of saints. Once some precious things that 
 he had made having been stolen from the church of S. 
 Columba, he went there, and in a loud voice commanded the 
 saint to make the thief restore them ; and she at once obeyed. 
 Often during his work S. Eloy was tormented by a demon, till 
 at last he seized him by the nose with red-hot pincers, and 
 thus discomfited him. On another occasion a horse was 
 brought to him to be shod, which, being possessed by a devil, 
 kicked so furiously that no one dare touch it. The saint cut 
 off its leg, put on the shoe, and then with the sign of the 
 cross joined the leg on again, to the great astonishment of 
 all. 
 
DLF—UTH. 
 
 77 
 
 S. Elphege. See S. Alphegb. 
 
 S. Entjrchnus, or Evurtius, a.d. 340, Sept. 7, was sent from Borne 
 to France for the redemption of captives. Here he was 
 chosen Bishop of Orleans in consequence of a dove settling on 
 his head, and ruled his diocese twenty years, doing many 
 miracles. Once, when preparing to build a Church of the Holy 
 Cross, the workmen by his direction began to dig the founda- 
 tions in a certain spot, and there found a pot containing 
 enough gold to pay for the church. 
 
 SS. Epiiesus and Potitus, fourth century, were two friends. The 
 former, an officer under Diocletian, was sent to extirpate the 
 Christians in Sardinia, but being warned by Christ in a dream, 
 not to persecute His servants, he marched against the heathen 
 instead. He received from S. Michael a standard with the 
 cross on a red ground, and was helped by him in battle. But 
 at length he was convicted of Christianity, and with S. Potitus 
 suffered martyrdom, being cast into a furnace of fire. 
 
 S. Ephrem, a.d. 378, Feb. 1, was a Syrian hermit, who, on account 
 of his theological writings, is considered one of the Fathers of 
 the Greek Church. 
 
 S. Erasmus, or Elmo, a.d. 296, June 3, was a Bishop who suffered 
 martyrdom at Formia, now Mola de Gaeta, during the perse- 
 cution of Diocletian, in a peculiarly horrible manner, his 
 bowels being unwound and coiled upon a wheel. He is 
 invoked against storms by the sailors of the Mediterranean. 
 
 S. Ercolano, a.d. 546, was Bishop of Perugia, and during its siege 
 by the Goths supported and encouraged the people in the 
 defence. When at length the city was taken by the Goths he 
 was beheaded, and his body thrown into a ditch. Here it was 
 afterwards found beside that of a little child, and they were 
 both buried together. 
 
 S. Ethelberga, 7th cent., Oct. 11, was the first abbess of the first 
 Benedictine convent in England, which she ruled with great 
 prudence and wisdom. 
 
78 
 
 ETH—ETTN. 
 
 S. Etheldkeda, a.d. 679, June 23, was a princess of East Anglia, 
 who while very young married Joubert, King of the Gervii, 
 and being left a widow in three years, married Egfrid, King of 
 Northumbria. After twelve years she withdrew from the 
 world with his consent, and entered the convent of Colding- 
 ham ; but later Egfrid repented his permission, and tried to 
 drag her from her retreat. She fled to a rock, since called S. 
 Ebb's Head, pursued by her husband, but was saved from 
 him by the tide suddenly rising and making the rock inacces- 
 sible. Egfrid therefore finally left her, and married another 
 wife. On her return, as she slept she dreamt that her staff, 
 which she had planted in the ground, blossomed into a great 
 tree. She soon after founded the cathedral and monastery of 
 Ely, on the island of that name, her own possession, of which 
 she became first abbess, receiving her pastoral staff from S. 
 Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, who had been driven by the per- 
 secution of Egfrid and his second wife to take refuge in the 
 Isle of Ely. She was succeeded in her office by her sister, 
 S. Sexberga. Four hundred years after the death of S.Ethel- 
 dreda, a man who had led an evil life repented in sickness, and 
 vowed to serve God in the monastery of Ely. On his way to 
 accomplish this he was taken for his crimes and imprisoned ; 
 but on his invokiug S. Etheldreda, she appeared in the night 
 with S. Benedict and liberated him. 
 
 S. Eugenia was a lady of Alexandria, noted for her great learning. 
 Being converted to Christianity she retired to the desert in 
 male attire, and was known as the monk Eugenius. She 
 suffered martyrdom in Eome in the reign of Sever us. 
 
 S. Eulalia, a.d. 303, Dec. 10, was a Spanish maiden, who when 
 only twelve years old flung down an idol, and defied the Bom an 
 prefect. She was therefore martyred with many tortures. At 
 the moment of her death a white dove came from her mouth, 
 and flew to heaven. 
 
 S. Eunomia. See S. Afka of Augsburg. 
 
ETTP—ETJS. 
 
 79 
 
 S. Euphemia, a.d. 307. Sept. 16, was a Greek saint, who suffered 
 martyrdom near Byzantium. After many tortures she was 
 cast into the fire, but it would not burn her ; then to wild 
 beasts, but they refused to touch her ; so at length she was 
 slain by the sword. 
 
 S. Eustace, a.d. 118, Sept. 20. The original name of this saint 
 was Placidus ; he was an officer under the Emperor Trajan, 
 and though a heathen, lived a just and upright life. Being 
 fond of the chase he was one day hunting in the forest, when 
 he was attracted by a white stag, which he pursued to a high 
 rock, and then he saw that it bore a crucifix between its 
 horns, and a Voice cried, " Placidus, I am Christ, whom thou 
 hast served without knowing Me." Placidus fell on his face 
 and exclaimed, " Lord, I believe." The Voice told him that he 
 must suffer many tribulations, but he joyfully accepted them 
 all for Christ's sake. On his return he was baptized with his 
 whole house, and he took the name of Eustace. His tribula- 
 tions soon commenced. All his possessions were stolen, and 
 his wife was carried off by pirates. Utterly destitute, he 
 wandered forth with his two children, and coming to a broad 
 stream, he swam across with one child, and left it on the bank 
 to return for the other. But when he was in the middle of the 
 stream he saw a wolf on one side and a lion on the other each 
 carry off a child, while he was helpless to prevent it. Plunged 
 in grief, he lived for fifteen years in a retired village, till the 
 Emperor having need of him, sent for him and placed him 
 at the head of his soldiers, bestowing on him many honours. 
 Meanwhile his wife had escaped, and his children were rescued 
 from the wild beasts, so once more they were all united. This 
 happiness was of short duration, for soon after, as they refused 
 to join in a public thanksgiving to the gods for victory, the 
 whole family were eu closed in a brazen bull, under which a 
 great fire was kindled, and they all suffered martyrdom 
 together. 
 
so 
 
 EWA—FEL. 
 
 SS. Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair, a.d. 700, Oct. 3, were 
 twin brothers, Saxons, who left England to preach the gospel 
 in foreign lands. They came first to Friesland, where S. 
 Ewald the Fair healed a demoniac woman ; but pressing on to 
 Westphalia, they were attacked and martyred by the bar- 
 barians ; S. Ewald the Fair being killed with a club, and S. 
 Ewald the Black slain by the sword. Their bodies were 
 thrown into a river, bat a light remained shining above the 
 spot, so they were eventually found, and buried in the Church 
 of S. Cunibert, at Cologne. 
 
 S. Fabian, a.d. 250, Jan. 20, was chosen Bishop of Rome in 
 consequence of a dove alighting on his head during the 
 time of election, and suffered martyrdom fourteen years after- 
 wards. 
 
 S. Faith, a.d. 290, Oct. 6, was a Gaulish virgin, who suffered 
 horrible tortures with unflinching constancy. She was beaten 
 with rods, then bound to a brazen grate, under which afire was 
 kindled, and she died declaring her faith in Christ. Many 
 were converted by her example, and suffered with her. 
 
 SS. F Austin o and Jo vita, a.d. 119, Feb. 15, were two brothers, 
 living at Brescia, who were converted by S. Apollonius. 
 They devoted their lives to good works, but being denounced 
 as Christians, were by the Emperor's orders thrown to the 
 wild beasts. However these refused to harm them, so they 
 were carried beyond the gates of Brescia and beheaded. 
 
 S. Felicitas and her Seven Sons, a.d. 173, Nov, 23. This saint 
 was a Roman matron of great wealth, who spent her life in 
 charity to the poor and the careful education of her sons. Her 
 holy example having drawn many to the Christian faith, she 
 was accused and broaght before the prefect. As he found it 
 impossible to induce her to sacrifice to idols, he threatened her 
 eons, thinking thus to move her. But she earnestly exhorted 
 them to die rather than yield, and therefore one by one they 
 
FEE — FEE. 
 
 81 
 
 were put to death before her eyes. Januarius, the eldest, was 
 scourged with thongs loaded with lead ; Felix and Philip were 
 beaten to death with clubs ; Sylvanus was dashed from a 
 rock ; Alexander, Vitalis, and Martial were beheaded. Their 
 mother, who had comforted and supported them to the end, 
 only prayed that she might soon follow them ; but she was kept 
 in prison four months, and then beheaded, or, according to some 
 accounts, cast into a caldron of boiling oil. 
 S. Felix, or Felice. See S. Nabob,. 
 
 S. Felix de Cantalice, a.d. 1587, May 8, was born in Umbria of 
 very poor parents. Having entered a Capuchin monastery, he 
 was afterwards sent to the Capuccini at Eome, where he was 
 appointed to beg for the daily food of the brotherhood. There 
 had never before been known such plenty as he brought in; 
 and it is related that when he was begging one stormy 
 night, a radiant child met him, who gave him a loaf of bread, 
 and blessing him vanished. S. Felix spent forty-five years 
 at the Capuccini, where his life was an example of devotion 
 and self-denial. He was the first saint of the Capuchin 
 order. 
 
 S. Felix de Yalois. See S. John de Matha. 
 
 S. Febdinand of Castile, a.d. 1152, May 30, was the son of 
 Alphonso, King of Leon, and Eeringaria of Castile. His 
 parents were separated by command of the Pope for having 
 married within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity, and 
 Eeringaria returned to Castile. On her father's death she 
 inherited the kingdom ; but resigned in favour of her son 
 Ferdinand, who, in a few years, also came into possession of the 
 crown of Leon. He was always very much under the in- 
 fluence of his mother, and she lived with him even after his 
 marriage with Joan of Ponthieu, who loved her as much as 
 Ferdinand did, and their home was a bright example of peace 
 and happiness. S. Ferdinand ruled his kingdom with wis- 
 dom and prudence, and is famed for his wars against the 
 
b2 
 
 FIL—Fm. 
 
 Moors, in which he was always victorious, S. James himself 
 appearing in one battle and righting for him, He was about 
 to pursue them into Africa when he died. He was buried in 
 the Cathedral of Seville. His only daughter, Eleanor, married 
 Edward I. of England. 
 S. Eilomena, a.d. 303, Aug. 10. In the year 1802 a tomb was 
 discovered in the catacomb of Priscilla, in Eome, containing 
 the skeleton of a young girl, and bearing rude paintings of a 
 scourge, two arrows, a javelin, an anchor, and the olive-branch, 
 and also the following fragment of an inscription : — 
 
 — LUMENA PAX TE CUM FI — 
 
 These remains were preserved for several years in the Lateran, 
 till a Neapolitan priest begged for some relics of the martyrs 
 to revive devotion among his people, and the bones thus found 
 were given to him, the inscription being filled up and trans- 
 lated so as to mean " S. Philumena rest in peace. Amen." 
 Then another priest had a vision of S. Filomena, in which it 
 was revealed to him that she suffered for the Eaith, having 
 incurred the wrath of the Emperor for refusing to become his 
 wife. A second vision was vouchsafed to a young artist, in 
 which the various torments borne by S. Eilomena were dis- 
 closed, and the Emperor's name declared to be Diocletian. As 
 it was not easy to reconcile the last statement with historical 
 fact, it was supposed that the youth meant Maximian. The 
 history of the saint being now established, her relics were 
 carried in great state, working many miracles by the way, 
 to the church of the little town of Mugnano, not far from 
 Naples. She has since become one of the most popular saints 
 in Italy. 
 
 S. Fin a, a.d. 1253, March 12. Patron saint of San Gemigniano. 
 This saint during almost her whole life suffered terribly from 
 disease, but she did not let this prevent her from devoting 
 herself to work among the sick and poor, and was uniformly 
 patient and cheerful. She was warned of her approaching 
 
FLA—FRA. 
 
 83 
 
 death by S . Gregory in a vision, and when she died all the 
 bells of San Gemigniano began to toll of their own accord. 
 While she was being carried to her burial she lifted up her 
 hand to bless her aged nurse, who was at once healed of a 
 painful illness. 
 S. Flavia. See S. Placidus. 
 
 S. Florian was born at Enns, in Lower Austria, and though a 
 Christian became a Roman soldier. Many miracles are 
 recorded of him, in particular that he once extinguished a 
 great fire with a single pitcherful of water. He finally 
 suffered martyrdom by being tied to a stone and thrown into 
 the river Enns. 
 
 S. Fbancesca Roman a, a.d. 1440, March 9, is the principal saint of 
 the order of the Olivetani. She was born in Rome, and from 
 her earliest years evinced the utmost piety and humility. 
 She was anxious to enter a convent, but her parents insisted 
 upon her marrying a rich nobleman. She continued her de- 
 votion after her marriage, but always obeyed the calls of 
 domestic duties, saying that she could "find God in her house- 
 hold affairs." One day, when she had been called away four 
 times at the same verse of the office of: the Blessed Yirgin, on 
 her final return she found the page written in letters of shin- 
 ing gold. Her charity to the poor was untiring ; she went 
 every day into the country to collect wood for them. After 
 the death of her husband, S. Francesca joined a community of 
 women, whom she had already brought together for devotion 
 to good works, and became their superior. They were under 
 the rule of S. Benedict, and took the name of Oblates. Several 
 miracles are recorded of her. Through her prayers a dead 
 child was restored to life, and the course of an epidemic 
 raging in Rome arrested. When her sisterhood was almost 
 destitute of bread she miraculously increased the supply. An 
 angel always accompanied and guarded her, who was visible to 
 none but herself. She died, to the unspeakable grief of her 
 g 2 
 
84 
 
 FRANCIS. 
 
 sisterhood and all the poor of Rome, in the house of her son, 
 where she had gone to comfort him in sorrow. 
 S. Francis of Assisi, a.d. 1226, Oct. 4. Founder of the Order of 
 Franciscans. This saint, one of the most famous in art, was 
 bom at Assisi, and baptized by the name of Giovanni. His 
 father was a rich trader in silk and wool, and gave him a 
 good education. He learnt French, and thus earned the nick- 
 name of Francesco (the Frenchman), by which he was ever 
 after known. In his youth he was fond of pleasure, and was 
 a great spendthrift, but his ready charity to all won him 
 much love among his fellow-citizens. It is said that at this 
 time a half-witted man meeting Francis in the street spread 
 his own garment on the ground for him to walk over, pro- 
 phesying that he would be honoured and revered throughout 
 the whole world. A war breaking out between Assisi and 
 Perugia, Francis took part in it, but was made prisoner, and 
 kept at Perugia a year. Soon after his return fever attacked 
 him, and the possible approach of death made him turn his 
 thoughts from this world to God. On his recovery he one 
 day met a poor man in rags who asked for alms, and Francis 
 recognized him as formerly one of the chief men of Assisi, 
 who had commanded in the war. Greatly touched by this 
 change of fortune, he took off: his handsome clothes and 
 gave them to the poor man, putting on his rags himself. 
 That night he had a vision that he saw a great number of 
 precious things and arms, all marked with the cross, and 
 Christ stood among them and said, "These are the riches 
 reserved for My servants, and the weapons wherewith I arm 
 those who fight for Me." Francis could not understand this 
 vision, but thought it meant he was to be a great warrior. 
 Not long afterwards, as he was praying before a crucifix in 
 the little ruined church of S. Damiano, near Assisi, he heard 
 a voice say, " Francis, repair My Church." He, thinking 
 only that the structure he had been praying in was meant, 
 
FRANCIS. 
 
 85 
 
 seized some of his father's goods, sold them, and gave the 
 money to the priest of S. Damiano to restore it. When his 
 father found what had been done he was so full of rage that 
 Francis, in fear, hid himself several days in a cave, and when 
 he came out was so worn and exhausted by cold and privation 
 that no one knew him. His father, thinking him mad, shut 
 him up in a little cell for days ; but his mother secretly re- 
 leased him, and he fled to the Bishop. When his father 
 pursued him, Francis tore off his clothes and threw them to 
 him, declaring that henceforth he recognized none but his 
 Father in Heaven. The Bishop wept with admiration, and 
 covered Francis with his mantle. S. Francis now began his 
 life of self-devotion ; he wore a tunic of coarse brown serge, 
 bound with a cord, and wandered about the country tending 
 the sick and lepers, and begging from the rich to give to the 
 poor. Everywhere he preached repentance, charity, and a 
 new life of good works. Gradually companions joined him, 
 and he gave them a rule of life, the first principle of which 
 was complete poverty — they must possess absolutely nothing. 
 Besides this, they were to preach to the ignorant, and give 
 all they could obtain by begging to the poor. This voluntary 
 poverty is what is meant by the marriage of S. Francis with 
 the Lady Poverty, the subject so often met with in art. He 
 went himself to Rome, hoping to obtain the Pope's sanction 
 for his Order, but was at first refused. However, the Pope 
 had a vision, in which he saw the Church of the Lateran 
 falling, but upheld by S. Francis. On waking, the Pope 
 was obedient to the vision, and granted S. Francis's request, 
 giving him full dispensation to preach. He returned at once 
 to his cell, called the Porzioncula, and gathered his companions 
 around him. Here he established his Rule, with its three vows 
 of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, and with the humility 
 which was his great characteristic, gave to his order the name 
 of Frati Minori. His burning desire for the conversion of 
 
SG 
 
 FRANCIS. 
 
 sinners stretched beyond his own country merely, and he 
 determined to preach to the Mohammedans, hoping he might 
 receive the crown of martyrdom at their hands. He set sail, 
 bnt was driven back by storms ; then attempting to reach 
 Morocco through Spain, was stopped by illness, yet he would 
 not give up his project, and eventually did reach Damietta. 
 He presented himself before the Soldan, and, to prove the 
 truth of his mission, offered to pass through the fire, if one 
 of the Imauns would do the same. But the Soldan, thinking 
 him mad, or deficient in mental power, sent him back guarded, 
 without allowing him to preach, but treated him with respect. 
 It was a bitter disappointment to Francis not to have con- 
 verted one soul to the truth, or won the crown of martyrdom 
 himself. Shortly before this he had held the first General 
 Chapter of his Order, at which 5000 friars were present, and a 
 few years after, having obtained the final confirmation of 
 Pope Honorius III. for his Order, he retired from the office of 
 superior, and lived alone in a cave on Monte Alverna. He 
 was sustained in his fastings and self-mortification by many 
 visions of the Blessed Yirgin, who placed her Infant Son in 
 his arms ; and some of the brethren discovering him during 
 one of these trances, beheld him lifted off the earth. Another 
 time, when he was praying apart at midnight, they beheld a 
 fiery chariot, bearing a globe of light, drive thrice round the 
 place where they were ; and this they recognized as the spirit 
 of S. Francis, absent from his body, but present with them. 
 In his visions S. Francis was once shown the thrones in 
 heaven prepared for himself and his brethren. Terrible 
 temptations attacked him in his solitude with recollections of 
 ease and luxury, but he rushed out, and rolled in a thicket of 
 thorns, which ever after bore roses, but never again thorns. 
 At one time, when the city of Arezzo was torn with factions 
 and dissensions, S. Francis beheld demons dancing over the 
 walls. Therefore he sent Silvester, his companion, to com- 
 
FRANCIS. 
 
 87 
 
 mand them to depart in the name of God, which they did 
 at once, and the strife in Arezzo was healed. As he was 
 travelling over the mountains, on one of his missions of 
 preaching, he and his companions nearly died of thirst. But 
 at the prayers of the saint a stream broke from a neigh- 
 bouring rock, at which they were all refreshed. He neglected 
 none in his preaching, and once, coming upon a great multi- 
 tude of birds, he stopped and preached to them. They all 
 waited, and listened in silence, and did not disperse till S. 
 Francis had given them his blessing, Once, when at dinner 
 with a pious young noble, the Count of Celano, it was re- 
 vealed to him that the life of his host was drawing to an end. 
 He told the count, who confessed, and set his house in order, 
 and then sat down to dinner ; but before the end he fell down 
 dead. When preaching to the poor and ignorant S. Francis 
 frequently showed them a representation of the birth of our 
 Lord, to imprint firmly on their minds the great truth of the 
 Incarnation, and it was over this Presepio that the first 
 Christmas carols were sung. When in Eome he was called 
 upon to preach also before the Pope and the Cardinals. Once, 
 when S. Antony of Padua was speaking at a General Chapter 
 of the Order, S. Francis, then at Assisi, suddenly appeared in 
 the midst of his brethren, his arms stretched out in the form 
 of a cross. He often returned to his cell in Monte Alverna, 
 and there, after forty days' fasting, he had a wondrous vision 
 of a seraph with six wings, bearing between them the form of 
 a man crucified. When he awoke from the contemplation of 
 it, he found that in his hands, feet, and side, he carried the 
 marks of the wounds of Christ. The last two years of his 
 life he suffered much pain, becoming very weak, and almost 
 blind from incessant tears, and longed for death, looking for- 
 ward to it with the utmost joy. When he felt it near, he 
 desired to be laid on the earth, and so died, surrounded by 
 his brethren. At the same moment a dying friar beheld the 
 
88 
 
 FRANCIS. 
 
 departure of S. Francis' spirit, and springing up, he cried, 
 "Tarry, father! I come with thee," and then fell back dead. 
 All the people of Assisi came to behold S. Francis for the last 
 time, laid upon the bier. One of them refused at first to 
 believe in the stigmata, but having actually touched the 
 marks, he was convinced. S. Francis was carried to his 
 grave amid much grief and lamentation, particularly of S. 
 Clara and her sisterhood ; and was buried by his own desire 
 in a place where malefactors were executed and interred. 
 Two years after, the great double Church of S. Francesco rose 
 in his honour, and his body was removed there, where it still 
 remains. The Pope Gregory IX. was not at first ready to 
 canonize S. Francis ; but one night the saint appeared to him 
 in a vision, and showed him plainly the stigmata, after which 
 the Pope hesitated no longer. Several miracles are recorded 
 of S. Francis after his death. A man who invoked him when 
 almost slain by robbers was healed. Through his intercession 
 the soul of a woman who had died unabsolved was allowed to 
 return to her body, that she might confess and receive absolu- 
 tion. He appeared to prove the innocence of a Bishop falsely 
 accused of heresy, who had invoked him ; and again to liberate 
 a poor man cast into prison for debt, who had vainly begged 
 for pity in his name. Finally, when a child of the Spini 
 family fell from a window of their palace in Florence, and 
 was killed, S. Francis appeared, at the prayers of the parents, 
 as the body was being carried to burial, and restored it to life. 
 S. Francis Borgia, a.d. 1572, Oct. II, was a Spanish noble, Here- 
 ditary Duke of Gandia. His early life was spent at court ; 
 he was both a statesman and a soldier. But his melancholy 
 nature, combined with his intense religious fervour, was so 
 wrought upon by the death of his great friend Garcilasso de 
 la Yiga, the poet, and above all by the death and funeral of 
 Isabella, the wife of Charles V., that he took a solemn oath to 
 serve none henceforward but the everlasting God. He could 
 
FRANCIS. 
 
 89 
 
 not immediately retire from the world, for his duties as Viceroy 
 of Catalonia called him, and he had a devoted wife and several 
 children. Therefore he set himself to the best possible per- 
 formance of those duties, and encouraged civilization and 
 education in his province. While considering the latter sub- 
 ject he first became acquainted with the Society of Jesuits ; 
 and on the death of his wife, which freed him from all earthly 
 ties, he solemnly renounced the world, and going to Rome 
 offered himself to S. Ignatius Loyola. By him he was sent 
 back to Spain to preach. For seven years S. Francis occupied 
 the position of General of the Society of Jesus, and spent much 
 time and thought in the arrangement of the great scheme of 
 education originated by Ignatius. He died worn out by his 
 labours and anxieties, and was buried in the Gesu at Rome, 
 whence his body was afterwards transported to Madrid, where 
 it now remains. 
 
 S. Francis de Paule, a.d. 1508, April, 2, founder of the Minimes, 
 a reformed Order of Franciscans, was born in Calabria, of poor 
 parents. At the age of fifteen, after having made a pilgrimage 
 to the shrine of S. Francis of Assisi, he became a hermit, tak- 
 ing up his solitary abode in a cave near Reggie In course of 
 time others gathered round him, and he formed them into an 
 Order, giving them the rule of S. Francis, with increased severi- 
 ties, and they took the name of Minimes, as being the least of 
 all in the Church of God. Once when he wished to cross to 
 Messina on a mission of preaching, and the sailors declared it 
 impossible, he laid his cloak on the sea, and accompanied by 
 two brethren embarked in it, and was thus safely borne across 
 the strait. The fame of his miracles and saintliness at length 
 reached the dying Louis XL of France, who sent for him. 
 Francis, knowing it was only with the desire of a miraculous 
 cure, at first refused to go ; but receiving a command from the 
 Pope to accede to the King's request, was obliged to obey. He 
 was received at Plessis les Tours with every honour, and Louis 
 
90 
 
 FRANCIS. 
 
 himself fell at his feet and implored him to prolong his life. 
 The saint replied that life and death were in the hands of God 
 only, and exhorted him to repent, and submit to the Will of 
 God. Louis died soon after, but at the desire of Charles VIII. 
 Francis still remained in France, where he had much influence 
 at conrt. Some courtiers ridiculed him, calling him " Le Bon- 
 homme ;" and the nickname remained to him, but was taken 
 up by the people in a different sense, and his Order became 
 known and loved as Les Bons-hommes. S. Francis died, and 
 was buried at Plessis, the last offices to the dead being per- 
 formed by Louise d'Angouleme, mother of Francis I. The 
 Huguenots tore his body from the grave in 1562, and burnt it 
 on the wood of a large crucifix, which event greatly added to 
 his popularity. 
 
 S. Francis de Sales, a.d. 1622, Jan. 29. Joint founder, with 
 S. Jeanne de Chantal, of the Order of Visitation of S.Mary. 
 He was of a noble Savoyard family, and became Bishop of 
 Geneva in 1602. His tolerance and gentleness to sinners were 
 so great as often to incur censure. He is chiefly celebrated 
 for his earnest preaching against heresy, and his devotional 
 writings, of which the most famous is " The Introduction to 
 the Devout Life." 
 
 S. Francis Xavier, a.d. 1552, Dec. 3. Patron saint and apostle 
 of India. He was of a noble family in the South of France, 
 and having gone to Paris for his education he there became 
 the friend of Ignatius Loyola. By him he was sent as a mis- 
 sionary to India, and on the way his earnest preaching entirely 
 converted the crew, who had hitherto lived careless and evil 
 lives. It is said that during this journey he once dropped his 
 crucifix into the sea, but a lobster restored it to him, holding it 
 out of the water in its claws. From India he travelled to 
 Japan, working indefatigably, and happy amid the severest 
 hardships. Many miracles are said to have been worked by 
 him — the sick and blind restored, the dead raised, and idols 
 
FEE— GEN. 
 
 91 
 
 caused to fall to the ground before him. Francis died on his 
 way to China, being put ashore, while very ill, by the sailors of 
 the vessel he was in, and left to perish from exposure on the 
 sands. His body was afterwards removed from the grave on 
 the beach, where it was first laid, to a great church at Goa 
 built in his honour. 
 S, Frediano, a.d. 560. Patron saint of Lucca. He was a native 
 of Ireland, but came on a mission to Italy, and became Bishop 
 of Lucca. When the river Serchio overflowed its banks, 
 threatening the town with destruction, S. Frediano drew a 
 harrow along the ground, and the river followed it. Thus he 
 turned its course, and Lucca was saved. 
 
 S. Gabriel is the second of the Archangels. He is mentioned 
 twice in the Book of Daniel, and always appears as the Mes- 
 senger of God. In the New Testament he foretells to Zachariah 
 the birth of S. John the Baptist ; and, his highest mission of all, 
 he announces to the Blessed Virgin the birth of Christ. And 
 it is thus that he is always best known as the Angel of the 
 Annunciation. 
 
 S. Gaudenzio, a.d. 359, Oct. 14. Bishop and patron saint ot 
 Rimini. He suffered martyrdom from the Arians, by whom 
 he was scourged and stoned to death. 
 
 S. Gaudenzio. Patron saint of Novara, was Bishop of that 
 city, 
 
 S. Geminianus, a.d. 450. Patron of Modena ; was bishop of that 
 city, and was so famed for his miraculous power that the 
 emperor sent for him to Constantinople to cure his daughter, 
 who was possessed by a demon. S. Geminianus also saved 
 Modena, during his lifetime from destruction by the Huns, and 
 after his death from inundation. 
 
 S. Genevieve of Brabant was the wife of a count, who, deceived by 
 the false accusations of his steward, condemned her to death. 
 His orders were not executed, and she was only left alone in 
 
92 
 
 GENEVIEVE. 
 
 the forest, where she gave birth to a child, which was tended 
 by a white doe. Finally she was discovered by her husband 
 when hunting, and having established her innocence was once 
 more united to him, while the steward was punished with 
 death. 
 
 S. Genevieve of Paris, a.d. 509, Jan. 3, was a peasant, born near 
 Paris, and was occupied as a child in keeping sheep. She 
 was always of a quiet and pious disposition, and once when 
 S. Germain, Bishop of Auxerre, saw her he was inspired with 
 a foreknowledge of her future greatness, and, finding she 
 earnestly desired it, solemnly dedicated her to the service of 
 God. Prom her earliest childhood miracles were wrought by 
 her means. Her mother having struck her, became blind 
 for nearly two years, but was at length restored by bathing 
 her e}'es in water over which Genevieve had made the sign of 
 the cross. On the death of her parents she lived with a relative 
 in Paris, and soon became famed for her sanctity. Yet she 
 suffered greatly from the torments of demons, who constantly 
 blew out the candles she had lighted for the sacred offices, but 
 her prayers and faith always relit them. On another occasion, 
 when she was making a pilgrimage to the shrine of S. Denis 
 in company with several others, their candles were all blown 
 out in a storm. But Genevieve lifted up hers, and it was at 
 once relighted. After some years, when Paris was threatened 
 by Attila, King of the Huns, Genevieve exhorted the terrified 
 people to remain at their posts, declaring that heaven would 
 protect them. And truly the enemy retired without ap- 
 proaching Paris. This increased the devotion of the people 
 to her, and when a terrible plague, the "mal ardent," broke 
 out she again rescued them, and obtained its cessation by her 
 prayers. Once more, when Paris was besieged by Childeric, 
 S. Genevieve did her utmost to alleviate the suffering from 
 famine. She managed boats that went up the Seine for pro- 
 visions, and protected them from storm by her prayers. But 
 
GEOBGE. 
 
 93 
 
 the town was finally taken, and then Genevieve exerted her 
 influence over the conqueror, and obtained pardon for her 
 people from him. Clovis, his son, also greatly respected 
 S. Genevieve, and through her the first Christian church was 
 built in Paris and heathenism finally destroyed. 
 S. George, a.d. 303, April 23. Patron saint of England, Germany, 
 Venice, soldiers, and armourers. He was born in Cappadocia, 
 of noble parents, and served in the Roman army. At length, 
 one day he arrived at a town — according to some accounts 
 in Libya, according to others in Syria — whose inhabitants 
 were being destroyed by a most terrible dragon. They had 
 given him all their flocks and herds, and now had daily to 
 sacrifice two of their children, taken by lot from all those 
 under fifteen. The day that S. George approached this town 
 the lot had fallen upon the King's daughter, and she was being 
 led forth to her fate amid wailing and lamentation. But the 
 saint having heard the cause of all this grief, declared he 
 would deliver her. As soon as the dragon appeared, S. George 
 attacked him, and after a fierce struggle was finally victorious, 
 fastening him to the earth with his lance. He then led his 
 conquered enemy into the city, and agreed to kill him, on the 
 condition that the people should believe in the God through 
 whose power he wrought the deed. The King and all his 
 people, to the number of 20,000, were at once converted, and 
 were baptized in one day. Then S. George cut off the dragon's 
 head, and the King loaded him with rewards, but he gave them 
 all to the poor and went on to Palestine. Here he beheld the 
 edict of Diocletian against the Christians put up on the 
 gates of the temples, and boldly tore it clown and trampled it 
 under foot. He was at once taken, and cruelly tortured for 
 eight days. Being quite immovable he was given a strong 
 poison to drink ; but having made the sign of the cross over it, 
 he drank it unharmed, and the magician who had composed 
 it was so struck by the miracle that he was straightway con- 
 
94 
 
 GER. 
 
 verted to Christianity. S. George was then bound to a wheel 
 made of knives, but it was broken by angels ; therefore they 
 cast him into a caldron of boiling lead, and thinking him now 
 subdued, brought him before an idol to sacrifice. Crowds 
 assembled to behold the act, but S. George prayed to God, 
 and a great storm of thunder and lightning suddenly arose 
 and utterly destroyed the idol's temple, numbers of the people 
 being crushed under its ruins. Finally S. George was be- 
 headed, and thus received the crown of martyrdom. 
 
 S. Gekeon, a.d. 286, Oct. 10, was one of the commanders of the 
 Theban Legion (see S. Maurice), who after the martyrdom of 
 S. Maurice, with the greater part of the legion, led the re- 
 mainder of the force to Cologne, where, having refused to 
 sacrifice to idols, they all suffered martyrdom together. 
 
 SS. Gervasius and Protasius, a.d. 69, June 19, were twin brothers, 
 who suffered martyrdom at Milan at the same time as SS. 
 Nazarus and Celsus, S. Gervasius being beaten to death with 
 loaded scourges, and S. Protasius beheaded. Their bodies 
 had been buried by one of the Christians in his garden, and 
 the site, having been forgotten, the Church of SS. Nabor and 
 Felix had been built over it. Here, 300 years later, S. Ambrose 
 was praying, being at that time filled with the desire to obtain 
 some relics for a new church he had just built, when he had 
 a vision of SS. Peter and Paul, leading two young men 
 clothed in white, and he was told they were the martyrs 
 Gervasius and Protasius, and that their bodies reposed beneath 
 the church. Search having been made, two gigantic bodies 
 were found, with the heads severed, and in the tomb a writing 
 revealing their history. These relics were carried in grand 
 procession, healing all who touched them, to the new church, 
 which was dedicated in the names of SS. Gervasius and 
 Protasius. But later S. Ambrose himself was buried there, 
 and it thenceforward took his name, and is still famous as 
 S. Ambrogio Maggiore. 
 
GIL— G BE. 
 
 95 
 
 S. Giles, or Egidius, a.d. 725, Sept. 1, patron saint of Edinburgh, 
 and of woods, cripples, lepers, and beggars, was an Athenian 
 prince, revered for his miraculous gifts. Having healed a sick 
 man whom he found in a church, by laying his cloak over 
 him, and fearing danger to his soul from the fame which this 
 event obtained him, he withdrew to a solitary cave not far 
 from Nimes, in France, where he lived as a hermit, nourished 
 only by wild herbs, and the milk of a doe which had followed 
 him. One day the King of France, hunting near this retreat, 
 shot the doe, and, pursuing it, came upon the aged hermit 
 holding in his arms the doe, which was pierced by the arrow 
 through his hand. The King, seeing he was a man of God, 
 begged forgiveness, and wished to persuade S. Giles to return 
 with him ; but he refused to quit his solitude, and remained in 
 the cave till his death. The spot became so sacred through 
 his memory that a church and monastery were built there in 
 his honour, and a large town, which rose around them, was 
 called by his name. 
 
 S. Grata, a.d. 300, Sept. 4, was the daughter of S. Lupo, Duke of 
 Bergamo and S. Adelaide, both of whom she converted to the 
 faith. When S. Alexander, one of the Theban Legion (see 
 S. Maurice), suffered martyrdom, she herself wrapped the head 
 in fine linen, and reverently buried his body. On the death 
 of her father, S. Grata succeeded him, and governed her people 
 well, setting them an example of good works. She built 
 churches and hospitals, and did all in her power to further 
 the spread of Christianity. She died at length in peace and 
 prosperity. 
 
 S. Gregory the Great, a.d. 604, March 12. One of the Foui 
 Latin Fathers of the Church. Born in Koine, and carefully 
 educated by his mother, he first entered the profession of the 
 law; but being strongly drawn to a religious life, he turned his 
 house on the Coelian hill, into a monastery and hospital, and 
 lived in a cell there as Benedictine monk, spending his life 
 
96 GEE GOBY. 
 
 in study. When a great plague broke out in Eome he was 
 indefatigable in nursing the sick, and, just as it ceased, he 
 beheld the Archangel Michael, standing on the Mole of 
 Hadrian, sheath his sword. On the death of Pope Pelagius, 
 Gregory was universally called to fill his place ; but he feared 
 to be unworthy of so high an office, and fled. He was sought 
 at once, his pursuers being guided by a light to the place 
 where he was, and he was then obliged to accept the Popedom. 
 Having accepted it, he fully justified the choice of the people; 
 humble himself, and the first Pope who took the title of 
 " Servant of the servants of God," he yet used his power to 
 the utmost good, endeavouring to abolish slavery in all Chris- 
 tian lands, and to extend the kingdom of Christ. It was he 
 who sent S. Augustine as missionary to England. The celi- 
 bacy of the clergy was instituted by him, and he gave form to 
 the doctrine of purgatory, making it an article of faith. He 
 rearranged the Liturgy, and introduced the style of chanting 
 still called Gregorian. It is told of him, as of many other 
 saints, that a dove could be seen on his shoulder, prompting 
 him when writing. His charities were endless, and it is said 
 that when only a monk he gave away to a beggar his last 
 possession, a silver bowl given him by his mother. Years 
 afterwards, when he became Pope, he daily entertained twelve 
 poor men at his own table ; but one night he beheld thirteen. 
 His steward, when asked, could only count twelve, and there- 
 fore Gregory addressed the thirteenth, inquiring who he was. 
 " I am the beggar," was the reply, " whom thou didst relieve ; 
 but My Name is Wonderful, and through Me thou shalt 
 obtain whatever thou shalt ask of God." Then he knew that 
 he had entertained an angel, or possibly Christ Himself. 
 Several other legends are related of him ; for instance, a man 
 who doubted the Eeal Presence of Christ in the Blessed 
 Sacrament came near while S. Gregory was celebrating, and 
 beheld Christ crucified descend upon the altar, surrounded by 
 
GREGORY. 
 
 97 
 
 the instruments of His Passion. Again, the Empress Con- 
 stantia begged S. Gregory for some relics of SS. Peter and 
 Paul ; but he refused, saying he dared not disturb them, and 
 sent her instead part of the cloth in which the body of S. John 
 the Evangelist had been wrapped. This, however, the Em- 
 press rejected with disdain ; and S. Gregory, to show the value 
 of such things to the faithful believer, laid the cloth 
 (Brandeum) on the altar, and cut it with a knife, when blood 
 instantly flowed from it. The care of S. Gregory for the 
 souls of all men is well shown in the following story related 
 of him. When thinking of the character and many good 
 deeds of the Emperor Trajan he grieved that such a soul 
 should be lost for ever. He particularly remembered the 
 bright example of justice shown by Trajan when a poor widow 
 complained to him that his son had slain her only one. The 
 Emperor, though hurrying to war when appealed to, stopped 
 at the widow's call, judged the case, and gave her a large sum 
 of money, at the same time delivering up his own son to her. 
 Meditating on this, Gregory entered a church, and prayed 
 earnestly for the soul of the good Emperor. While praying, 
 he heard a voice, which told him that in answer to his prayer 
 the soul of Trajan was released ; but, as he had prayed for one 
 condemned by the justice of God, he must choose either two 
 days in purgatory, or sickness and suffering the rest of his 
 life on earth. S. Gregory chose the latter, and never again 
 enjoyed good health. Another legend relates, that a monk 
 whom S. Gregory had excommunicated, for violating his vow 
 of poverty and hoarding money, died without absolution. 
 The saint, horror-struck, wrote out the form of absolution, 
 and bade a deacon read it over the grave of the monk, who 
 after this appeared to S. Gregory, and assured him of his 
 deliverance from punishment. 
 S. Gregory Nazianzen, a.d. 390, May 9. One of the Four Greek 
 Fathers of the Church. Born of a saintly family, (his father, 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 GUD—HUL. 
 
 S. Gregory "Bishop of Nazianzus, and his mother and two 
 sisters being canonized,) he very early in life dedicated him- 
 self to God, in consequence of a vision in which Chastity and 
 Temperance appeared to him as heavenly virgins, and called 
 him to join them in Paradise. At Athens, where he was sent 
 to study, he formed a friendship with S. Basil and Julian, 
 afterwards the Apostate. Having succeeded his father in the 
 see of E^azianzus, he exerted himself earnestly in controversy 
 with the Arians at Constantinople. The Emperor Theodosius 
 made him bishop of that city ; but its dissensions and contro- 
 versies so distressed him, that at length he could bear them no 
 longer, and, resigning office, he retired to a small estate of his 
 own. Here, in peace and quiet, he composed his beautiful 
 Greek hymns ; and here he died, broken down by his humilia- 
 tions and austerities. 
 Gu alberto. See S. John Gtjalberto. 
 
 S. Gudtjla, a.d. 712, Jan. 8, patron saint of Brussels, was born 
 of noble parents, and her mother, herself a saint, early dedi- 
 cated her to the service of God. She is chiefly remarkable for 
 the persistence with which she performed her devotions, not- 
 withstanding all the opposition of the Evil One, who constantly 
 blew out the lantern with which she found her way to church, 
 while the prayers of the saint always relighted it. 
 
 S. Guthlac, a.d. 714, April 11, was the leader of a band of robbers, 
 who being converted, withdrew first to the monastery of 
 Eepton, and then to a desolate marsh, where, in his solitude, 
 he was much tormented by demons ; but with the aid of his 
 patron S. Bartholomew he overcame them all. A great church 
 and monastery, dedicated to S. Bartholomew, were built on 
 the site of S. Guthlac's hermitage, and became famous as 
 Croyland Abbey. 
 
 S. Helena, a.d. 328, Aug. 18, is generally considered to have been 
 a British princess, the daughter of King Coilus, and was bom 
 
HE NET, 
 
 99 
 
 either at York or Colchester. By her marriage with Constantius 
 Chlorus she became the mother of Coustantine. She is 
 famous as the discoverer of the True Cross. For this legend, 
 see Cross. 
 
 S. Henry of Bavaria, a.d. 1024, July 14, was Emperor of Germany 
 and married S. Cunegunda, daughter of the Count of Luxem- 
 burg. He and his wife were both noted for the number of 
 churches and religious houses they built, devoting all they 
 possessed to this object. Henry undertook a war with the 
 heathen Slavonic nations, hoping for their conversion, and 
 having put himself under the especial protection of SS. 
 Adrian, George, and Laurence, and armed himself with the 
 sword of S. Adrian, these three saints enabled him to defeat 
 his enemies, and were often seen fighting for him in battle. 
 He also attacked the Saracens in Apulia, and finally drove 
 them away. Yet, after all, he grew weary of the cares and 
 anxieties of a throne, and desired to enter the monastery of 
 Yerdun. The prior to whom he applied told him the first 
 vow required was obedience, and on Henry declaring he was 
 ready and willing to obey, the prior commanded him to 
 retain his place as Emperor, saying that he would best prac- 
 tise obedience by remaining where God had placed him. 
 Henry therefore retained his honours till his death. The 
 following legend is related touching the fate of his soul. A 
 hermit was disturbed in his solitary cell by a company of 
 demons rushing past, and he called to them, inquiring where 
 they went. They replied that the Emperor Henry was on the 
 point of death, and they were hastening to seize his soul. 
 The hermit then desired them on their return to tell him how 
 they had succeeded. That night Henry died, and his deeds 
 were weighed in the balance by the Archangel Michael. The 
 scale of evil deeds was far the heavier, and the demons were 
 overjoyed ; but just then S. Laurence appeared, and cast into 
 the other scale a golden cup presented by the Emperor to his 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 church. This at once so weighed down the scale of good deeds 
 that the demons fled in despair ; one of them, however, in 
 revenge broke off: a handle of the cup, which he showed to the 
 hermit as he told him the tale. Thus not only was the soul 
 of the Emperor Henry saved, but he was made a canonized 
 saint of the Church. 
 S. Herman-Joseph, a.d. 1236, April 7, was born at Cologne, of very 
 poor parents. Once, while praying before an image of the 
 Blessed Virgin, he longed to make her an offering, and having 
 nothing but an apple, which was all he had for his dinner, he 
 offered that to her in trustful love. This was so pleasing to 
 her, that she took the apple and gave it to the Infant Christ 
 in her arms, and both smiled upon Herman. Herman after- 
 wards entered the Order of the Premonstratesians, and the 
 Blessed Yirgin favoured him with many visions, in one of 
 which she put a ring on his finger and called him her espoused, 
 and in consequence of this he received the second name of 
 Joseph. 
 
 S. Hermengild, a.d. 586, April 13, was the son of Leovigild, 
 King of the Visigoths, and suffered martyrdom at the hands 
 of his own father for abandoning the Arian heresy to em- 
 brace the Catholic faith. 
 
 S. Hilarion. See S. Donato of Arezzo. 
 
 S. Hilary, a.d. 363, Jan. 13, patron saint of Parma, was bishop of 
 Poitiers, but came to Lombardy to preach against the Arians, 
 and hence is much reverenced in Italy. His relics are de- 
 posited in the cathedral of Parma. 
 
 S. Hilda, a.d. 680, Nov. 17, was Abbess of Whitby, having under 
 her rule monks as well as nuns. She governed her monastery 
 so well that its members became famous, six of them being 
 elected bishops ; and kings and great men often came to her 
 for advice. She was strongly opposed to the jurisdiction of 
 the Pope in England, but in a Council at which she presided 
 she was overruled, and obliged to yield. She died beloved and 
 
HIP— HUG. 
 
 101 
 
 venerated by her people, after a life spent, despite many 
 infirmities and sufferings, in good works. At the moment of 
 her death one of her nuns, though at a distance, beheld her 
 spirit borne to Paradise by angels. This nun became after- 
 wards known as S. Bees. 
 
 S. Hippolytus, a.d. 258, Aug. 13, patron saint of horses, was the 
 gaoler of S. Laurence, but was converted to the Christian faith, 
 together with all his family, by the teaching and example of 
 the saint. After the martyrdom of S. Laurence on the gridiron, 
 Hippolytus reverently buried the remains, and in consequence 
 suffered martyrdom with all his house, his family being 
 first beheaded, and then he himself bound to the tails of wild 
 horses, and dashed to pieces. 
 
 S. Hubert of Liege, a.d. 727, Nov. 3, patron saint of the chase 
 and dogs, was a nobleman of Aquitaine, who at the court of 
 Pepin d'Heristal gave himself up to all worldly pleasures, 
 especially the chase. One day in Holy Week he went to hunt 
 in the forest of Ardennes, and there he met a pure white stag 
 bearing a crucifix between its horns. Struck with awe and 
 wonder, he awoke to a sense of the sinfulness of his former 
 life, and renouncing the world entirely lived a hermit in the 
 forest of Ardennes. After some years of study and instruc- 
 tion under S. Lambert he was ordained priest, and finally 
 became Bishop of Liege. 
 
 S. Hugh of Grenoble, a.d. 1132, April 1. When S. Bruno first 
 retired from the world with his six companions, S. Hugh, 
 then Bishop of Grenoble, had a vision of seven stars resting 
 over a certain spot of ground in his diocese, which induced 
 him to give the land to S. Bruno, and on it was built the 
 " Grande Chartreuse." S. Hugh often left the honours of his 
 high office to live for a time as a simple monk in the Carthu- 
 sian convent. Once, when he arrived there, he found the 
 monks assembled in the refectory, but unable to partake of a 
 meal, for they were on no occasion allowed to eat flesh, and 
 
102 
 
 IIUG—IITA. 
 
 fowls were the only food to be had. S. Hugh by the sign of 
 the cross changed the fowls into tortoises. At the end of his 
 life he was greatly troubled with doubts and questionings 
 touching God's providence in allowing evil in the world, but 
 knowing them to be suggested by the devil he struggled 
 earnestly against them, and though subjected to this 
 trial for the rest of his life, his faith in God was never 
 weakened. 
 
 S. Hugh of Lincoln, a.d. 1126, Nov. 17, was a Carthusian monk, 
 sent to England by Pope Urban III. Becoming Bishop of 
 Lincoln, he rebuilt the cathedral which had been destroyed by 
 an earthquake ; and it remains to this day, though his shrine 
 was melted down and carried away at the Reformation. 
 
 S. Hugh of Lincoln, the martyr, a.d. 1255, July 27, was a child 
 crucified by the Jews, in ridicule of Christ, and in revenge 
 for the ill-treatment they received from the English. 
 
 S. Humility, or Umilta, a.d. 1310, foundress of the Order of 
 Yallombrosan nuns. Her real name was Rosana, and early in 
 life she dedicated herself to the service of God, but was forced 
 by her family to marry Ugoletto Caccianemici of Faenza. 
 However, she persuaded her husband that it was better they 
 should lead separate lives, and induced him also to retire 
 from the world. 
 
 S. Hyacinth, a.d. 1257, Aug. 15, was a Pole of noble family, early 
 noted for his piety and talent. When at Rome, in the train of 
 his uncle Ivo, Bishop of Cracow, he met S. Dominic, and was 
 greatly struck by his preaching. Finding that the saint was 
 obliged to refuse the request of Ivo to send missionaries to 
 Russia, as all the brethren were occupied, S. Hyacinth de- 
 clared his readiness to go. He entered the Order of S. 
 Dominic, and thenceforth devoted his life to preaching to the 
 wild and savage people of Russia and Sclavonia, even pene- 
 trating as far as Scandinavia and Denmark. Many religious 
 houses were founded by him, and it is told of him that when one 
 
IGNATIUS. 
 
 103 
 
 of them at Kiov, in Russia was attacked by hordes of Tartars, 
 he fled, carrying with him the Pyx and the image of the Yirgin 
 from the church, lest they should be desecrated by the pagans. 
 Stopped in his flight by the river Dnieper, he courted death by 
 plunging into the stream rather than submit the holy things 
 to profanation, but was miraculously enabled to walk over 
 the surface of the water. He also raised a drowned boy to 
 life, and cured the deadly bite of a scorpion. After forty 
 years' untiring labour he died, worn out, in the monastery he 
 had founded at Cracow. 
 
 S. Ignatius of Antioch, a.d. 107, Feb. 1. This saint is always 
 considered to have been the little child whom Jesus " set in 
 the midst," and said " of such is the kingdom of heaven." He 
 was, together with his friend S. Polycarp, a disciple of S. John 
 the Evangelist, and afterwards became Bishop of Antioch. It 
 is said that he was permitted to hear the angels sing, and that 
 it was in imitation of the heavenly choir that he introduced 
 antiphonal singing in churches. When Trajan came to 
 Antioch S. Ignatius was brought before him for refusing to 
 sacrifice to idols, and remaining obstinate, was taken to Rome, 
 where he was torn in pieces by lions in the amphitheatre. 
 His remains were collected by the Christians, and carried to 
 Antioch, but later some were brought back and laid up in the 
 Church of S. Clemente. 
 
 S. Ignatius Loyola, a.d. 1556, July 31, the founder of the Society 
 of Jesuits, was of a noble Spanish family, and spent the early 
 years of his life amid the pleasures of the court and the army. 
 Bat a long illness, caused by a wound received in war, wrought 
 a change in his mind, and he resolved henceforth to fight only 
 against the spiritual foes of God. On his recovery he laid 
 up his arms before an altar of the Blessed Yirgin, and retired 
 to Mauresa, where he spent his life in the severest possible 
 penance, but underwent such torment from doubt that he 
 
104 
 
 ILD—ISA. 
 
 became nearly mad. He was comforted and sustained by 
 heavenly visions ; and having spent fonr years in theological 
 study to qualify himself for teaching, he went to Paris. Here 
 he met S. Francis Xavier and others, who, together with him- 
 self, formed a community, and, in consequence of a vision 
 vouchsafed to Ignatius in which he beheld an angel bearing 
 a tablet, with the inscription " In hoc vocabitur tibi nomen," 
 adopted the name of the Society of Jesus. Their three 
 principal objects were preaching, the guidance of souls, and 
 the education of the young, and they imposed upon themselves 
 a vow of unconditional obedience to the Pope. S. Ignatius 
 had some difficulty in obtaining the confirmation of the Pope 
 for his Order ; but it was finally instituted, and he became its 
 first General. Many miracles of healing the sick and casting 
 out devils are related of him. 
 
 S. Ildefonso, or Alphonso, a.d. 667, Jan. 23, was one of the first 
 members of the Benedictine Order in Spain, and became Arch- 
 bishop of Toledo. He wrote a book to prove the perpetual 
 virginity of the Blessed Virgin, and afterwards had two visions 
 to assure him that she regarded it with favour. Once at mid- 
 night, when he entered his cathedral, he beheld the Blessed 
 Yirgin seated on his own episcopal chair, surrounded by choirs 
 of angels, while a dazzling light filled the church. She called 
 Ildefonso, saying he was a true and faithful servant, and gave 
 him a wondrous chasuble, which the angels arranged on his 
 shoulders. At another time S. Leocadia rose from her tomb 
 and appeared to him, telling him that his book had received the 
 approval of Heaven ; and before she disappeared he cut off a 
 corner of her veil or Spanish mantilla, which was long preserved 
 as a relic in the cathedral of Toledo. 
 
 S. Isabella of France, a.d. 1270, Aug. 31, was the sister of S. 
 Louis, and expended her whole dowry in founding the great 
 convent of Longchamps, a community of Poor Clares dedicated 
 to the humility of the Blessed Yirgin. 
 
181— JAM. 
 
 105 
 
 S. Isidore of Seville, a.d. 606, April 4, succeeded his brother 
 S. Leander as Bishop of Seville, arid like him was noted as the 
 determined enemy of the Arians. He died on the steps of the 
 altar, after having given all his possessions to the poor. 
 
 S. Isidore the Ploughman, a.d. 1170, May 10, was a poor ignorant 
 labourer, whose cruel master would not allow him time for 
 devotion ; until going into the fields one day he saw S. Isidore 
 wrapt in prayer, while two angels were ploughing for him ; 
 after which he treated him with greater respect. Another day, 
 when his master thirsted, S. Isidore struck a rock with his ox 
 goad, and water immediately flowed from it. He restored to 
 life his master's child who had fallen into a well, and performed 
 various other miracles. 
 
 S. Ives, or Yvo of Bretagne, a.d. 1303, May 19, patron saint of 
 lawyers, was of a noble Breton family, and from a child 
 evinced a saintly disposition. He studied the law in Paris, 
 living as strictly as a hermit, and devoting much of his time to 
 prayer and charity. On his return to Brittany the Bishop of 
 Treguier appointed him judge advocate of his diocese. He 
 pleaded for widows and orphans gratuitously, and often recon- 
 ciled enemies by his exhortations, and prevented their appealing 
 to the law. At length he became a priest, but still used his 
 legal ■ knowledge for the aid of the poor and ignorant. The 
 fatigue of his many good works and self -mortification finally 
 so wore him out that he died. 
 
 S. James the Great, Apostle and Martyr, a.d. 44, July 25, patron 
 saint of Spain. It will only be necessary here to relate the 
 mediaeval legends of S. James. According to these he was a 
 noble baron, and was a fisherman only for amusement. After 
 the Ascension he travelled to Spain to preach the Gospel, 
 where, on the banks of the Ebro, he beheld the Blessed Yirgin 
 on a pillar of j a spar, who told him to build there a church in 
 
106 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 her honour, and foretold the future conversion of the province. 
 S. James obeyed her, and thus was founded the celebrated 
 Church of Our Lady of the Pillar. He then returned to Judea, 
 where he was violently opposed by a sorcerer named Her- 
 mogenes, who sent his scholar Philetus to compete with him. 
 The saint defeated and converted Philetus, which so enraged 
 Hermogenes that he bound him with evil spells and said his 
 new master might deliver him. S. James being appealed to 
 by Philetus, sent him his cloak, which freed him at a touch, to 
 the great wrath of Hermogenes, who despatched demons to 
 take both the saint and his disciple. Angels, however, inter- 
 cepted and chastised the demons, and sent them back to Her- 
 mogenes. The sorcerer, now utterly vanquished by the power 
 of the apostle, threw his evil books into the sea, and declared 
 himself converted. Having received from S. James his staff: 
 to protect him from the revenge of the demons, he set forth to 
 preach the gospel. Soon after this, the enmity of the Jews 
 being roused by the miracles and good deeds of S. James, he 
 was beheaded. His disciples fearing to bury his body placed it 
 in a ship — according to some accounts, of marble — which 
 was guided by angels to the coast of Spain. Here the body 
 was taken out and laid on a great stone, which became soft 
 like wax and closed round it, showing that this was its chosen 
 resting-place. But that country was governed by a wicked 
 queen named Lupa, who harnessed wild bulls to the stone, 
 hoping it would thus be dragged away and dashed to pieces, 
 instead of which they quietly drew it into her own palace. This 
 miracle at once converted Queen Lupa and all her subjects, and 
 they built a great church to receive the saint's body. Yet in 
 after years the body was lost, till a.d. 800, when its place of 
 concealment was revealed to a friar, and it was at once removed 
 to Compostella. So many miracles were then wrought at the 
 shrine that pilgrims visited it from all parts of Europe, and 
 S. James became the patron saint of Spain. It is said that 
 
JAM— JAN, 
 
 107 
 
 lie has appeared many times since then, often fighting for the 
 Christians against the Moors. The first time was in 939, when 
 having assured the King of Castile, the night before the battle, 
 of future victory, S. James was seen on a white charger, bearing 
 a white banner, leading the Christians on to the fight. A 
 great victory was gained, and ever after this " Santiago ! " 
 became the Spanish war-cry. Another appearance of the saint, 
 often illustrated in art, is thus related : a German with his 
 wife and son were journeying on a pilgrimage to Compostella, 
 when the daughter of the host of one of the inns at which they 
 rested fell deeply in love with the son, and enraged at his 
 rejection of her, hid her father's silver cnp in his wallet. The 
 yonng man was consequently convicted of theft, and hanged. 
 His parents, in deep grief, performed their pilgrimage, praying 
 earnestly to S. James for help. On their return, as they wept 
 by the gibbet where their son was still hanging, he spoke, and 
 said S. James had sustained and comforted him. The parents 
 rushed to the judge, crying, " Our son lives." The judge, seated 
 at dinner, scoffmgly replied he was as much alive as the fowls 
 in a dish on the table before him, when at once the fowls — a 
 cock and hen — stood up on the dish. Full of astonishment 
 they all ran to the gibbet and took down the youth, who was 
 restored to his parents, while the fowls were carefully protected 
 by the Church. 
 
 S. James the Less, Apostle and Martyr, May 1. He was a relation 
 of our Lord, and said to have borne such a strong resemblance 
 to Him that it was this which made the kiss of Judas neces- 
 sary. He was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and suffered 
 martyrdom from the Scribes and Pharisees, being thrown 
 from a parapet of the temple, and finally slain with a fuller's 
 club by one of the mob below. 
 
 S. Jantjarius, a.d. 303, Sept. 19. Patron saint of Naples, and 
 protector of the city against the eruptions of Vesuvius. He was 
 Bishop of Benevento, and having come to Naples to encourage 
 
108 
 
 JJEEOMJE. 
 
 the Christians, then suffering nnder the tenth persecution, 
 was thrown to wild beasts with six of his companions. These, 
 however, refused to touch him, and as fire proved equally 
 powerless to harm him, he was beheaded. 
 S. Jerome, or Hieronymus, a.d. 420, Sept. 30, one of the Four Latin 
 Fathers of the Church, and patron saint of scholars and students, 
 especially theologians, was born in Dalmatia, of rich parents, 
 and was educated for the law ; but when about thirty he 
 received baptism, and at once went to the East to visit the 
 scenes of the life of Christ. He then retired to a desert on 
 the borders of Arabia, where he lived four years the life of a 
 hermit, clothed only in sackcloth, and in bitter mortifications, 
 struggles with temptation, prayer, and fasting, until he 
 became emaciated almost to a skeleton. By way of penance 
 for his great love of earthly learning he undertook the study 
 of Hebrew, which he intensely disliked, and became sufficiently 
 master of the language to make his great translation of the 
 Bible into Latin, which has ever since been famous as the 
 Yulgate. After ten years of wearisome controversy in the 
 East he went to Eome, and boldly attacked the self-indulgence 
 of the clergy, eloquently teaching the duty of self-denial and 
 humiliation. His influence was very great, particularly among 
 women — two, Marcella and Paula, were the most noted of his 
 converts, and the former is considered by some to have been 
 the first founder of a religious community of women. Ee- 
 turning after a time to the East he lived in a monastery, 
 founded by himself, at Bethlehem ; and there is a legend that 
 while he was living thus he saw a lion, limping as if in pain, 
 approach him as he was sitting at the gate of the monastery. 
 All others fled in terror ; but S. Jerome went up to the lion, 
 and upon its lifting its paw and showing a thorn embedded in 
 it, took out the thorn and bound up its paw. From that time 
 the grateful lion refused to leave the saint, who gave it as 
 occupation the protection of an ass employed in bringing wood 
 
JOACHIM. 
 
 109 
 
 from a forest. Once, however, while the lion slept, the ass was 
 stolen by some merchants, and the lion having searched 
 for it in vain, returned full of sorrow to his master. The 
 saint, believing that he had eaten the ass, made him carry 
 the wood in its stead as a punishment. At last the lion found 
 his old companion in a caravan of merchants, and drove all 
 their camels into the monastery at Bethlehem, which so 
 alarmed the merchants that they acknowledged the theft, and 
 received pardon from the saint. After many years spent at 
 Bethlehem the aged saint, feeling he was about to die, was 
 taken into the chapel and there expired, immediately after 
 receiving the last sacrament. 
 S, Joachim, March 20, was the husband of S. Anne, and the 
 father of the Blessed Virgin. He was a native of Nazareth, 
 and a rich man, but he was childless. Being very devout, on 
 a great feast day he brought double offerings to the temple ; but 
 the high priest Issachar refused to receive them, saying it was 
 not lawful for him to make an offering to the Lord, as he had 
 begotten no issue. Joachim searched all the registers of 
 Israel, and found truly that all the righteous men who had 
 lived before him had been fathers of children, and filled with 
 sorrow he withdrew alone into the fields, and there fasted and 
 prayed forty days. His wife Anne meanwhile mourned at 
 home, and when her handmaid Judith wished to persuade her 
 to adorn herself for a feast of the Lord, she rebuked her so 
 sharply that Judith in anger taunted her with her childless- 
 ness. Then S. Anne put on her bridal attire and went into 
 her garden, where she wept and prayed to the Lord. And 
 there an angel appeared to her, who told her that her prayer 
 was heard, and that she should have a child who should be 
 blessed throughout the whole world. And another angel 
 came and told her to go forth to meet her husband, for he was 
 returning with his shepherds, having also heard the good 
 news. S. Anne vowed that whether her child should be a 
 
110 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 man-child or a maid, she would dedicate it to the Lord. She 
 went forth, as the angel bade her, to seek her husband, and 
 they met at the Golden Gate, and she fell on his neck and 
 embraced him, and told him the joyful tidings that they 
 should be no longer childless. They returned home together, 
 and in due time S. Anne brought forth a daughter, whom she 
 called Mary, and who was afterwards the mother of our 
 Lord. 
 
 S. John the Baptist, June 24 The whole history of this saint is 
 given by the Evangelists, and legends have not added much 
 to it. It is said that the Blessed Virgin remained with S. 
 Elizabeth until the birth of her child, whom she took in her 
 arms and presented to Zach arias. Also, that at the time of 
 the massacre of the Innocents, S. Elizabeth fled with her 
 infant into the wilderness, and when the murderers pursued 
 them, a rock opened miraculously and enclosed them both, 
 keeping them safe from harm till all danger was over. Zacha- 
 rias having refused to reveal their hiding-place, was slain 
 "between the temple and the altar" (S. Matt. xxii. 35). S. 
 John is generally considered to have retired into the desert 
 while still very young, and his death is placed about two years 
 before that of our Lord. When he descended to Hades he is 
 said to have brought the good tidings of approaching deliver- 
 ance to the departed spirits, thus being in a double manner the 
 forerunner of Christ. 
 
 S. John, Apostle and Evangelist, a.d. 99, Dec. 27. Beyond what 
 is recorded of S. John in the New Testament, legends add that 
 he took care of the Blessed Virgin, who had been confided to 
 him by our Lord, till her death, and then travelled, generally 
 with S. Peter, preaching the Gospel, and founded the Seven 
 Churches of Asia Minor. During the persecution under 
 Domitian he was sent to Borne, and cast into a cauldron of 
 boiling oil, but it failed to harm him. He also drank of a 
 poisoned cup uninjured, having first made over it the sign of 
 
JOHN. 
 
 Ill 
 
 the cross, which caused tlie poison to issue forth in the shape 
 of a serpent. Accounts differ as to whether this was the 
 sacramental cup, or was given him by order of the Emperor, 
 or whether he was challenged to drink it by the high priest of 
 Diana to prove the truth of his teaching. These miraculous 
 escapes caused him to be accused of magic, and he was exiled 
 to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of the 
 Eevelations. On the death of Domitian he was released from 
 Patmos and returned to the Church at Ephesus, where he 
 formerly had chiefly lived. As he was entering the city he 
 met a funeral procession, which was that of Drusiana, a 
 woman in whose house he had lodged, and who was famed for 
 good works. He made the bearers set down the bier, and 
 prayed earnestly that God would restore Drusiana to life. His 
 prayer was heard ; she arose and returned to the city, and 
 S. John once more lodged with her. Now before his exile S. 
 John had taken charge of a young ma,n of great promise, 
 whom, on his departure, he had confided to the care of a 
 Bishop. But in the absence of the saint the young man fell 
 into evil ways, till he finally became the leader of a band of 
 robbers. When S. John returned he was filled with grief at 
 learning what had happened, and at once set off in search of' 
 his former disciple. The robbers took him, and brought him 
 before their leader, who, recognizing his old master, would 
 have fled, but S. John pleaded with him to stay and hear him. 
 Then he spoke so lovingly and earnestly that the robber was 
 quite melted, and with tears declared his true repentance, and 
 prayed for forgiveness. S. John comforted and encouraged 
 him, and he became entirely converted, and never returned to 
 his former sinful life. Another legend relates that two young 
 men, who had given up all they possessed for Christ, after- 
 wards repented. S. John, knowing their thoughts, made them 
 collect a heap of stones and faggots, and turning these into 
 gold bade them take back their riches since they preferred 
 
112 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 enjoying them on earth instead of in heaven. S. John 
 remained at his Church of Ephesus for the rest of his life ; but 
 accounts differ on the subject of his death. According to 
 some he has never died, but only laid himself in the grave to 
 sleep till just before the second coming of Christ, when he will 
 rise and preach, with Enoch and Elijah, against Antichrist. 
 This idea arose from the words of our Lord in S. John xxi. 21. 
 Others say that he died without pain or change, and rose im- 
 mediately with his body, and ascended into heaven. He is said 
 to have appeared twice after his death. The first time was to 
 the Empress Galla Placida, in the following manner. She 
 was on her way from Constantinople to Ravenna by sea, when 
 she was overtaken by a fearful storm, and in great terror 
 vowed to build a magnificent church to S. John the Evange- 
 list if she arrived in safety. She did escape the storm, and 
 fulfilled her vow, but was greatly distressed at having no relics 
 of the saint with which to consecrate the church. One night, 
 when she was earnestly praying, S. John himself appeared to 
 her, and as she fell at his feet to embrace them, he left his 
 sandal and disappeared. This sandal was preserved as a relic 
 in the church for many years. His second appearance has 
 been already related under S. Edwakd the Confessor. 
 S. John Capisthano, a.d. 1465, Oct. 23, was a Franciscan monk, 
 sent by the Pope to preach a crusade against the Turks, after 
 the taking of Constantinople. He so encouraged the Christian 
 army at the siege of Belgrade, even leading them against the 
 enemy with his crucifix in his hand, that they were completely 
 successful. He died the same year, and was canonized in 1690 
 in commemoration of the deliverance of Vienna from the 
 Turks. 
 
 S John Cheysostom, a.d. 407, Jan. 27, one of the Four Greek 
 Fathers of the Church, was born at Antioch, of rich and noble 
 parents, and early became distinguished for his great talent as 
 a pleader. But at the age of twenty -eight he forsook the 
 
JOHN. 
 
 113 
 
 world and retired into the wilderness, where he spent six 
 years in solitude and such severe peuance that his health 
 broke down, and he was obliged to return to Antioch. Soon 
 after he was ordained priest, and a dove descended on his head 
 at the time of his consecration. The eloquence for which he 
 had formerly been renowned was now used in the service of 
 Christ, and from this he won his title of Chrysostom " the 
 Golden- mouthed," none but S. Paul having ever excelled 
 him. He was greatly beloved by the people of Antioch, whom 
 he had saved from the vengeance of the Emperor Theodosius ; 
 and when he was chosen Patriarch of Constantinople he had 
 to escape secretly, or his people would never have allowed him 
 to leave them. He did not relax his self-denial and humilia- 
 tion in his high office, but continued the same hard-working 
 life, converting numbers to the faith. His influence was 
 particularly remarkable over women, and his correspondence 
 with one named Olympia is considered one of his greatest 
 works. His unremitting attacks against sin among all classes 
 roused the wrath of the wicked Empress Eudoxia, and she 
 banished him. The neglect and cruelty of the guard who were 
 conducting him to his distant place of exile was more than his 
 feeble strength could bear, and he died on the road. 
 
 The legend sometimes met with in art, called " The Peni- 
 tence of S. John Chrysostom," is a purely imaginary fable of 
 no real connexion with S. Chrysostom at all. 
 S. -John Gualberto, a.d. 1073, July 12, founder of the Vallom- 
 brosan Order of Reformed Benedictines, was born at 
 Florence of a noble family, and received a good education. 
 While yet a youth, his only and dearly loved brother Hugo was 
 killed in a quarrel, and Gualberto determined on prompt ven- 
 geance. One Good Friday evening, as he was mounting the 
 steep road which leads from the gate of the city to S. Miniato, 
 he suddenly met the murderer, alone and unarmed, and would 
 have slain him on the spot; but the man fell on his 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 knees, and stretching out his arms like a cross, implored 
 Gualberto, by the mercy of Christ who suffered on that day, 
 to spare his life. Gualberto paused, remembering that Christ 
 on the cross had prayed for His murderers, and after a minute 
 of stern conflict with himself, and earnest prayer for God's 
 help, he forgave and embraced his enemy. As he went on his 
 way he passed the Church of S. Miniato, which he entered, 
 and kneeling before the crucifix prayed for mercy, weeping, 
 and giving thanks to God, who had saved him from a terrible 
 crime. As he prayed it seemed to him that the figure of 
 Christ bowed its head in token of forgiveness. He felt that 
 life had changed for him, and that he could not return to the 
 world, so he at once entered the Benedictine monastery at 
 S. Miniato. The monks wished to elect him abbot, but he 
 withstood all persuasions to accept the office, and retired to a 
 hermitage of Yallombrosa in the Apennines, not far from 
 Florence. Many other hermits, however, gathered round him, 
 and, as he was obliged to govern them, he gave them the rule 
 of S. Benedict in its original severity. Thus originated the 
 Order of Yallombrosa, which received the confirmation of the 
 Pope, and spread so rapidly that twelve monasteries were 
 erected in Gualberto's lifetime. The monasteries of San Salvi 
 and the Trinita at Florence both belonged to this Order. S. 
 Gualberto was much distressed to find that some of his 
 disciples spent large sums in beautifying their convents, and 
 on one occasion, while sternly reproving them, he foretold the 
 destruction of a monastery, which soon after took place by 
 the inundation of a mountain torrent. Certain miracles are 
 related of S. John Gualberto; among others, that he increased 
 the supply of provisions when some of his monks were starving. 
 A monk named Fiorenzo was tormented when on a sick-bed 
 by a demon ; bnt S. John came to him, and held up the cross 
 he always carried, and thus exorcised the evil spirit. The saint 
 did his utmost to oppose the evil practices which had crept 
 
jomsr. 
 
 115 
 
 into the Church, and particularly withstood a notoriously bad 
 man, Pietro di Pavia, who had purchased the Archbishopric of 
 Florence. Pietro, in revenge, attacked and burnt the monas- 
 tery of S. Salvi, killing some of the monks, and would have 
 done worse things, if a monk, since known as Peter Igneus, 
 had not demanded the ordeal by fire. He successfully passed 
 through it, and thus procured the deposition of the Arch- 
 bishop. 
 
 S. John de Matha, a.d. 1213, Feb. 8, founder of the Trinitarian 
 Order for the Eedemption of Captives, was born of noble 
 parents in Provence, and was dedicated by his mother to the 
 service of God. He became a priest, and while he was cele- 
 brating his first mass he beheld a vision of an angel clothed in 
 white, with a blue and red cross on his breast, and his hands 
 on the heads of two slaves. Believing this to be a special 
 call from God to work for the release of captives S. John 
 sold all his possessions, and withdrew for a while into soli- 
 tude. He was joined by S. Felix de Yalois, and together 
 they arranged an Order for the Redemption of Captives. The 
 Pope, having had a vision like St. John's, at once confirmed it, 
 under the title of the Order of the Holy Trinity, and ordained 
 the habit to be white with a blue and red cross, that the three 
 colours might signify the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. 
 The two friends then set forth to proclaim their mission, and 
 were joined by many others, the brotherhood being known in 
 France as Les Mathurins. They collected such large sums of 
 money that they were able to ransom many hundred cap- 
 tives. Once, when S. John was returning with 120 liberated 
 slaves, the enraged Saracens tore up the sails of his ship and 
 broke off the rudder ; but he held up his mantle as a sail, 
 praying for the guidance of God, and was thus safely conveyed 
 to the port of Ostia. His travels and fatigues quite broke 
 down his health ; but, though he was obliged to remain in 
 Rome the last years of his life, he continued, notwithstanding 
 I 2 
 
116 
 
 JOS— JOS. 
 
 his sufferings, to preach and to visit the prisons till his 
 death. 
 
 S. John JSTepomuc, a.d. 1393, May 16. Patron saint of silence, and 
 against slander, of bridges and running water, and protector 
 of the Order of the Jesuits. He was confessor to the wife of 
 Wenceslaus IV., Emperor of Germany, a bad and cruel man, 
 who endeavoured to extract from him by bribes and threats 
 the confessions of the Empress. Furious at finding all his 
 endeavours vain, the Emperor threw S. John into a dungeon 
 and tortured him. The Empress, deeply distressed, at length 
 succeeded in obtaining his release, and tended his wounds with 
 her own hands. He returned for a short time to the court, 
 but the Emperor soon repeated his demand, and, mad with 
 rage at the silence of the saint, ordered his guards to throw 
 him from a bridge into the river Moldau. As he sank five 
 stars in the form of a crown appeared over the spot. When 
 the Emperor saw it he fled in terror from his palace to the 
 fortress of Carlstein ; but the empress found the body, and 
 buried it with all honour in the Church of the Holy Cross. 
 
 SS. John and Paul, a.d. 362, June 26, were brothers, officers in 
 the service of Constantia, and suffered martyrdom under 
 Julian the Apostate. The Church of SS. John and Paul in 
 Rome is built over the spot where their house once stood. 
 
 S. Joseph, March 19. Husband of the Blessed Virgin. Very little 
 is told of S. Joseph in the Gospels ; we only know that he was 
 of the lineage of David, and by trade a carpenter. Legends 
 add that he was already old and a widower at the time of his 
 marriage to the Blessed Virgin. It is said that many suitors 
 desired to marry her, and that they all agreed to deposit 
 their staves or wands in the Temple for a night. In the 
 morning Joseph's wand was found to have budded into leaves 
 and flowers, and a dove, dazzling white as snow, issued from 
 it, showing that he was the one chosen by God. The other 
 suitors broke their wands in despair ; and one youth named 
 
JOV—JZTA. 
 
 117 
 
 Agabus fled to Mount Carmel and became an anchorite 
 there. There are several other legends connected with the 
 flight into Egypt, which will be found under Maky the 
 Blessed Virgin. Accounts differ as to the time of the 
 death of S. Joseph, though it is generally considered to have 
 taken place before our Lord's public appearance. He is said 
 to have been 111 years old, and to have died surrounded by 
 all his children and Jesus and Mary. There is an old his- 
 tory describing the scene — the great grief of Mary, and how 
 Jesus comforted her. It also tells that evil spirits strove for his 
 soul, but that Jesus rebuked them, and Michael and Gabriel 
 descended from heaven and bore his spirit back with them. 
 S. Jo vita. See S. Faustino. 
 
 S. Juan de la Cruz, a.d. 1591, Dec. 14, was the first barefooted 
 Carmelite, and was a friend of S. Theresa, whom he assisted 
 in her work of reform, being noted himself for his extreme 
 severity and penance. He had many visions, and on one 
 occasion made a rude sketch of: the Divine apparition, which 
 was long preserved in the Convent of the Incarnation at 
 Avila. 
 
 S. Juan de Dios, a.d. 1550, March 8, founder of the Hospitallers 
 or Brothers of Charity, was born in Portugal, of poor but 
 virtuous parents. When he was about nine years old, a 
 priest who had travelled a great deal was hospitably received 
 by his parents, and told such exciting tales of adventure that 
 Juan was tempted to run away from home and follow him. 
 His new friend, however, soon forsook him, aud he was obliged 
 to earn his living as a shepherd. He next entered the army, 
 and led a wild and reckless life. After many adventures and 
 narrow escapes from death, he returned to his old home, but 
 found that his parents had both died with grief at his loss. 
 The shock of this terrible news quite changed him, and even 
 disturbed his reason. He determined that the rest of his life 
 should be spent in expiation of what he considered the sin of 
 
118 
 
 JUD-JUL. 
 
 parricide. After some time spent in prayer and meditation, 
 he resolved to go to the assistance of the neglected souls in 
 Morocco, and there, if possible, to obtain the crown of martyr- 
 dom. He therefore took service with a Portuguese nobleman, 
 who, with his whole family, had been exiled to Ceuta, where 
 they were reduced to the extremity of poverty and distress. 
 Juan entirely supported them until they found other aid, 
 when he returned to Spain and devoted himself to the care of 
 the poor. After some time he had a vision of a radiant child, 
 holding in his hand a pomegranate, (in Spanish pomo de 
 Granada), who said to him, " Go, thou shale bear the cross in 
 Granada." Juan accordingly went to Granada, and entered 
 a church where a crowd had assembled to hear a famous 
 preacher. His impressionable mind was so wrought upon by 
 what he heard that he cried aloud, and rushing forth, threw 
 himself upon the stones. He was taken as mad and im- 
 prisoned, and suffered a cruel scourging daily. After a time 
 the preacher who had so affected him came to him, and Juan, 
 becoming soothed and calmed by his visit, was allowed his 
 freedom. He returned at once to his works of mercy, receiving 
 the sick and poor in his own little shed, himself lying outside 
 to make room for them. Gradually he was joined by a few 
 others, and at length the first hospital of the Order of Charity 
 was begun. It was a building large enough to hold 200 
 destitute persons, and for these S. Juan begged and worked, 
 devoting his whole life to this ministration. He did not him- 
 self intend to found a religious order, but merely did the work 
 before him simply and devotedly ; and from his first effort 
 originated all the numberless hospitals and houses of mercy 
 throughout Christendom. He never rested from his labour 
 till he died, worn out with toil and suffering. 
 S. Jude. See S. Simon. 
 
 S. Julia, fifth or sixth century, May 22. By some accounts she 
 was a noble virgin, by others she was the Christian slave of a 
 
JULIAN, 
 
 119 
 
 Carthagenian merchant, who took her with him to Corsica. 
 Here a great pagan sacrifice was being celebrated, and as 
 Julia refused to take part in it she was cruelly beaten and 
 then crucified. Her remains were carried to Brescia, where a 
 church and convent were built to receive them, and she 
 became one of the patron saints of the city. 
 S. Julian of Cilicia, date uncertain, March 16. Patron saint 
 of Rimini. All we know of this saint is the account given 
 by S. Chrysostom of his cruel martyrdom, borne with un- 
 flinching courage. He was thrown into the sea in a sack 
 full of serpents, and his body afterwards placed in a sarco- 
 phagus, which was guided over the sea by angels till it 
 reached Rimini. 
 
 S. Julian Hospitator, a.d. 313, Jan. 9, patron saint of v travellers, 
 boatmen, and wandering minstrels, was a rich count, who 
 lived in great state, and spent his time in feasting and hunting. 
 One day, after he had pursued a deer for a great distance, it 
 turned and spoke to him, saying, " Thou who pursuest me to 
 death s halt cause the death of thy father and mother/' Horri- 
 fied at this prophecy, and hoping to prevent the possibility of 
 its fulfilment, he would not return home, but at once rode 
 away to another country. Here he took service under the 
 ' king, and greatly distinguished himself. He also married and 
 lived happily, quite forgetting the terrible prophecy. But 
 meantime his parents, distressed at his loss, did not cease to 
 search for him, and at length came to his castle. Julian 
 was absent at the time, but his wife, hearing who they were, 
 gave them welcome and put them in her own chamber to rest. 
 When he returned he went straight to his chamber, and, not 
 recognizing his parents at once, by a fatal mistake slew them 
 both in a fit of rage. When he learnt what he had done he 
 was stupefied with horror, but at length, rousing himself, de- 
 termined to spend the rest of his life in devotion to God's 
 service, that so he might be forgiven his fearful sin. He and 
 
120 
 
 JUS. 
 
 his wife left that country, and established themselves in a cell 
 near a great river, which was so often swollen by mountain 
 torrents that many were drowned in endeavouring to cross it. 
 Here he founded a hospital, and occupied himself with tending 
 the sick and taking all who asked him acrobS the river. One 
 night, while a storm was raging, he heard a voice calling to 
 him, and going out he found a leprous youth lying on the 
 opposite shore. Juliau ferried him across, and, as he seemed 
 almost dying from cold and exhaustion, laid him on his own 
 bed and watched him tenderly. Just as morning dawned a 
 light shone from the leper's face, and he rose up, saying, 
 " Julian, the Lord hath sent me to thee, for thy penitence is 
 accepted, and thy rest is at hand," and then vanished from 
 their sight. Julian and his wife fell down and praised God 
 for His mercy, and soon afterwards they both died peacefully. 
 
 SS. Justa and Rufina, a.d. 304, July 19, patron saints of 
 Seville, were two sisters who earned their living by making 
 earthenware pots. Some women wished to buy vessels to be 
 used in the worship of Yenus, but the sisters refused to sell 
 anything for idolatrous purposes, and this so roused the anger 
 of the would-be purchasers that they broke all the earthen- 
 ware contained in the shop. The saints then dashed the 
 image of Yenus to the ground and broke it in pieces. They 
 were immediately carried before the prefect, and, declaring 
 themselves Christians, were condemned to torture. Justa 
 was put to death on the rack, and Pufina was strangled. 
 They are supposed to be the special protectors of the G-iralda 
 at Seville, and to have saved it from destruction during a 
 bombardment of the city. 
 
 S. Justina of Antioch. See S. Cyprian. 
 
 S. Justina of Padua, a.d. 303, Oct. 7, patron saint of Padua and 
 Yenice, was a native of Padua, of royal birth, and was 
 brought up by her father in the Christian faith. After his 
 death she was denounced as a Christian, and condemned to 
 
LAM— L ATT. 
 
 121 
 
 death by the Emperor. She gladly opened her arms to receive 
 the stroke, and fell, pierced through her bosom by the sword. 
 
 S. Lambert, a.d. 709, Sept. 17, was a Bishop of Maestricht, who 
 strove to protect his people from the oppression and cruelty of 
 their rulers. There are two accounts of his death, one that 
 he was slain in revenge for the execution of two sacrilegious 
 robbers, who had been put to death without his knowledge ; 
 but the other and more generally received story is, that he was 
 slain as he knelt in prayer, his arms extended in the form of a 
 cross, by some of the adherents of Pepin d'Heristal, whom he 
 had dared to rebuke for his sins. There is a legend of S. 
 Lambert, illustrating the fervour of his devotion, that, when 
 only an acolyte, he brought coals of fire in his surplice to light 
 the incense before the altar. 
 
 S. Laurence, a.d. 258, Aug. 10, patron saint of Nuremberg, 
 Genoa, and the Escurial, was born at Huesca in Aragon, but 
 while very young went to Rome and served Sixtus II. as 
 deacon. The Pope observing his modesty and piety made 
 him archdeacon, and confided all the treasures of the church 
 to his care. When Sixtus was accused as a Christian, and led 
 out to martyrdom, Laurence accompanied him, begging to be 
 allowed to suffer with him. He was comforted with the 
 assurance that in three days he should follow his master, and 
 was bidden to at once distribute all the treasures to the poor, 
 that they might not fall into the hands of the heathen. S. 
 Laurence obeyed the injunction, and spent the next three days 
 in ministering to the sick and poor. Among others he healed of 
 sickness a pious widow named Cyriaca, who had sheltered many 
 Christians in her house. The prefect having learned that all 
 the treasures of the church were in the care of S. Laurence 
 demanded them from him. Then the saint called together all 
 the poor and suffering among the Christians, and presenting 
 
122 
 
 LAZ—LJEA. 
 
 them to the prefect said, " Behold the treasures of Christ's 
 Church." The prefect, full of rage and disappointment, 
 tortured him and cast him into a dungeon, where he con- 
 verted his gaoler Hippolytus, who, in consequence, after- 
 wards suffered martyrdom. Finding all efforts to subdue 
 S. Laurence fail, the prefect ordered him to be laid on a huge 
 gridiron and a fire lighted underneath, and thus he was 
 roasted to death, his patience and constancy all the time 
 calling forth the wonder of his executioners. Hippolytus 
 reverently buried his remains in the Yia Tiburtina, and a 
 church, now known as " S. Lorenzo fuori le mura," was built 
 by Constantine over the spot. S. Laurence received from the 
 people of Rome the title of " II cortese Spagnuolo " — the 
 courteous Spaniard, because, when 200 years after his death his 
 sarcophagus was opened to receive the relics of S. Stephen, 
 he moved to the left, thus leaving the place of honour on the 
 right hand to S. Stephen. For the legend of S. Laurence and 
 the soul of the Emperor Henry, see S. Henry. 
 
 S. Lazarus, Sept. 2, patron saint of Marseilles. The history of 
 his resurrection from the dead is related in S. John xi. 
 Legends add that he was at one time a soldier, but relin- 
 quished his calling and accompanied his two sisters to Mar- 
 seilles, of which city he was subsequently made first bishop. 
 
 S. Leander, a.d. 596, Feb. 27, patron saint of Seville, was the son of 
 the Duke of Carthagena, but while still young retired from the 
 world and embraced the religious life. He became Archbishop 
 of Seville, and is chiefly famous for his determined opposition 
 to Arianism. He travelled to Rome, and there formed a firm 
 friendship with S. Gregory the Great. On his return he con- 
 verted his nephew Hermengild to the Catholic faith, who in 
 consequence suffered martyrdom (see S. Hermengild). He 
 was persecuted by King Leovigild during his reign, but on the 
 death of that king, who did not live long, was left in peace, 
 the successor to the throne being favourable to the Catholics. 
 
LEO. 
 
 123 
 
 S. Leander, for his earnest striving against heresy, has been 
 called " the Apostle of the Goths." 
 S. Leo the Great, a.d. 461, April 11, Pope. There is a legend of 
 S. Leo, that when Rome was threatened by the Huns under 
 Attila he interceded for the city, and that the apostles SS. Peter 
 and Paul appeared in the air, and threatened the barbarian 
 with instant death if he did not at once retreat. This so 
 terrified Attila that he fled. 
 S. Leocadia, a.d. 303, April 26, patron saint of Toledo, and a native 
 of that city, endured persecution under Diocletian, being de- 
 nounced as a Christian and thrown into a terrible dungeon. 
 Here she heard of the martyrdom of her friend S. Eulalia, 
 and prayed earnestly that she might be united to her. Her 
 prayer was heard, and she died in the prison. According to 
 another legend she was thrown from a rock, and a chapel was 
 built on the spot to enclose her remains. It was here that she 
 rose from the tomb to appear to S. Ildefonso {see Ildefonso). 
 
 S. Leonard, a.d. 559, Nov. 6, patron saint of prisoners and slaves, 
 was born in France, his father holding ofhce under King 
 Theodobert. He was brought up at court, where he became 
 a great favourite. He always took a special interest in 
 prisoners, and did all in his power to relieve them, often pro- 
 curing for them the pardon of the king, besides spending large 
 sums in ransoms. At length he wearied of the life at court, 
 and retired into a solitude near Limoges, where he passed 
 several years in prayer and meditation. Some time after, 
 his prayers having saved the life of the queen when she was 
 at the point of death, the king, to show his gratitude, granted 
 S. Leonard a tract of land in the forest, which he cleared, and 
 formed there a religious community. Here he spent the rest 
 of his life, constantly occupied in good works. His humility 
 was so great that he would never accept higher office in the 
 Church than that of deacon. 
 
 S. Leopold, a.d. 1136, Nov, 15, one of the patron saints of 
 
124 
 
 LIE—LOW. 
 
 Austria. He was Margrave of Austria, and was remarkable 
 lor the justice and mercy with which he ruled his kingdom. 
 He married Agnes, widow of the Duke of Swabia, and soon 
 after, as they stood together on a balcony of their palace on 
 the Leopoldsberg, and contemplated the great stretch of 
 country before them, they vowed to build a house to the 
 service of God, in thankfulness for his blessings. At that 
 moment the wind caught Agnes' veil and carried it out of 
 sight. Eight years afterwards, Leopold, while hunting in the 
 forest, found this veil on a tree, and remembering his vow 
 cleared a space, and founded there the church and monastery 
 of Kloster-Neuberg, round which a town soon arose. Leopold 
 was buried in the church, and the veil of Agnes was long 
 preserved among its relics. 
 S. Lieven, a.d. 656, ISTov. 12, was an Irish poet, educated in the 
 famous schools of his native country. He entered a Bene- 
 dictine monastery, but could not rest there, feeling himself 
 called to preach to the heathen. Therefore, having been con- 
 secrated bishop in Ireland, he journeyed to the Low Countries, 
 and while preaching near Ghent was attacked and martyred. 
 His tongue was cut off, and he was then beheaded. His 
 hostess, and her son known as S. Brice, suffered at the same 
 time. 
 
 S. Lioba., a.d. 779, Sept. 28, was a poetess remarkable for her 
 learning, and the companion of S. Walburga. Charlemagne 
 and his wife were much attached to her, and endeavoured to 
 persuade her to live with them, but nothing could tempt her 
 from the convent life. She was buried in the monastery of 
 Eulda, near S. Boniface. 
 
 S. Lo. See S. Eloy. 
 
 S. Longinus, a.d. 45, March 15, patron saint of Mantua, was the 
 centurion who with a spear pierced the side of our Lord 
 at the Crucifixion, and was so moved by the wonders that 
 took place at His death, that he cried, " Truly, this man was 
 
LOB— LOU. 
 
 125 
 
 the Son of God." It is in consequence of this that he has 
 always been honoured as the firstfruit to Christianity among 
 the Gentiles. Legends add, that when he put his hands, 
 stained with the sacred Blood of Christ, to his eyes, an im- 
 perfection of sight from which he had always before suffered 
 was at once removed. Being converted, he was baptized by 
 the apostles, and for nearly thirty years preached and taught 
 at Cassarea, turning many to the true faith. At last he was 
 taken for refusing to sacrifice to idols ; and was so eager to 
 obtain the crown of martyrdom that he told the governor, 
 who was blind, that his sight would be restored if he con- 
 demned him to death. Longinus was accordingly beheaded, 
 and the governor, having received his sight, was so struck by 
 the miracle that he immediately embraced Christianity. 
 S. Lorenzo Giustiniani, a.d. 1455, Sept. 5, was of a noble 
 Venetian family, and was most carefully educated by his 
 mother. When he was nineteen he believed himself to be 
 called to the service of God by a vision, and notwithstanding 
 the earnest desire of his family that he should marry, as 
 he was the eldest son, he fled to the Augustinian cloister 
 of S. Giorgio-in-Alga. Here he soon became noted for the 
 severity and piety of his life, and was made successively 
 Bishop of Castello and Patriarch of Venice. He devoted his 
 life to works of mercy, and the conscientious discharge of 
 his duties. The poor were his especial care, and he deprived 
 himself of all but bare necessities that he might have more 
 to give to them. He was greatly beloved by his people, 
 and was honoured by them as a saint immediately after his 
 death. 
 
 S. Louis Beltran, or Bertrand, a.d. 1581, Oct. 9, was a friend 
 of S. Theresa, and celebrated as a preacher. He was a 
 member of the Dominican Order, and travelled to Peru to 
 preach to the heathen. There he taught as a missionary 
 several years ; but finding a great obstacle in the evil example 
 
126 
 
 LOU— LUC. 
 
 set by the Christians who had already settled there, he 
 earnestly endeavoured to reform them. His efforts, however, 
 were all in vain, and he returned to Yalencia, where he died. 
 
 S. Louis, King of France, a.d. 1270, Aug. 25. The life of 
 Louis IX. of France is so well known in history that it will 
 be unnecessary to relate it here. 
 
 S. Louis Gonzaga, or Aloysius, a.d. 1591, June 21, was the eldest 
 son of the Marchese di Castiglione, but resigned his in- 
 heritance to a younger brother, and became a member of the 
 Society of Jesus when he was scarcely eighteen. He was 
 honoured for the holiness of his life and his many talents ; 
 but died in his twenty -third year of a fever, which he took 
 while nursing the sick in Rome. 
 
 S. Louis of Toulouse, a.d. 1297, Aug. 19, was son of the King 
 of Naples, and nephew of S. Louis of France. When he was 
 fourteen he was obliged to act as hostage for his father to the 
 King of Aragon, and during the long years of captivity and 
 hardship acquired a disgust of the world and a longing 
 for the religious life. As soon as he was set at liberty he 
 resigned his inheritance to a younger brother, and entered the 
 Order of S. Francis. He was then twenty-two, but was soon 
 made Bishop of Toulouse. He only lived two years longer, 
 which he spent in good works among his people, by whom 
 he was greatly beloved. He died at his father's castle in 
 Provence, where he was born, and his remains were carried 
 to Yalencia, and buried there. 
 
 S. Lucy, a.d. 303, Dec. 13, patron saint of Syracuse, and against 
 diseases of the eye, was a noble virgin, born at Syracuse, who 
 was betrothed against her will to a pagan youth. Her mother, 
 having long suffered from a grievous malady, was persuaded 
 by S. Lucy to accompany her on a pilgrimage to the shrine 
 of S. Agatha, to pray that she might be healed. While they 
 were praying at the tomb S. Lucy beheld a vision of S. 
 Agatha, surrounded by angels, who said to her, " Well art 
 
LUD—LVK 
 
 127 
 
 thou called Lucy, (that is light,) for thou shalt be a light 
 and mirror to the faithful," and added that her prayers were 
 heard, and her mother should be healed. In her joy at her 
 recovery her mother gave her consent to S. Lucy dedicating 
 herself to God, and spending all her dowry in alms to the 
 poor. But when the youth to whom she was betrothed 
 heard of her resolution he was filled with rage, and denounced 
 her as a Christian. The governor before whom she was taken 
 commanded her to sacrifice to idols, and on her refusal ordered 
 her to be dragged away, and forcibly subdued to his will. 
 It was, however, found impossible to move her ; oxen and 
 ropes and the spells of magicians were equally vain. Finally, 
 a large fire having been kindled around her without harming 
 her, a soldier pierced her neck with a sword, and she died. 
 There is a later legend, originating in the endeavour of 
 painters to express her name Lucy — light — by placing an 
 eye near her, which relates that in order to discourage the 
 suit of a youth who loved her for the beauty of her eyes, 
 she plucked them out with her own hands, and sent them 
 to him in a dish. The youth was so struck with remorse 
 that he became a Christian, and Lucy's sight was restored to 
 her by a miracle. 
 
 S. Ludmilla, a.d. 927, Sept. 16, patron saint of Bohemia, was 
 queen of that country, and was converted to Christianity by 
 the preaching of S. Adalbert. King Wenceslaus was her 
 grandson, and she instructed him in the Faith, which roused 
 the anger of his mother and his brother, and a civil war broke 
 out between the Christian and heathen parties in Bohemia. 
 The pagan queen and her son hired murderers, who surprised 
 S. Ludmilla as she was praying in her oratory, and strangled 
 her with her own veil. 
 
 S. Luke, Oct. 18, Evangelist, and patron saint of painters. Yery 
 little is known of S. Luke beyond what we can gather from 
 the New Testament. He was probably not converted till 
 
128 
 
 L TIP — MAR. 
 
 after the ascension of our Lord, and he became the devoted 
 disciple and companion of S. Paul, remaining with him all 
 through his imprisonment in Rome, till the apostle's death. 
 He was by profession a physician, and since the discovery in 
 the catacombs of a portrait of the Blessed Yirgin, inscribed 
 as painted by " Luca," he has been always regarded as a 
 painter also ; and legends add that he carried everywhere 
 pictures of our Lord and the Blessed Yirgin, by means of 
 which many were converted. Accounts differ as to the 
 manner of his death; according to some he died peacefully, 
 according to others he was crucified with S. Andrew at Patras. 
 S. Lupo. See S. Grata. 
 
 S. Macaeius, a.d. 394, Jan. 2, was a native of Alexandria, who 
 retired into the desert, and became one of the most famous 
 of the Egyptian hermits. Many stories are told of him ; the 
 one oftenest represented in art is that of his inquiring of a 
 mummy's skull which he had found to whom it had belonged. 
 The skull having replied " To a pagan," he then asked where 
 was its soul ; and the skull replied " Deep in hell." " Are 
 there any deeper than thou art ? " continued the hermit. 
 "Yes," answered the head, "the Jews are deeper." "Are 
 there any deeper than the Jews ? " Macarius inquired. " Yes, 
 truly," replied the head, "the Christians whom Jesus re- 
 deemed, and who show by their deeds they despise His 
 doctrine, are deeper still." 
 
 S. Maclqu, or Malo, a.d. 565, ISFov. 15, was a native of Wales, 
 and received his education in the famous schools of Ireland. 
 He retired into Brittany to avoid being made bishop; but 
 became Bishop of Aleth in 541. His remains were carried to 
 S. Malo when the see was transferred thither. 
 
 S. Maiicella, or Martilla, a.d. oirca 68, was the handmaid of 
 SS. Martha and Mary, and was with them set adrift in a 
 
MAE, 
 
 129 
 
 boat, but reached Marseilles in safety. It is said that she 
 wrote the life of Martha, and travelled as far as Sclavonia, 
 preaching the Gospel. 
 S. Marcellinus. See S. Peter Exorcista. 
 
 S. Margaret, a.d. 306, July 20. This saint was the daughter 
 of a priest of Antioch, and was secretly converted to Chris- 
 tianity by her nurse. When she grew up the governor of 
 Antioch desired to marry her, but she refused him with 
 scorn, and at the same time declared herself a Christian, 
 to the horror of her parents, who fled, and abandoned her 
 to the power of the governor. He subjected her to the most 
 cruel tortures, but nothing availed to move her constancy. 
 She was then cast into a dungeon, and here Satan, in the 
 form of a terrible dragon, came to tempt and alarm her ; but 
 when she held up the cross she always carried, he fled in 
 confusion. Another version of the legend is, that he swal- 
 lowed her, but immediately burst asunder, and she escaped 
 unharmed. Being once defeated, he came again to tempt her 
 in the form of a man, but he succeeded no better. She was 
 then dragged from the dungeon, and greater tortures inflicted 
 upon her, which she bore with such patience and firmness 
 that 5000 persons were converted by her wonderful example, 
 and desired to suffer with her. The governor, seeing this, 
 and fearing that more would follow her, ordered her to be 
 beheaded, and she thus at length received with joy the 
 crown of martyrdom. 
 
 S. Margaret of Cortona, a.d. 1297, Feb. 22, was born in Tus- 
 cany. Her mother having died while she was quite a child, 
 her father took a second wife,, who treated her so cruelly 
 that she fled from home, and fell into an evil way of 
 life. She lived thus for ten years, till one of her lovers 
 was murdered when returning from a visit to her, and his 
 little dog guided Margaret to the spot where his body lay. 
 She was so horror-struck by the sight that remorse filled 
 
130 
 
 MAE. 
 
 her heart, and she desired to return as a penitent to her 
 fathers house. He and his wife, however, refused to receive 
 her, and she was left alone in the world. She felt strongly 
 tempted to go back to her former life of wickedness, but she 
 prayed earnestly for God's direction, and it was revealed to 
 her that she should ask for help at the Franciscan convent 
 at Cortona. She obeyed at once, and going barefoot .to the 
 church, humbly begged to be admitted as a penitent. But 
 even here they would not receive her till she had shown 
 unmistakable proofs of true repentance. At length she 
 entered the Third Order ; and one day, while she was kneeling 
 in prayer before the crucifix, the figure of Christ bent His 
 head, as a sign that her repentance was accepted and she was 
 forgiven. 
 
 S. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, a.d. 1607, May 25. She was of a 
 noble Florentine family, and entered a Carmelite convent, 
 where she underwent many trials and temptations; but she 
 overcame them all, and the piety and humility of her life 
 caused her to be honoured by all around her. 
 
 S. Mark the Evangelist, a.d. 68, April 25, patron saint of Venice, 
 was the beloved disciple and companion of S. Peter, by whom 
 he is said to have been converted after the ascension of our 
 Lord. He accompanied the apostle to Eome, and there wrote 
 his Gospel at his dictation. He travelled thence to Egypt, 
 where he founded the Church of Alexandria. It is said that 
 one day he met in the street of Alexandria a poor cobbler, 
 who had so wounded his hand with his awl as to be unable 
 to earn a living. S. Mark healed him, and he became con- 
 verted, and was so earnest in the faith that after the death of 
 S. Mark he was made Bishop of Alexandria, and is known as 
 S. Anianus. After twelve years spent in preaching in dif- 
 ferent parts of Egypt, S. Mark was accused by the heathen of 
 sorcery, in consequence of the many miracles he wrought. 
 They laid hands on him while he was engaged in prayer, and 
 
MASK 
 
 131 
 
 dragged him along the streets, over rocks and stones, till 
 he died. Just then a terrible storm of hail and lightning 
 arose, which utterly destroyed his murderers. His remains 
 were buried at Alexandria ; but in the year 815 some Venetian 
 merchants carried them oh 0 to Venice, where the great 
 Church of S. Mark was built to receive them. Various legends 
 are related of S. Mark's appearances in Venice, which was 
 regarded as under his especial protection. The most remark- 
 able of them took place in the following manner : On the night 
 of the 25th of February, 1380, a terrible storm raged in 
 Venice. For three days previously the waters had risen con- 
 stantly, till they were higher than had ever before been 
 known. In the midst of it an old fisherman had, with great 
 difficulty, succeeded in reaching the Biva di S. Marco, when 
 he was accosted by a stranger, who begged to be taken over 
 to S. Giorgio Maggiore. The fisherman declared it was im- 
 possible, but at length was persuaded to yield to his request. 
 Having performed the passage, and landed safely, the stranger 
 was joined by another man, and they both desired to be 
 rowed to S. Niccolo di Lido. After some demurs the fisher- 
 man again consented, and the water appeared smooth to him 
 as he went. At their destination a third stranger joined 
 them, and they all commanded the fisherman to row out 
 beyond the two castles, though now the storm was raging 
 fiercely. When they came to the open sea they met a huge 
 galley full of demons, coming at terrific speed to overwhelm 
 Venice. The sea suddenly became calm, and the three men 
 rose up, and with the sign of the cross exorcised the demons ; 
 then they and their ship vanished utterly. The fisherman, 
 at their command, landed the three men at the places where 
 they had embarked. As the last was departing he told him 
 to go and tell the Doge and the Procurature of S. Mark the 
 things that he had seen, for that without them Venice would 
 have been destroyed that night. He added that he himself 
 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 MAB. 
 
 was S. Mark, and that his two companions were S. George 
 and S. Nicholas. Lest the Procurature should not believe the 
 fisherman, S. Mark gave him a ring, saying they would find 
 it gone from the sanctuary. The fisherman showed the ring 
 to the Doge, and search being made, it was not to be found 
 in its usual place among the treasures. Then the fisherman 
 was amply rewarded, and a grand procession of the relics of 
 these saints was ordained, in thanksgiving for the deliverance 
 of Venice from so great a danger. Another legend relates 
 that the slave of a nobleman of Provence persisted in worship- 
 ping at the shrine of S. Mark, notwithstanding the constant 
 prohibition of his master. He was therefore condemned to 
 the torture ; but, just as he was about to be subjected to it, S. 
 Mark himself descended from heaven, and destroyed the im- 
 plements of torture, and saved the slave who had trusted in 
 him. 
 
 S. Martha of Bethany, a.d. 84, July 29. Patron saint of cooks 
 and housewives. The old legends always regard Mary Mag- 
 dalene as identical with Mary of Bethany, and according to 
 them it was Martha who guided her sinning sister to the feet 
 of Christ. After the Ascension, when the whole family were 
 driven to Marseilles (see the legend of S. Mary Magdalene), 
 Martha taught the people in the neighbourhood of Aix. Now 
 at that time a terrible dragon, called the " Tarasque," lived 
 in the River Eh one, and ravaged all the country. But when 
 Martha came there she completely overcame him, by sprink- 
 ling him with holy water, and bound him fast by her girdle, 
 so that the people were able to approach and slay him. 
 Afterwards a church was built on the spot, and the city of 
 Tarascon rose around it. She spent her whole life in good 
 works, and the honour has been assigned to her of being the 
 first to found a religious community of women. She died 
 peacefully, surrounded by her own people. 
 
 S. Martial. Date uncertain. June 30. According to some 
 
MAR. 
 
 133 
 
 accounts S. Martial lived in the third century; but others 
 assert that he was one of the seventy-two disciples sent forth 
 to preach by our Lord. He attached himself to S. Peter, and 
 accompanied him to Eome, where the apostle ordained him 
 Bishop, and sent him forth to preach. He travelled as 
 far as Limoges, and became the first Bishop of that city. 
 Among his converts was a beautiful virgin named Valerie, 
 who, by rejecting the suit of the Duke of Guyenne, so enraged 
 him that he had her beheaded ; but, to the astonishment of all 
 present, she took up her head and carried it to S. Martial, 
 who was celebrating mass, and laid it down at the foot of 
 the altar. The executioner, who had followed her into the 
 church, died at the fearful sight, after testifying that he 
 beheld her body surrounded by angels. 
 S. Maktilla. See S. Maecella. 
 
 S. Martin of Tours, a.d. 397, Nov. 11, patron saint of Tours, 
 Lucca, and penitent drunkards, was an officer in the Eoman 
 army, and though his parents were heathen, he became con- 
 verted to Christianity when he was fifteen. He won the love 
 and admiration of his fellow- soldiers by the purity of his life, 
 his humility, and his courage. One severe winter, while the 
 army was at Amiens, he met at the gate of the city a poor 
 beggar, almost naked, and ready to die of cold. S. Martin 
 quickly drew his sword, and cutting his cloak in two, gave 
 half to the beggar. That night Christ appeared to S. 
 Martin, wearing the half cloak, and said that it was to Him 
 that he had given it, and that He accepted the deed of charity. 
 At the age of forty S. Martin desired to leave the army, and 
 devote himself entirely to God's service ; but when the 
 Emperor Julian the Apostate heard it, he taunted him with 
 cowardice, saying he wished to escape an approaching battle. 
 S. Martin, to refute this accusation, begged to be set defence- 
 less in the forefront of the fight, and, armed only with the 
 cross, he would boldly face the enemy. His request was 
 
134 
 
 MARTINA. 
 
 granted, but the next day the enemy sent to sue for peace, 
 so the trial was not made. S. Martin then quitted the army, 
 and after a life of devotion for many years, was elected Bishop 
 of Tours. Many miracles are recorded of him during this 
 time. He restored to life the son of a poor widow, and healed 
 a favourite slave of the governor who was possessed by a 
 demon. Once while he was celebrating mass he beheld a 
 miserable naked beggar, and bade his deacon clothe him. As 
 he hesitated to obey, S. Martin put his own chasuble over the 
 beggar, and while he continued the sacred office a globe of 
 fire appeared above his head, and his arms, stretched out to 
 elevate the Host, were covered by angels with gold and silver 
 chains. S. Martin was indefatigable in his efforts to root 
 out paganism ; he destroyed all the temples of false gods, and, 
 notwithstanding the opposition and attacks of demons, finally 
 succeeded in driving the heathen religion out of his (Jistrict. 
 He came to be regarded with such veneration and honour that 
 the Empress Helena, when entertaining him, insisted on 
 serving him with her own hands. The Emperor Yalentinian 
 once failed to show respect to S. Martin, and remained seated on 
 his entrance ; but the chair took fire beneath him, and thus 
 obliged him to do honour to the saint. Such crowds of 
 people were attracted by his fame that S. Martin retired to 
 a solitary cell, a short distance from Tours, and hence sprang 
 the famous monastery of Marmoutier. After thirty years 
 of earnest work in his diocese S. Martin died, and was wor- 
 shipped as a saint immediately after his death. 
 S. Martina, a.d. 230, Jan. 30, was a young Roman virgin, who 
 suffered a cruel martyrdom after many tortures. In the 
 seventeenth century some remains, supposed to be those of 
 S. Martina, were discovered under the very ancient church 
 built to her honour in the Forum. This event added greatly 
 to her popularity, and many churches and chapels were 
 dedicated to her. 
 
MART. 
 
 135 
 
 Mary the Blessed Vihg-in. The legends relating to the Blessed 
 Yirgin would of themselves fill a volume ; but all that can 
 be attempted here is to mention some of the principal scenes 
 of her life, which will serve to explain the series of pic- 
 tures illustrating her history that are so frequently to 
 be met with. For the legends preceding her birth see S. 
 Joachim. When she was three years old she waa taken by 
 her parents to be presented in the Temple. They invited 
 other daughters of Israel to accompany her lest she should 
 fear and turn back; but. she alone ascended all the steps 
 to the altar, where the High Priest received her, and blessed 
 her, saying, " Mary, the Lord hath magnified thy name to 
 all generations, and in thee shall be known the redemption 
 of Israel." Then her parents returned home, blessing God 
 that she had not turned back from His service. But 
 Mary remained and dwelt in the Temple, where she studied, 
 and embroidered the purple and fine linen for sacred uses, 
 angels constantly ministering to her. "When she was fourteen 
 years old it was revealed to the High Priest that Mary 
 should be married. She said that she had been dedicated to 
 the service of God ; but that she would obey the command of 
 the Lord. For the history of her marriage, see S. Joseph. 
 The next great events in her life are the Annunciation and 
 the Visitation to S. Elizabeth, related in the first chapter of 
 S. Luke's Gospel, and legends have not added much to the 
 Evangelist's narrative. At the time of the Nativity of her 
 Divine Son it is said that the stable was flooded with heavenly 
 light, and that both she and Joseph knelt at once and 
 adored the new-born Saviour of the world. The adoration of 
 the Magi is the most ancient subject in Christian art. It 
 has always been considered that they were kings, and were 
 three in number. It is said that the prophecy of Balaam, 
 " There shall come a star out of Jacob," &c, had always 
 been preserved as a tradition in his own country, and that when 
 
136 
 
 MART. 
 
 the wise men beheld the star, which, according to old legends, 
 was in the shape of a radiant child, they at once recognized 
 it as the fulfilment of this prophecy. They travelled far, 
 over mountains and rivers, till they came " where the young 
 Child was," and fell down before Him, offering Him their gifts. 
 Then they returned to their own country ; and there is a 
 very old tradition that when S. Thomas came to India he 
 found there these three wise men, and baptized them, and 
 they went into the far east to preach the Gospel, and there 
 obtained the crown of martyrdom. The Empress Helena 
 discovered their remains, and brought them to Constantinople, 
 whence they were afterwards carried to Cologne, and placed 
 in a splendid shrine in the cathedral. When the jealousy 
 of Herod was so much excited by the visit of the Magi that 
 he commanded the " murder of the innocents," Joseph was 
 warned in a dream to take the young Child and His Mother 
 and flee into Egypt. There are many legends relating to 
 this period. It is said that the ox and the ass who were 
 in the stable at Bethlehem accompanied them, and that as 
 they went through a thick forest all the trees bowed before 
 the Holy Child, the aspen only excepted, which remained 
 upright in its pride. Therefore Jesus cursed it, and at His 
 words it trembled in all its leaves, and trembles to this day. 
 Another time, at the command of Jesus, a palm-tree bowed 
 its branches to shelter His Mother and Himself. They en- 
 countered many dangers. Once they were seen by a man 
 sowing wheat, and Mary told him, if any inquired of him, 
 to answer " Such persons came by while I was sowing 
 wheat." Then, by a miracle, Jesus caused the wheat to 
 spring up and ripen in one night. The next day, when the 
 man was cutting it, the pursuers of the Holy Family came 
 up, and asked if he had seen them. He answered as he had 
 been told, and they turned back again. While crossing the 
 plains of Syria, the Holy Family were attacked by two 
 
MABT. 
 
 137 
 
 robbers. One would have plundered them, but the other sud- 
 denly changed, and bribed his companion with forty groats to 
 leave them in peace. Then he led them to a safe place among 
 the rocks, and gave them lodging for the night. The Blessed 
 Virgin said to him, " The Lord will receive thee on His right 
 hand, and grant thee pardon for thy sins." And it came to 
 pass; for these same robbers were afterwards crucified on 
 each side of Jesus, and the merciful robber became the Peni- 
 tent Thief. When Jesus was at length brought to Egypt, 
 all the idols fell on their faces before Him. The Holy Family 
 rested at the end of their travels under a grove of sycamores 
 in the village of Matarea, and a fountain miraculously sprang 
 up hard by for their refreshment. Angels also waited on 
 them continually. After the return to Judea we hear no 
 more of the Blessed Yirgin, with the exception of the dispute 
 in the Temple and the marriage in Cana, till the time of the 
 Crucifixion. Then, as she stood beneath the Cross, Jesus 
 confided her to the care of S. John, and he " took her to 
 his own home." She, however, always appears in art mourn- 
 ing over the sacred body of her Son when it has been taken 
 down from the Cross, and is also considered to have been 
 present at the entombment. There is a very old tradition 
 that Jesus appeared first of all to her on His Besurrection, 
 even before He showed Himself to Mary Magdalene in the 
 garden. It tells that ever since the Crucifixion she had re- 
 mained alone in her chamber, waiting and praying earnestly 
 for the fulfilment of His promise. Then suddenly He came 
 to her, clothed in white, bearing the standard of the Cross, 
 and followed by all the saints of the Old Testament, whose 
 souls He had delivered from prison. She fell on His neck 
 and embraced Him, and He showed her His wounds, and 
 told her that all pain had for ever passed away, for He had 
 become victorious over death and hell. At the Ascension 
 she was present, and prayed her Divine Son to leave her 
 
138 
 
 MARY. 
 
 not long behind Him ; she was also with the apostles in the 
 upper chamber at Jerusalem when the Holy Ghost descended 
 on the Day of Pentecost. At length, after many years, 
 when the time of her death drew nigh, an angel appeared to 
 her, saying once more, " Hail, Mary," and told her that in 
 three days her soul should leave her body, for her Son awaited 
 her in Paradise. He .also gave her a palm branch gathered 
 in Paradise, that she might have it borne before her bier 
 in the day of her death. She humbly prayed that the 
 apostles might be united to her once more before her depar- 
 ture ; and the angel assured her that her prayer was granted, 
 and she should see them again. Then, by miraculous power, 
 all the apostles, who were preaching in different parts of the 
 world, were suddenly brought together in the house of the 
 Blessed Virgin. She rejoiced, and thanked God, and after 
 praying with them, entrusted the palm to S. John, desiring 
 him to carry it before her bier ; and then lay down on her 
 bed to wait for death. At the third hour of the night, as the 
 ajDOstles stood around her, Jesus Himself appeared, surrounded 
 with angels and saints, and bore the soul of His Blessed 
 Mother back with Him to heaven. The apostles reverently 
 carried her to the grave ; but on the third day her body 
 arose, and ascended into heaven, to rejoin her soul. She 
 was received by her Divine Son, who placed her on His right 
 hand, and crowned her Queen of Heaven. When the apostles 
 visited her tomb they found that her body was gone, and in 
 its place blossomed lilies and roses. (For the legend of the 
 Holy Girdle, see S. Thomas.) 
 S. Mary of Egypt, a.d. 433, April 2, was a native of Alexandria, 
 who even exceeded Mary Magdalene in the wickedness of her 
 life. After nearly twenty years of complete abandonment to 
 sin, she felt a sudden desire to join a large company whom she 
 beheld embarking for Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the 
 True Cross. She accompanied them on their journey, but 
 
MART, 
 
 139 
 
 when she attempted, like them, to enter the Church of Jeru- 
 salem, some invisible power held her back, and it was impos- 
 sible for her to cross the threshold. Then she knew it was by 
 reason of her sins, and was struck with remorse and horror at 
 her former evil life. She prayed earnestly, and humbled her- 
 self before God, and at last was enabled to enter the church on 
 her knees. Full of repentance she determined to spend the 
 rest of her life in solitude and penance ; and taking with her 
 nothing but three loaves, she went forth into the desert. Here 
 she dwelt alone for forty-seven years, her loaves by a miracle 
 never failing, and her hair growing long enough to be a cover- 
 ing when her garments dropped to pieces. At length she was 
 discovered by an aged priest, named Zosimus, whom she 
 begged to keep silence about her, and to return at the end of 
 a year to administer the last sacraments to her before her 
 death. He complied with her request, but on his return found 
 himself unable to cross the Jordan, and Mary was miraculously 
 brought over it to come to him. Having received the Blessed 
 Sacrament, and absolution from all her sins, she once more 
 desired Zosimus to depart for a year. On his second return 
 he found her lying dead, with a request that he would bury 
 her written ou the sand near her. As he was too old to accom- 
 plish this alone, a lion came out of the desert and helped him. 
 Then Zosimus went back and spread abroad the story of God's 
 mercy to the penitent woman. 
 S. Mary Magdalene, a.d. 68, July 22, patron saint of Mar- 
 seilles, Provence, and of penitent women. The old legends 
 always consider S. Mary Magdalene as identical with Mary of 
 Bethany. They add, that she was rich and noble, and lived 
 with her brother Lazarus and sister Martha in their castle of 
 Magdalon, on the sea of Galilee. Mary so abandoned herself 
 to every form of vice that she became known as " the sinner" 
 Martha was deeply distressed at her sin, and at length 
 brought her to Jesus, who cast out of her seven devils, and 
 
140 
 
 MART. 
 
 with true repentance she for ever renounced her evil life. Her 
 love for Jesus was great in proportion to the sins He had for- 
 given ; she was last at the Cross and the first at the sepulchre. 
 After the Ascension she, with her brother and sister, Maximin, 
 one of the seventy-two disciples who had baptized them, 
 Cedon, a blind man restored to sight by our Lord, and 
 Maucella, a handmaid, were set adrift by the Pagans in a 
 vessel without sails or rudder. However, they were safely 
 wafted to Marseilles, where the people, being heathen, at first 
 refused to receive them ; but Mary preached to them so elo- 
 quently, and performed such^ wondrous miracles, that they 
 were all converted and baptized. About this time a certain 
 Provencal prince, half converted by Mary Magdalene, told her 
 of his great wish to have a son, and asked her if she could 
 obtain his desire from her God. She said that if he would 
 believe, God would hear his prayer. He promised to believe ; 
 but still retaining some doubts, he and his wife sailed for 
 Jerusalem to see and inquire of S. Peter. On the way a 
 terrible storm arose, in the midst of which a son was born to 
 him, but the mother died. The sailors would have thrown the 
 body overboard, but the prince persuaded them to lay it on a 
 little rocky island which they passed, and he also left the 
 living child there, praying S . Mary Magdalene to save its life. 
 At Jerusalem S. Peter quite convinced him of the truth of 
 Christianity, and after two years he returned. Stopping to visit 
 the island where he had left the body of his wife, he not only 
 found that by the prayers of S. Mary Magdalene the life of his 
 child had been preserved, but that his wife also was restored 
 to life. They all went at once to Marseilles, and falling at S. 
 Mary Magdalene's feet, thanked and blessed her ; and all the 
 people of that country, hearing of the miracle, became con- 
 verted to Christianity. After some years of preaching and 
 active good works, Mary retired to a terrible wilderness, where 
 she spent thirty years in utter solitude, mourning, and 
 
MAE— MAT. 
 
 141 
 
 doing penance for her sins. She wonld have died bnt for 
 the ministration of angels ; and a hermit, who lived not 
 far off, once beheld them bearing her towards heaven. 
 Some legends assert that S. Mary Magdalene died in 
 a chnrch, after receiving the last Sacrament at the hands 
 of S. Maximin ; bnt according to the more generally re- 
 ceived acconnt, she died in the desert, watched over and 
 tended by angels. 
 
 S. Mary the Penitent, sixth centnry, March 16, was the niece of 
 a famous hermit named Abraham, and was by him brought 
 up to the strictest life of solitude and mortification. At 
 length when she was twenty years old, a young hermit 
 tempted her to flee with him, and for two years she led an evil 
 life in a distant city. Abraham, warned by a dream in which 
 he beheld a dove being devoured by a dragon, went forth to 
 seek his niece, and at length found her overwhelmed with 
 despair and misery. She gladly returned with him to her celf 
 in the desert and a life of penance. She spent her remaining 
 years in earnest devotion and good works, so that many 
 miracles were wrought by her prayers. 
 
 S. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, a.d. 90, Sept. 21. Beyond 
 what we gather concerning the life of S. Matthew in the 
 Gospels, it is said that after the Ascension he travelled to 
 Egypt, where he was honourably entertained by the eunuch 
 whom S. Philip had baptized. He overcame two magicians of 
 that country who cast spells on the people, causing great 
 diseases, and healed the daughter of the King of Egypt of 
 leprosy, besides restoring his son to life. Accounts differ as 
 to the manner of S. Matthew's death; according to some he 
 was martyred by the sword or spear ; but the Greek legends 
 maintain that he died a peaceful death. 
 
 S. Matthias, Apostle, Feb. 24, was chosen by lot to take the place 
 of the traitor Judas. Beyond this, all we know of him is that 
 he preached and suffered martyrdom in Judea. 
 
142 
 
 MATT-MER. 
 
 S. Maurelio, patron saint of Ferrara, was first Bishop of that city, 
 and suffered martyrdom by being beheaded. 
 
 S. Maurice, a.d. 286, Sept. 22, patron saint of Austria, Savoy, 
 and Mantua, and of foot soldiers, was leader of the Theban 
 Legion of the Roman army, which numbered 6666 soldiers, all 
 Christians. Once while crossing the Alps, the Emperor 
 Maxiinm ordered a grand sacrifice to his gods to be celebrated. 
 The whole legion refused to take part in it, or to continue with 
 the army, as they now learnt it was to attack the Christians, 
 Maurice boldly declaring to the Emperor that before all 
 things they were the soldiers of Jesus Christ. Maximin was 
 so enraged that he commanded the rest of the army to fall 
 upon the legion and kill every man; and he was obeyed, the 
 Christian soldiers standing calm and unresisting to meet their 
 death. The spot where this took place has been since known 
 as Saint- Maurice. 
 
 S. Maurus, a.d. 584, Jan. 15, was the son of a Roman senator; 
 and when only twelve years old was confided to the care 
 of S. Benedict, whose constant companion he became. 
 (See S. Benedict.) After the death of S. Benedict, S. 
 Maurus introduced the Order into France, and founded the 
 great monastery since known as S. Maure-sur-Loire, where 
 he died. 
 
 S. Maximin. See S. Mary Magdalene. 
 
 S. Menna, a.d. 301, 'Nov. 11, was a Greek, and an officer in the 
 Roman army under the Emperor Galerius Maximian, by 
 whose orders he suffered martyrdom. 
 
 S. Mercuriale, second century, was the first Bishop of Forli, and 
 became remarkable for the determination with which he drove 
 out paganism from his whole diocese. 
 
 S. Mercurius was a Greek serving in the Roman army, who 
 suffered martyrdom by order of Julian the Apostate, because 
 of his firmness in the Christian faith. Later, while Julian was 
 fightirjg against the Persians, S. Basil had a vision of the 
 
MET— MIC. 
 
 143 
 
 Blessed Virgin surrounded by angels, who told him to waken 
 Mercurius that he might slay Julian the great blasphemer. 
 S. Basil hurried to the tomb, but both the body and the 
 weapons buried with it were gone. Returning the next day, 
 however, he found the body there as before, only the lance was 
 stained with blood. Now, on the day of battle against the 
 Persians, an unknown warrior, pale and bareheaded, riding a 
 white charger, swiftly approached the Emperor Julian, pierced 
 him through the body with a lance, and vanished. Julian 
 feeling his death-wound, threw a handful of his blood into the 
 air, crying, ' ' Thou hast conquered, Galilean ; thou hast con- 
 quered," and fell back dead. Then Mercurius, for it was he, 
 returned to his tomb to rest till the Day of Judgment. 
 S. Methodius. See S. Cyril. 
 
 S. Michael the Archangel is the first of the angels, and the 
 greatest and mightiest of all created beings. When "there was 
 war in heaven," it was he whom God sent to cast out Lucifer. 
 He is also regarded as the Angel of the Resurrection; he 
 receives the souls of the departed, and weighs them in the 
 balance; and it is he who will sound the great trumpet to bid 
 the dead arise on the Last Day. In the Old Testament S. 
 Michael has always been believed to have been the " Angel of 
 the Lord " who appeared to Abraham (Gen. xxii. 11), who led 
 the children of Israel through the wilderness, who appeared to 
 Joshua before Jericho (Josh. v. 13), and to Gideon (Judges vi. 
 11), who destroyed the Assyrian army (2 Chron. xxxii. 21), 
 and delivered the " Three children " from the fiery furnace 
 (Dan. iii. 25). There are various legends relating the appear- 
 ances of S. Michael on earth since the Christian era. The 
 first is told thus : a man named Galgano, who possessed many 
 herds on the mountains, once lost one of his bulls, and after 
 much searching found it on the summit of the mountain at the 
 entrance of a cave. He commanded his servant to shoot it, 
 but the arrow returned and struck the breast of him who sent 
 
144 
 
 MINIATO. 
 
 it, killing him instantly. The master, in great distress, sent 
 to ask advice of the Bishop. After three days of prayer and 
 fasting, the Bishop beheld a vision of S. Michael, who said that 
 the spot where the bnll had stood was especially sacred to him, 
 and the servant was slain for profaning it. He also desired 
 that a chnrch should be built there to his honour. On enter- 
 ing the cave three altars were found already prepared, and a 
 spring issuing from the rocks near cured all diseases. The 
 place became famous, and the Church of Monte-Galgano 
 attracted pilgrims from all parts of Italy. Again, in the 
 eighth century, S. Michael three times appeared in a vision to 
 S. Auberb, Bishop of Avranches, bidding him found a church 
 in his honour on the rock in the Gulf of Avranches. The 
 Bishop was also told that a bull would be found there, and a 
 spring of healing water, and he must build the church over 
 the ground trodden by the animal. As he departed, the 
 Angel pressed the Bishop's head with his thumb, leaving 
 a mark which remained ever after. A small church was 
 built at once ; but later the Dukes of Normandy erected the 
 splendid Abbey of Mont S. Michel, which became a favourite 
 place of pilgrimage, and S. Michael was chosen patron 
 saint of Normandy. For the apparition to S. Gregory, see S. 
 Gregory. 
 
 S. Miniato, a.d. 254, was by birth a prince of Armenia, but took 
 service in the Roman army under Decius. While the Emperor 
 was with the army, encamped on a hill outside Florence, S, 
 Miniato was brought before him, accused of being a Christian, 
 and was by him condemned to be thrown to wild beasts in the 
 amphitheatre. These, however, refusing to touch the saint, he 
 was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil, stoned, hanged, and 
 shot with arrows ; but through all his torments was 
 strengthened and comforted by an angel, who clothed him 
 with a heavenly garment. Finally he was beheaded, and thus 
 received the crown of martyrdom. 
 
MOD—NEO. 
 
 145 
 
 S. Modwena, eighth century, July 6, was an Irish virgin to whom 
 power had been given to cure many diseases. Having healed 
 the epileptic son of King Egbert, she was persuaded by him to 
 come to England, and a monastery was built for her at Poles- 
 worth in Warwickshire. King Egbert confided to her care his 
 daughter Edith, afterwards known as S. Edith of Poles worth. 
 S. Modwena's learning, as well as the holiness of her life, 
 earned for her great renown in all the country. 
 
 S. Monica, a.d. 387, May 4, was the mother of S. Augustine, and, 
 deeply grieved for the sins of his youth, she wept and prayed 
 for him till he repented. She is also honoured as the first 
 Augustinian nun. 
 
 SS. Nabob, and Felix, a.d. 303, July 10, were two martyrs who 
 suffered at the city of Milan. A faithful Christian, named 
 Philip, buried their remains in his garden ; but the church 
 built over the spot to their honour is now known as S. 
 Francesco. 
 
 S. Natalia. , See S. Adrian. 
 
 SS. Nazarius and Celsus, a.d. 69, July 28. S. Eazarius waa a 
 Jew, and was baptized by S. Peter. In company with S. 
 Celsus, his young disciple, he travelled through Gaul, preach- 
 ing the faith. The people of Genoa would not hear them, 
 and threw them into the sea ; but it refused to drown them, 
 and they escaped and came to Milan. Here they met SS. 
 Gervasius and Protasius, and S. Nazarius comforted and sup- 
 ported them in their sufferings and martyrdom ; but soon 
 after he and S. Celsus were both taken, and beheaded outside 
 the Porta Eomana at Milan. 
 
 S. Neot, a.d. 878, July 31, was the kinsman and preceptor of 
 Alfred the Great, and was noted for his learning and humility. 
 He journeyed to Eome seven times, but spent the end of his 
 life in a desolate solitude in Cornwall, where he died. 
 
146 
 
 nee -ma 
 
 SS. Neejetjs and Achilletjs, first century, May 12, were chamber- 
 lains of Flavia Domitilla, niece of the Emperor Domitian, 
 whom they persuaded to reject the suit of the heathen son 
 of the consul. For this cause they all three suffered martyr- 
 dom. 
 
 S. 1ST icasiuSj a.d. 400, Dec. 14, was Bishop of Hheims, who, when 
 that city was besieged by the Yandals, put himself at the 
 head of his clergy, and walked in procession to meet the 
 enemy, singing hymns. One of the barbarians cut off the 
 upper part of the saint's head, but he continued his singing 
 for some time before he fell dead. 
 
 S. Nicholas of Myra, or Bari, a.d. 326, Dec. 6. Patron saint of 
 Russia, Venice, Freiberg, and many seaport or commercial 
 towns, and of children, especially schoolboys, sailors, tra- 
 vellers, merchants, and against thieves. This saint was born 
 of noble and virtuous parents, in Asia Minor. The first day 
 of his life he stood up in his bath and praised God for his 
 birth. His parents, seeing his wonderful and early piety, 
 dedicated him to God, and as soon as he was old enough he 
 became a priest. His parents dying while he was still young, 
 Nicholas inherited their vast possessions, which he spent in 
 works of charity to the poor. There was a certain nobleman 
 in the city who was so poor that he could not provide for his 
 daughters, and was greatly troubled in mind how to save 
 them from starving. Nicholas heard of it, and anxious to 
 help them without their knowledge, threw a bag of gold in at 
 their window for three successive nights. With these the 
 nobleman portioned his three daughters, to his great joy and 
 relief of mind. Some time after S. Nicholas sailed for the 
 Holy Land, and on the way such a terrible storm arose that 
 the ship seemed on the point of destruction. But the saint 
 rebuked the storm, and it at once ceased. On the same 
 voyage he restored to life one of the sailors, who had been 
 drowned by falling overboard. On his return from the Holy 
 
NICHOLAS. 
 
 147 
 
 Land, S. Nicholas lived in seclusion at the city of Myra. The 
 bishop of that city having died, it was revealed to the clergy 
 that they should elect as his successor the first man who 
 should enter the church the next morning. This proved to 
 be S. Nicholas, whom they immediately consecrated bishop, 
 and he worthily filled his high office. Not long after, a grievous 
 famine visited the diocese, and S. Nicholas, hearing there 
 were vessels laden with corn in port, desired the captains 
 to supply him with a portion. They replied that they dared 
 not, for it was all measured, and must be delivered into the 
 Emperor's granaries. He insisted, however, assuring them 
 that they would suffer no loss. At last they obeyed him, and 
 found, as he had said, that they had none the less to deliver 
 at Constantinople. The corn, moreover, that S. Nicholas gave 
 to the people increased so miraculously that they had enough 
 for two successive years. During this famine, while travelliug 
 in his diocese, he lodged in the house of an evil-disposed man, 
 who, when other provisions failed, stole and killed little 
 children, and salted them for eating. He offered some of 
 this fearful food to S. Nicholas, who at once perceived the 
 wickedness of the host, and going to the tub which contained 
 the remains, made the sign of the cross over it, when three 
 children arose alive and well. He restored them to their 
 mother, a poor widow, and the fame of this wonderful miracle 
 spread far and wide. At one time S. Nicholas entertained 
 three tribunes of the Eoman army as it was marching through 
 his diocese. Just then he by his own power released three 
 innocent men condemned to death by the prefect, thus greatly 
 exciting the admiration of the tribunes. Meanwhile some 
 enemy maligned them to the Emperor, and he cast them 
 into a dungeon with the intention of executing them the next 
 day. Then they thought of S. Nicholas and what they had 
 beheld him accomplish, and cried to him for help. The saint 
 at once responded to their call, and appeared in a vision to the 
 l 2 
 
14S 
 
 NICHOLAS. 
 
 Emperor, threatening him with the wrath of heaven if he did not 
 at once release those men. The Emperor thereupon not only 
 set them free, but bade them go to Myra to thank S. Nicholas, 
 and sent him as a gift a richly -bound copy of the Gospels 
 written in letters of gold. And ever after this miracle all who 
 are in danger call on S. Nicholas for help. After many years 
 spent in good works and devotion to the care of his diocese, 
 S. Nicholas died, to the great grief of all his people, and was 
 buried in the church at Myra. All attempts to remove his 
 remains were in vain, till in the year 1084 some merchants, 
 during the distraction of the country by the crusades, suc- 
 ceeded in carrying off his body to their own city of Bari, 
 where a splendid church was built to receive it. Several 
 miracles are recorded of S. Nicholas after his death. A Jew 
 who could not help believing in his power set an image of the 
 saint over his treasures to guard them, but notwithstanding 
 this they were all stolen by robbers. Full of rage, the Jew 
 struck and mutilated the image ; and that night S. Nicholas 
 appeared to the robbers, wounded and bleeding, to desire them 
 to restore the stolen property. They were so much alarmed 
 that they at once obeyed, and the Jew became converted by 
 the miracle. Again, a man who was anxious to have a son 
 and heir vowed a gold cup to S. Nicholas if he would obtain 
 him his desire. His prayer was heard and he ordered the 
 golden cup, but found it so magnificent that he could not part 
 with it, and procured an inferior one for the saint. On his 
 way to offer it, his little son, in attempting to fetch water in 
 the first gold cup, fell into the river and was drowned. His 
 father in profound grief repented of his covetousness, but pro- 
 ceeded notwithstanding to present the less valuable cup to the 
 saint. Three times it fell off the altar, and then his son appeared 
 bearing the golden cup, and saying he had been preserved by 
 S. Nicholas. In his joy the father offered both the cups, 
 which were now accepted, and he returned with his son in 
 
mc—JsriL. 
 
 149 
 
 safety. Another time, a Christian yonth had been taken 
 prisoner by the heathen, and made to serve as their king's 
 cupbearer. One day the king, observing that he was sad, 
 inquired the reason ; and he replied that it was because he 
 knew his whole family were assembled to celebrate the festival 
 of S. Nicholas, and he only was absent. The king scoffingly 
 declared that S. Nicholas was not great enough to deliver 
 the youth out of his hand ; but at that moment the saint ap- 
 peared in a whirlwind, and taking the lad by the hair trans- 
 ported him, still holding the royal cup, into the midst of his 
 family, who were praying for his restoration. 
 S. Nicholas of Tolentino, a.d. 1309, Sept. 10, was born at S. 
 Angelo, near Fermo. His parents, long childless, had 
 earnestly prayed to S. Nicholas of Myra for a son, and when 
 their prayers were heard dedicated their child to the service of 
 God. At the moment of his birth a star of great brilliancy 
 shot from S. Angelo to Tolentino, where the saint afterwards 
 lived, thus foretelling his future fame and sanctity. He 
 entered an Augustinian convent while still very young, and 
 from that time spent his life in unequalled penances and 
 mortification. He never touched animal food ; and it is said 
 that when, weak and exhausted in a severe illness, a dish of 
 doves was brought to him, he made the sign of the cross over 
 them, and they flew away. Besides his fervent devotion, he 
 was famed far and wide for the eloquence of his preaching, 
 and his numerous miracles and visions. After his death, 
 when the city of Cordova was visited by the plague, the image 
 of S. Nicholas of Tolentino was carried in solemn procession 
 through the streets. A priest bearing a large crucifix met 
 this procession, and the sacred Figure bent forward and 
 embraced that of S. Nicholas, and immediately the plague 
 was stayed. 
 
 S. Nilus of Grotta Ferrata, a.d. 1002, Sept. 26, was by lineage a 
 Greek, and was born at Tarentum. In middle age the 
 
150 
 
 JSriLTTS. 
 
 death of his wife, whom he dearly loved, turned his thoughts 
 from the things of this world, and he entered the Greek Order 
 of S. Basil. A war with the Turks obliged him to take 
 refuge in Italy, where he was received in the Benedictine 
 convent of Monte Cassino. At this time the province of Capua 
 was ruled by the widow of the late prince in the name of her 
 two sons. She had wickedly incited these youths to murder 
 their cousin, a noble, whose power she dreaded ; but struck 
 with remorse, she confessed her crime to S. ISTilus, who how- 
 ever refused to give her absolution till she had made amends 
 by delivering one of her sons up to the family of the murdered 
 man. This she would not do, and even tried to bribe S. 
 Mlus to remove this condition. In just anger he told her 
 that what she would not voluntarily sacrifice God would exact 
 from her; and this came to pass, for very soon afterwards her 
 youngest son murdered the eldest in a church, and for this 
 horrible crime was himself executed. S. ISTilus at one time 
 travelled to Eome and lived in. the monastery of S. Alexis, 
 where he became famed for his wondrous miracles of healing, 
 in particular for curing an epileptic boy by anointing him 
 with oil from a lamp hanging before the altar. The dis- 
 tracted state of the city, where war was raging between the 
 parties of the Pope and Emperor, so distressed S. ISTilus that 
 after severely reproving both sides he finally left Rome, and 
 retired to a cave near Frascati, now known as Grotta Ferrata. 
 Here the Emperor Gtho, touched by remorse, came to implore 
 for the intercession of the saint, offering to build and endow 
 him a monastery, or do anything he might ask. S. ISTilus 
 refused all bribes, and only asked that the Emperor would 
 repent. Otho then returned to Eome, where in a very short 
 time he died miserably by poison. S. Mlus himself died not 
 long afterwards, and by his special desire was buried secretly ; 
 but over the site of his hermitage soon arose the splendid 
 church and monastery of S. Basilio of Grotta Ferrata, where, 
 
NOB—OMO. 
 
 151 
 
 in honour of S. Nilus, the Greek rule of S. Basil is ob- 
 served. 
 
 S. ISTohbert, a.d. 1134, May 6, founder of the Order of Premon- 
 stratesians, was born at Cologne, and spent his youth at the 
 court of Henry IV., where he gave himself up to pleasure and 
 folly. At length, when riding one day far from any shelter, 
 he was exposed to the fury of a terrible storm, a ball of fire 
 falling close at his feet. This narrow escape from death 
 caused him to repent, and to turn from his former evil life. He 
 gave all he possessed to the poor, and travelled for several years 
 in the north of France and Flanders, preaching repentance. 
 So many were converted and wished to follow him that he 
 formed them into a community under the rule of S. Augustine, 
 and established his monastery on a spot indicated to him by 
 the Blessed Yirgin, called Pre-montre, from which the new 
 Order took its name. His fame having spread, he was made 
 Archbishop of Magdeburg. Now there lived at Antwerp a 
 heretic named Tankelin, whose evil doctrines did much harm 
 in all the neighbourhood, but S. JSTorbert coming there com- 
 pletely vanquished him by bis eloquence and learning. Once 
 while S. Norbert was celebrating mass he beheld a venomous 
 spider in the cup. To drink was death, but rather than 
 commit the profanity of pouring out the sacred contents he 
 drank the whole, and miraculously remained unharmed. 
 
 S. Omobuono, patron saint of Cremona and of tailors, was a 
 merchant who ordered his affairs so well that he became very 
 prosperous. All his money he spent in doing good to the sick 
 and poor, and far from becoming impoverished by his bound- 
 less charity his riches constantly increased. Once, while 
 travelling with his family, he gave their whole store of pro- 
 visions to a company of starving pilgrims, but found after- 
 wards that angels had replenished his wallet with bread and 
 
152 
 
 ojsto—osw 
 
 wine. S. Omobuono died in peace while kneeling in prayer 
 before the crucifix in the church of S. Egidio. 
 
 S. Onofrio, fourth or fifth century, June 12, was a hermit of Thebes, 
 who dwelt alone in the desert for sixty years, unseen by man. 
 His only garment was of leaves, and his hair and beard grew so 
 long that he lost all resemblance to a human being. He was at 
 length discovered by another monk, named Paphnutius, who 
 first beheld him crawling on the ground, and was afraid, 
 thinking he was some wild beast ; but when he knew who he 
 was, and heard all his trials and sufferings, he was filled with 
 reverence and wonder at the holy man. At S. Onofrio's 
 request, Paphnutius remained with him till after his death, 
 (which took place almost immediately), that he might bury 
 him. Paphnutius wrapped the remains of the saint in half of 
 his own cloak, and laid him in a hole in the rocks, filling up 
 the entrance with stones. Then, obedient to a heavenly 
 vision, he went and spread abroad the history of S. Onofrio. 
 
 S. Oswald, a.d. 642, August 5, was King of Northumbria, and an 
 earnest disciple of S. Aidan, Prior of Melrose. In a battle 
 against Oadwalla, a British prince, Oswald erected a great 
 cross with his own hands, round which he and his soldiers 
 knelt and prayed, and then going into the fight, gained a 
 complete victory. His charities to the poor were endless, and 
 one day, while he was sitting at meat with S. Aidan, he gave 
 to three poor beggars the silver dish that was set before him, 
 with all that it contained. Aidan took his right hand, ex- 
 claiming, "May this hand never perish!" And this wish was 
 granted, for when Oswald fell, fighting against the Mercians, 
 the enemy cut off his head and hands, and put them on 
 stakes, whence they were rescued, and long preserved as relics, 
 the head in S. Cuthbert's shrine, and the hands in the Castle 
 of Bamborough. The last breath of this good king was spent 
 in praying for his enemies, that God would have mercy on 
 their souls. 
 
OTT—VAN. 
 
 153 
 
 S. Ottavio, was one of the Theban Legion. See S. Maurice. 
 
 S. Ottilia, a.d. 720, Dec. 13, patron saint of Alsace and Stras- 
 burg, and against diseases of the eye, was a blind daughter of 
 the Duke of Alsace. When she was an infant her father 
 desired to have her carried away and left to die; but her 
 nnrse remained faithful to her, and fled with her to a convent. 
 There Erhard, a Bishop of Bavaria, directed by a heavenly 
 vision, found and baptized her ; and on her baptism she im- 
 mediately received her sight. Her cruel father having repented 
 on his deathbed and left her all his possessions, she devoted 
 them to building the convent of Hohenburg, where she was 
 joined by many nuns, whom she placed under the rule of S. 
 Benedict. She never rested till by her earnest prayers and 
 tears she had released the soul of her father from purgatory. 
 She died after a life of such extreme severity that she has 
 earned the title of martyr. 
 
 S. Ouen, a.d. 673, Aug. 24, succeeded S. Eomain as Archbishop 
 of Eouen, and also filled the high office of Chancellor under 
 Dagobert I and Clovis II. 
 
 S. Pancbas, a.d. 304, May 12, was a young boy, who, when only 
 fourteen, was so desirous to obtain the crown of martyrdom, 
 that he offered himself up to the heathen. He bravely de- 
 clared and defended his faith before the emperor, who ordered 
 him to be beheaded by the sword. 
 
 S. Pantaleon, fourth century, July 27, patron saint of physi- 
 cians, was a native of Nicomedia, who for his great skill became 
 physician to the Emperor Galerius Maximian. His mother 
 was a Christian, and had instructed her son in the same faith, 
 but during his life at the corrupt court of the emperor, he 
 almost forgot all the good he had learnt, At length he came 
 under the influence of an aged priest, named Hermolaus, who 
 encouraged and strengthened him in the faith, and aroused him 
 
154 
 
 PAT— P ATI. 
 
 to good works, so that he used his great talents in healing all 
 the sick who came to him, and restoring sight to the blind. 
 "When the persecution of the Christians broke out he was con- 
 demned to be beheaded, together with Hermolaus. Pantaleon 
 was first bound, and his hands nailed above his head to an olive 
 tree, which budded into leaves and fruit immediately his blood 
 flowed to the roots. 
 S. Patrick, a.d. 464, March 17, apostle and patron saint of 
 Ireland. While quite a youth this saint was carried away cap- 
 tive from Britain to Ireland, and passed many years in hard 
 labour in the fields. At length he escaped, but was con- 
 stantly haunted by visions of the heathen in Ireland, crying 
 out to him to come over and help them. He therefore went to 
 the Pope, and having received his sanction, returned to Ireland, 
 where he spent forty years, preaching to the people, and 
 enduring endless sufferings and trials with unwearied patience. 
 He fully established Christianity in Ireland, and founded the 
 schools of religious learning for which the island afterwards 
 became so famous. He died at Down, in Ulster, and was 
 buried there. 
 
 S. Paul the Apostle June 29, a.d. 65. The history of the great apostle 
 of the Gentiles is fully recorded in the New Testament, and 
 legends have not added much to it. They relate that he suffered 
 martyrdom outside the Ostian Gate of Rome, by being beheaded, 
 on the same day that S. Peter was crucified within the city. As 
 S. Paul passed along the Ostian way to his execution, a Roman 
 matron converted by S. Peter, named Plautilla, waited by the 
 roadside to see him for the last time and to receive his blessing. 
 "When the apostle saw her, he stopped and asked her for her 
 veil to bind his eyes while he received the stroke, promising to 
 return it to her afterwards. Plautilla believing his word, at 
 once gave him the veil, though many mocked at her ; and her 
 faith was not misplaced ; for S. Paul appeared to her in a 
 vision, and restored the veil, stained with blood. It is said that 
 
PAU—PET. 
 
 155 
 
 when the saint's head was struck off it bounded three times 
 on the ground, and at each place where it touched a fountain 
 of water sprang forth, the first hot, the second warm, and the 
 third cold. The spot is still venerated as the " Tre Fontane," 
 and the fountains remain, though the difference in their tem- 
 perature is no longer perceptible. 
 
 S. Paul the hermit of Thebes. See S. Anthony. 
 
 SS. Paul and John, brothers. See SS. John and Paul. 
 
 S. Paul of Leon. See S. Pol. 
 
 S. Paulinus of York, a.d. 644, Oct. 10, was sent from Rome to 
 assist S. Augustine in his great work of introducing Christi- 
 anity into England. His preaching was very successful, for 
 he converted King Edwin, and Coin the high priest of the 
 Druids, and the people soon followed their example. Pauli- 
 nus became the first Archbishop of York, which high office he 
 worthily held for forty years. 
 
 S. Peter the Apostle June 29, a.d. 65. The history of the first of the 
 apostles is fully given in the New Testament, and it will only be 
 necessary here to notice the various legends that have been 
 related of him. At one time there was a powerful magician 
 among the Jews, Simon Magus by name, who was so enraged at 
 being surpassed by the wonders wrought by the apostles, that 
 failing to extract their secret from them by bribes, he threw his 
 books into the Dead Sea, and departed to Rome, where he became 
 a favourite of the Emperor Nero. S. Peter, determined to defeat 
 him finally, followed him to Rome, and being joined by S. Paul, 
 challenged the sorcerer to make good his boasted powers, and 
 to raise a dead youth to life in the presence of the emperor. 
 Simon tried all his arts in vain, but at the word of the apostles 
 the dead at once arose. Then Simon endeavoured to assert his 
 power by flying in the air, and having crowned himself with 
 laurels, he sprang from a high tower, and was supported in the 
 air for a short time by demons. S. Peter, however, fell on his 
 knees and prayed that they might drop him, which they imme- 
 
156 
 
 PETER. 
 
 diately did, so that lie fell and was dashed to pieces. When 
 the first persecution under ISTero broke ont in Eome, the Chris- 
 tians implored S. Peter not to peril his life, which was so pre- 
 cious to the Church, by remaining in danger, and at length 
 with great difficulty persuaded him to flee from the city. As 
 he was hurrying along the Appian way, and was about two 
 miles from the gate, he suddenly met our Lord Himself jour- 
 neying towards Eome bearing His cross. S. Peter exclaimed 
 in surprise, " Lord, whither goest thou ?" (Domine quo vadis P) 1 
 Jesus, looking upon him with sadness, replied, "I go to Eome, 
 to be crucified again," and vanished. And S. Peter knew it was 
 a sign that by deserting his place he was denying his Lord, 
 and so returned at once to the city. Being taken and im- 
 prisoned with S. Paul in the Mamertine dungeon, he con- 
 verted their gaolers, Processus and Martinian. When S. 
 Peter wished to baptize them, there was no water; but at his 
 prayer a spring broke through the stone floor, and remains to 
 this day. Soon after, S. Peter was taken out and crucified, 
 with his head downwards at his own desire, for he declared 
 himself unworthy to suffer the same death as his Lord. 
 S. Peter of Alcantara, a.d. 1562, Oct. 19, was a Spanish Fran- 
 ciscan monk, who led a life of great sanctity and mortification. 
 His faith and trust were so firm that on one occasion he was 
 enabled to walk over water as safely as if it had been dry 
 land. 
 
 SS. Peter Exorcista and Marcellinus, a.d. 304, June 2, were 
 two priests, who, during the persecution of the Christians, 
 were cast into a dungeon. Their gaoler had a daughter named 
 Paulina, who was sick, and S. Peter undertook to heal her if 
 her father would believe in God. The gaoler only scoffed, and 
 put the two saints into a deeper dungeon, and loaded them 
 
 1 The little church of " Domine quo vadis " at Rome, is built on the spot 
 where this took place. 
 
157 
 
 with chains, declaring that if now their god could deliver 
 them he might then believe on him. That same night they 
 appeared to the gaoler in his bed-chamber, who, awestruck at 
 the power of God, immediately believed and was baptized, 
 together with all his family and three hundred other converts. 
 SS. Peter and Marcellinus were then condemned to be be- 
 headed; and lest the Christians should honour the place of 
 their burial, they were taken to a forest several miles from 
 Eome, and there made to dig their own graves. They then 
 received the crown of martyrdom with joy, strengthening and 
 supporting one another. 
 
 S. Peter Martyr, a.d. 1252, April 28. This saint is honoured by 
 the Dominicans only less than S. Dominic himself. He was 
 born of heretical parents, in the north of Italy, but at the age 
 of fifteen embraced the Catholic faith, and entered the Order 
 of S. Dominic. The intolerance and zeal, amounting to cruelty, 
 with which he attacked all heretics became so remarkable, 
 that the Pope appointed him inquisitor-general. At last two 
 noblemen of Venice, who had suffered much from the oppres- 
 sion of Peter, hired two ruffians to assassinate him. They 
 lay in wait for him in a wood through which he was obliged 
 to pass on his way from Como to Milan. He was accom- 
 panied by a lay brother, and the assassins fell upon them 
 both, and murdered them with great cruelty. The last act of 
 the saint was to endeavour to write the words of the creed 
 with his blood upon the ground. 
 
 S. Peter Nolasco, a.d. 1258, Jan. 13, founder of the Order of 
 Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of captives. He 
 was a young nobleman of Languedoc, who in his youth en- 
 gaged in a crusade against the Albigenses ; but meeting S. 
 John de Matha he caught his enthusiasm for the relief of the 
 suffering, and in imitation of the elder saint, founded an 
 Order for the redemption of slaves, and prisoners for debt, to 
 which he ga,ve the name of " Our Lady of Mercy." It was 
 
158 
 
 PET. 
 
 not originally a religious order, but consisted of knights and 
 noblemen, with the King of Aragon at their head, who also 
 gave them his own arms as a badge. It soon spread from 
 Barcelona, where it was instituted, to all parts of Spain. S. 
 Peter Nolasco became the first General, and spent his whole 
 life in releasing captives from the Moors. Many visions were 
 granted him, and there is a legend that when he was too old 
 and infirm to move, angels carried him in their arms to the 
 foot of the altar to receive the Blessed Sacrament. He died 
 peacefully at a great age. 
 
 S. Peter Regalato, a.d. 145(5, March 30, was a native of Valla- 
 dolid, who having entered a Franciscan convent, became 
 remarkable for his extreme devotion to prayer, and the piety 
 and humility of his life. 
 
 S. Petronilla, first century, May 31, was the daughter of S. Peter, 
 and accompanied him to Rome, where she was attacked by an 
 incurable malady. When some of his disciples were at meat 
 with him they asked the apostle why he did not heal his 
 daughter. He replied, " It is good for her to remain sick," 
 but to prove the power of the word of God, commanded her to 
 rise and serve them, which she did, and then was obliged to 
 lie down as helpless as before. After many years, having 
 become perfect through suffering she was healed. Then, as 
 her beauty was very great, she was asked in marriage by a 
 young heathen nobleman named Valerius Flaccus. Fearing 
 his power, she dared not refuse him, but told him to return in 
 three days and she would go home with him. Meanwhile she 
 prayed most earnestly to be delivered from this marriage ; and 
 her prayers were heard, for when at the end of the three days 
 Flaccus came in state to espouse her, he found her dead. The 
 friends who had accompanied him carried her to her grave, 
 crowned with roses, and Flaccus followed them mourning 
 bitterly. 
 
 S. Petiionius, a.d. 430, Oct. 4, patron saint of Bologna, came of a 
 
PHILIP. 
 
 159 
 
 noble Roman family, and was converted to the faith while a 
 youth. Having been ordained Bishop of Bologna, he set him- 
 self earnestly to suppress the Arian heresy in his diocese, and 
 the success which crowned his efforts earned for him much 
 fame. 
 
 S. Philip, Apostle, May 1, patron saint of Brabant and Luxem- 
 burg. Little is told of S. Philip in the Gospels, but legends 
 relate that after the Ascension he preached in Scythia for 
 twenty years, and then travelled to Hierapolis in Phrygia, 
 where the people worshipped a great serpent or dragon, as a 
 personification of the god Mars. S. Philip called it from 
 beneath the altar, and when it came it sent forth such a 
 horrible odour that many persons, among them the king's 
 son, were killed by it. S. Philip restored them all to life; 
 then holding up the cross he always carried, commanded the 
 dragon in the name of that holy sign to depart, and it at once 
 obeyed him. This so enraged the priests of the dragon that 
 they seized the apostle, and having bound him to a cross, 
 stoned him to death. 
 
 S. Philip the Deacon, June 6. All we know of this saint are the 
 three notices of him in the Acts of the Apostles ; his ordina- 
 tion to the office of Deacon, (Acts vi. 5), and the history of the 
 conversion and baptism by him of the eunuch of Candace, 
 Queen of Ethiopia. (Acts viii. 26.) He also had " four 
 daughters, virgins, which did prophesy," and entertained S. 
 Paul in his house when the apostle was on one of his journeys. 
 (Acts xxi. 8.) 
 
 S. Philip Benozzi, a.d. 1285, Aug. 23, principal saint of the Order 
 of the Servi, was born in Florence, and intending to be a 
 physician, studied medicine in various places in Europe. But 
 one day, when he had returned to his native city, as he was 
 praying in the Church of the SS. Annunziata, he beheld a 
 vision of the Blessed Virgin, who called him to join her 
 Servants. He immediately obeyed, and entered the newly 
 
ICO 
 
 PHILIP. 
 
 founded Order of the Servi. He soon became noted as a 
 preacher, and exerted himself to the utmost to reconcile the 
 different parties which were then waging war in almost all 
 the cities of Italy. He became General of the Order, 
 and obtained for it the confirmation of the Pope. Many- 
 legends relate his good deeds and miracles. Once while he 
 was going to visit the Pope, he met a poor leper by the way, 
 and gave him his only shirt. Another time, as S. Philip and 
 some of his companions were mounting the steep road of their 
 monastery of Monte Senario, some profligate young men, 
 gamblers, mocked and insulted them. A storm coming on, 
 the y oaths fled under a tree for shelter, but were all killed by 
 lightning, while the monks peacefully proceeded on their way. 
 S. Philip among other miracles of healing, cured a woman 
 possessed by an evil spirit ; and even after his death wonders 
 were wrought by his relics. 
 S. Philip Keri, a.d. 1595, May 26, founder of the Order of the 
 Oratorians, was of a noble Florentine family, and early 
 became remarkable for his scholarship and for his great 
 charity. He became the almoner, and was often the counsellor, 
 of S. Charles Borromeo, and always used his influence for 
 the utmost good. He went to Rome as tutor and director 
 to the noble family of the Massimi, and while he was there 
 the son and heir fell dangerously ill. S. Philip came to him 
 and asked him if he was willing and resigned to die. He said, 
 " I am." Then S. Philip answered, " Go in peace," and he at 
 once lay back, and expired peacefully. Active works of charity 
 were ever the principal objects of S. Philip's life, and he 
 united with himself young noblemen and students, whom he 
 formed into a community. They bound themselves by no 
 vows, and did not withdraw from the world, but only devoted 
 themselves to the care of the poor and helpless. The Order 
 took the name of the " Oratorians," from the little oratory 
 where they first assembled ; and received the confirmation of 
 
P HO— POL. 
 
 161 
 
 the Pope, who at the same time gave them the Church of S. 
 Maria della Navicella. S. Philip Neri died at the age of 
 eighty-two. 
 
 S. Ppiocas, a.d. 303, July 3. Patron saint of gardens and gardeners, 
 lived outside the gate of the city of Sinope, in Pontus, and 
 supported himself on the produce of his garden, giving all 
 beyond absolute necessities to the poor, and entertaining 
 all homeless travellers who came to him. One night two 
 strangers asked for admittance, and he received them most 
 hospitably, setting before them the best he could provide. 
 Then they told him that they were in search of a certain 
 Phocas, who had been denounced as a Christian, and that 
 wherever they found him they were to put him to death. 
 Phocas said nothing, but having shown them their bed- 
 chamber, went out and dug a grave among the flowers in his 
 garden. The next morning he told his guests that he was the 
 Phocas they sought. At first they recoiled from shedding the 
 blood of their host ; but when he declared himself ready and 
 willing to die for God, they beheaded him on the edge of the 
 grave he had himself dug, and buried him there. 
 
 S. Placidus, a.d. 584, Jan. 15, was the son of a Roman Senator, 
 who confided him to the care of S. Benedict when he was 
 only five years old, and he grew up to become the constant 
 companion of the saint. After the death of S. Benedict, 
 Placidus went to Sicily, where his sister, S. Flavia, and two of 
 his brothers, joined him ; but in a few years pirates attacked 
 their convents, and the whole family, with thirty of their com- 
 panions, suffered a cruel death at their hands. 
 
 S. Pol or Paul de Leon, a.d. 573, March 12, patron saint and first 
 Bishop of Leon, and founder of the cathedral in that city, 
 was a Welsh prince, who at the age of sixteen retired to Brit- 
 tany. Here he lived a life of good works, subsisting on bread 
 and water only, and performing many miracles and wonders. 
 He is said to have freed the Isle of Eatz from a devastating 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 POT— PRO. 
 
 dragon, by commanding it to cast itself into the sea ; and a 
 little bell, still existing, and by which many marvellous cures 
 of headache and ear-ache are said to be wrought, was, accord- 
 ing to the legend, found by S. Pol in the mouth of a fish. 
 S. Potitus. See S. Ephesus. 
 
 SS. Pbaxedes and Pudentiana, a.d. 148, July 21, and May 19, 
 were the daughters of the Senator Pudens, with whom S. 
 Paul lodged when he was in Rome, and together with their 
 father, their mother Sabinella, and their brother Novatus, 
 became converted to the Christian faith. When their parents 
 and brother died, these two saints inherited all their posses- 
 sions, which they spent in relieving the poor ; and when the 
 persecution of the Christians broke out, they sheltered num- 
 bers in their own house, remains of which are still to be 
 seen in Rome. They visited those who had suffered torture 
 for the faith, and carefully tended their wounds. They also 
 reverently buried the bodies of the martyrs, and having 
 collected their blood in a sponge, put it all in a well near 
 their house. Although they daily perilled their lives they 
 neither of them suffered martyrdom, but died in peace, after 
 giving all they had to the poor. A priest named Pastorus 
 aided them in their works of mercy, and afterwards wrote 
 their history. 
 
 S. Peisca, a.d. 275, Jan 18, was a Roman virgin, who being 
 denounced as a Christian when only thirteen years old, was 
 thrown to the lions. Instead of attacking her they came and 
 licked her feet, and she was in consequence imprisoned, and 
 finally beheaded. Her body being cast out after her martyr- 
 dom, an eagle came and watched it till it was foun<d and 
 buried. 
 
 S. Pjeiocopius, a.d. 1053, July 4, was a King of Bohemia, who re- 
 linquished his crown to live as a solitary hermit in a forest. 
 After many years, a prince named Ulrich, hunting in the 
 forest pursued a hind till it fled for protection to S. Procopius, 
 
PRO— QUI. 
 
 163 
 
 who thus was discovered, and ever after honoured as a 
 saint. 
 
 S. Proctjltjs, a.d. 445, was a Bishop of Bologna, who suffered 
 martyrdom by order of Totila, King of the Goths. 
 
 S. Proctjltjs, a.d. circa 303, patron saint of Bologna, was a Boman 
 soldier, who, moved with righteous indignation, slew with an 
 axe the officer sent to enforce an edict against the Christians, 
 and was immediately taken and martyred. 
 
 S. Protasitjs. See S. Gervasitjs. 
 
 S. Pudentiana. See S. Praxides. 
 
 Qtjattro Coronati, a.d. 400, Nov. 4, were four brothers, sculptors 
 and architects, living in Borne, who, with the five artist com- 
 panions with whom they are generally associated, and who 
 are known as " i Cinque Martin," refused to use their arts 
 in the adornment of a heathen temple. For this they all 
 suffered martyrdom on the same day, some being scourged 
 to death, others thrown into the sea in iron cages, and the 
 rest beheaded. 
 
 S. Quintin, a.d. 287, Oct. 3, was an officer in the Boman army 
 who relinquished his post on his conversion to Christianity, 
 and preached to the people at Amiens and in Belgium. At 
 length being accused before the prefect, he was by his orders 
 first impaled on an iron spit, and then beheaded. His body 
 was thrown into the river Somme, but an angel appeared to a 
 lady named Eusebia, and told her where she should find it. 
 She had it reverently taken up, and buried in a chapel that 
 she built to receive it. A church was soon erected over the 
 spot, and around it a town arose, bearing the name it still 
 retains of S. Quintin. 
 
 S. Qtjirintjs, a.d. 130, March 30, was a Boman tribune, who 
 becoming converted to Christianity enraged his officers by his 
 preaching. At their orders his tongue was torn out and 
 
1g4 
 
 QUI- RAN. 
 
 thrown to a hawk, and he was then torn to pieces by wild 
 horses, or, according to other accounts, beheaded with the sword. 
 S. Quirintjs, a.d. 309, June 4, one of the patron saints of Austria, 
 was Bishop of Sissek in Croatia, and suffered martyrdom by 
 being thrown into a river with a millstone round his neck. 
 
 S. Radegtinda, a.d. 587, Aug. 13, was the daughter of the King of 
 Thuringia, and when quite a child was carried away captive 
 with the rest of her family by Clothaire Y. of France, whom 
 she eventually married. She delighted in deeds of charity 
 and self-denial. One day, being grieved at her inability to 
 release some captives whose lamentations she heard, she 
 prayed earnestly for them, and their fetters broke from off 
 them, so that they could escape. At the end of her life S. 
 Radegunda retired from the world, and entered a convent at 
 Poitiers founded by herself, where she did much good in 
 ministering to the sick and needy. 
 
 S. Ramon. See S. Raymond Nonnatus. 
 
 S. Ranieri, a.d. 1161, July 17, patron saint of Pisa, was a native 
 of that city, of noble birth, and devoted to all worldly 
 pleasures. One day, when Ranieri was in the midst of his 
 folly, a holy man who was passing by looked sorrowfully upon 
 him, and the young man, touched with a sense of his sins, at 
 once turned his back on the world and resolved to live hence- 
 forward a life of repentance. He journeyed to the Holy Land, 
 where he dwelt as a hermit in the desert for twenty years, 
 undergoing the severest mortification but supported by many 
 heavenly visions. He subsisted entirely on bread and water, 
 for the latter of which he had an especial veneration, and 
 vrrought many miracles in connexion with it. Nevertheless, 
 when a dishonest innkeeper mixed water with his wine, he ex- 
 posed the fraud, and exhibited a demon of hideous form seated 
 on the casks, to the wonder of all beholders. At length S. 
 
BAP -BAT. 
 
 1C5 
 
 Rameri returned to Pisa, where he died, and was buried in the 
 cathedral. 
 
 S. Raphael the Archangel, has always been considered the 
 guardian angel of all human souls. He appears in the 
 History of Tobit, as the leader of young Tobias. He is also 
 supposed to have been the seraph who brought to the shep- 
 herds the " good tidings of great joy," on the first Christmas 
 morning. 
 
 S. Raymond Nonnattjs, or Ramon, a.d. 1240, Aug. 31, was a mem- 
 ber of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, and was sent to 
 Algiers to ransom captives. There his heart was so touched 
 by the misery he witnessed, that when his money was ex- 
 hausted he sold himself, to be able to rescue one captive 
 more. The Moors treated him with the utmost barbarity, 
 and, to stop his preaching to his fellow-captives, put an 
 iron padlock on his mouth. After many years of suffering he 
 was released, and was made a Cardinal by Pope Gregory IX. 
 Shortly before his death he was elected also to the office of 
 General of his Order. 
 
 S. Raymond de Pestaeorte, a.d. 1275, Jan. 23, was a Spanish 
 nobleman, who early in life resolved to devote himself to 
 religion, and entered the Order of S. Dominic. His devotion 
 and active charity won the admiration of all, and he became 
 the third General of his Order. He preached a crusade 
 against the Moors with such effect, that the Christians did 
 not rest till they had finally driven them from Spain. It is 
 said that S. Raymond having dared to reprove the King of 
 Aragon for his sins, the latter became so enraged that he 
 refused to allow the saint to return to Spain from Majorca. 
 But Raymond spread his cloak on the water, and set his staff 
 in the middle, with a corner of the cloak for a sail, and having 
 embarked upon this he arrived safely at Barcelona. The king 
 was so struck with astonishment at this miracle that he re- 
 pented, and ever after accepted and obeyed the admonitions 
 
166 
 
 BUG— BOG. 
 
 of the saint. S. Raymond died at Barcelona in his hundredth 
 year. 
 
 S. Eegultjs, sixth century, was a bishop in Africa, who, wearied 
 at the ceaseless contentions between the Catholics and Arians, 
 fled to Tuscany, where he lived for some time as a hermit. 
 When Italy was invaded by Totila, King of the Goths, 
 Eegulus was beheaded ; but he took his head in his hand, and 
 walking some distance gave it to two awestruck disciples, who 
 received and buried it. 
 
 S. Eemy, or Eemigitts, a.d. 533, Oct. 1, was Bishop of Eheims, and 
 the principal event in his life is the baptism by him of Clovis, 
 King of the Franks. After his death his relics were first 
 buried in the Church of S. Christopher, but afterwards trans- 
 lated to the Benedictine abbey at Eheims. 
 
 S. Eepabata, 3rd century, patron saint of Florence before 1298, was a 
 virgin, born at Cassarea in Cappadocia, and when only twelve 
 years old was denounced as a Christian before the Emperor. 
 She suffered the most cruel tortures, and was finally beheaded. 
 At the moment of her death, her spirit, in the form of a dove, 
 was seen to ascend to heaven. 
 
 S. Eichakd of Pontoise, a.d. 1182, was a child crucified by the 
 Jews, in ridicule of Christ, and in revenge for the injuries to 
 which they were subjected. 
 
 S. Eoch, a.d. 1327, Aug. 16. Patron saint of prisoners and 
 the sick, especially the plague-stricken, was born in Lan- 
 guedoc, of noble parents, by whom he was virtuously brought 
 up ; but they died before he was twenty, leaving him vast 
 possessions. These he sold at once, and having given all the 
 money to hospitals and the poor, he started on a pilgrimage 
 to Eome. When he reached Aquapendente, he found that 
 city desolated by the plague, and directly set himself to nurse 
 the sick in the hospitals. He worked with untiring love, and 
 many wonders of healing were wrought through his prayers. 
 Feeling that the care of the sick was his vocation, S. Eoch 
 
HO MAIN. 
 
 167 
 
 travelled from place to place wherever he heard there was the 
 plague, only praying God that ne might be found worthy to 
 die a martyr to this cause. For a long time he toiled among 
 the sufferers unharmed, but at length, at Piacenza, he took the 
 plague, which was of a peculiarly virulent kind. As he could 
 not bear to distress the other inmates of the hospital by the 
 cries and groans of pain he was unable to repress, he dragged 
 himself out into the streets, but was harshly driven away lest 
 he should spread the infection. He just succeeded in reaching 
 a wood, where he fell down hoping for death. But though he 
 was far from all human aid, his little dog which had never for- 
 saken him, ran daily into the city, and fetched thence a loaf of 
 bread, and angels came and ministered to him till he re- 
 covered. Then he returned home ; but he had become so 
 altered and emaciated by disease and suffering that no one 
 knew him, and his own uncle imprisoned him as a spy. He 
 looked upon this as the will of God, and refrained from de- 
 claring who he was, and justifying himself. For five years 
 he remained in the dungeon, until at last the gaoler, entering 
 his cell one morning, found him lying dead, with a bright 
 light shining around him, and a writing by his side revealing 
 his name and history. His uncle, full of remorse for his un- 
 conscious injustice, buried him, with great honour, in his 
 native town of Montpelier. 
 S. Komain, a.d. 639, Oct. 23, was Bishop of Rouen, and exerted 
 himself so successfully against the heathen Gauls that he 
 earned the title of " Apostle of Normandy." It is said that 
 when Rouen was nearly destroyed by the overflowing of the 
 Seine, S. Romain commanded the waters to go back ; but as they 
 receded, a terrible dragon issued from the slime and mud that 
 was left. With the help of a murderer the saint overcame and 
 destroyed the dragon ; and in memory of this miracle the 
 Chapter of Rouen had the privilege of releasing a criminal 
 condemned to death. 
 
168 
 
 BOM— BOS. 
 
 S. Romtjaldo, a.d. 1027, Feb. 7, founder of the Order of Camaldo- 
 lesi, reformed Benedictines, was a nobleman of Ravenna, and 
 when only twenty witnessed the mnrder by his father of a 
 near relation. Horror- str nek, he resolved to devote his life to 
 doing penance for his father's sin, if by this means he might 
 expiate it. He entered the Benedictine Order at S. Apol- 
 linare-in-Classis, but was so much distressed at the lax and 
 often sinful lives led by the monks, that he was filled with the 
 desire to restore the order to its original purity. He was met 
 with every possible opposition, and even persecution, in his 
 good work, but he persevered notwithstanding all difficulties, 
 and succeeded in founding many establishments of the 
 reformed Order. He changed the habit from black to white 
 in obedience to a vision ; and the first institution being on 
 a spot among the Apennines called the Campo Maldoli, the 
 Order hence derived its name. S. Romualdo died after a life of 
 constant labour and conflict, at the great age of a hundred and 
 twenty. o 
 
 S. Romulo, first century, July 23, was a Bom an noble, who being 
 converted by the teaching of S. Beter, received a mission from 
 him to preach at Fiesole. He became the first bishop of that 
 city ; but when the persecution of the Christians broke out, he 
 was taken, and cast into a dungeon. After enduring the 
 most cruel tortures he was finally slain with a dagger. 
 
 S. Bosa di Lima, a.d. 1617, Aug. 30, was born in Beru, and from her 
 earliest years showed a disposition to asceticism. When obliged 
 to wear a wreath of roses, she arranged it so that the thorns 
 should pierce her, and destroyed her beauty with quicklime to 
 discourage her numerous suitors. She toiled night and day to 
 support her parents, chiefly working with her needle. She 
 became a member of the Third Order of S. Dominic, and died 
 at the age of thirty. 
 
 S. Rosa di Yitekbo, a.d. 1261, May 8, was a member of the Third 
 Order of S. Francis, and did a good work in Yiterbo, where, by 
 
BOS— SUB. 
 
 169 
 
 her preaching and example, she drew many to the service of 
 Christ. Her boundless charity made her greatly beloved by 
 all the people. 
 
 S. Eosalia of Palermo, a.d. 1160, Sept. 4, was a noble virgin, 
 who renounced the world in her sixteenth year, and retired to 
 a solitary cave on the Monte Pellegrino, where she lived 
 engaged in prayer and severe penance, and died undiscovered. 
 Many years after, her body was found unchanged, her head 
 crowned with heavenly roses, and her name written on a rock 
 near her. Twice since her death her intercessions are said to 
 have saved the city of Palermo from the plague. 
 
 S. Bueina. See S. Justa. 
 
 S. Rusticus. See S. Denis. 
 
 S. Sabina, second century, Aug 29, was a noble Eoman matron, 
 converted to the Christian faith by her slave Seraphia. They 
 both suffered martyrdom together under the Emperor Ha- 
 drian. The church in Rome bearing her name was built over 
 the site of her house in the fourth century. 
 
 S. Scholastica. See S. Benedict. 
 
 S. Sebald, or Siwakd, a.d. 770, was the son of a Danish king 
 settled in England, and accompanied S. Boniface on his 
 missionary expedition to Germany. His preaching and won- 
 derful miracles converted many. On one occasion, when he 
 found two fellow-missionaries, SS. Willibald and Winibald, 
 ready to perish with hunger and weariness, he changed stones 
 into bread, and water into wine, for their support. Another 
 time, when a family he often visited had exhausted their stock 
 of firewood in a very severe winter, and were almost dying of 
 cold, S. Sebald bade them bring in the icicles hanging ronnd 
 the roof to use for fuel, and they burnt brightly. While the 
 saint was preaching at Kuremburg, a profane blasphemer 
 scoffed at his doctrine ; but S. Sebald prayed for a sign, and 
 
170 
 
 SEBASTIAN. 
 
 immediately the earth, opened and swallowed up his enemy. As 
 he was sinking, he repented, and cried for mercy, and was 
 rescued and forgiven by S. Sebald. Once the poor man whom 
 the saint had miraculously supplied with fuel, fell under the 
 displeasure of his lord for supplying his benefactor with fish on 
 fast days, and so suffered the loss of his eyes. But as soon as 
 S. Sebald heard it, he restored him to sight by his prayers. 
 For the rest of his life S. Sebald dwelt near Nuremburg, 
 preaching and labouring for the conversion of the heathen 
 with untiring zeal. 
 S. Sebastian, a.d. 288, Jan. 20, patron saint against the plague, 
 and pestilence, was born at Narbonne, of noble parents, and 
 served as an officer in the Roman army. He was secretly a 
 Christian, and used his power to the utmost for the protection 
 of his brethren. He also converted to the faith many of his com- 
 panions. At length two of them, Marcus and Marcellinus, were 
 taken as Christians and put to torture, which they bore with 
 unshaken constancy ; but as they were being led to execution, 
 their parents, wives, and children surrounded them, weeping, 
 and beseeching them not to flirig away their lives. This was 
 harder to bear than the torture, and the two companions 
 wavered. Just then S. Sebastian rushed forward, and ear- 
 nestly prayed them to die sooner than deny Christ. At his 
 words they hesitated no longer, and bravely went to their death, 
 while almost all those present were converted by the exhorta- 
 tions of the saint. S. Sebastian was then denounced as a 
 Christian ; but the Emperor loved him, and endeavoured first 
 to move him by reasoning with him privately. Finding this 
 quite ineffectual, he ordered him to be shot to death with 
 arrows, at the same time desiring that an inscription should 
 be written over him declaring he had no fault but being a 
 Christian. The archers having pierced S. Sebastian with 
 many arrows left him for dead, but a devout widow, named 
 Irene, who came to bury his body, found that life had not 
 
SEC— SIM. 
 
 171 
 
 departed, as none of the arrows had touched a vital part. 
 She took him home, and tended him carefully till he recovered. 
 His friends implored him to flee from Rome ; but he determined 
 to confront Diocletian once more, and waiting for him on some 
 steps he was obliged to pass, addressed the Emperor, pleading 
 for the persecuted Christians, and rebuking him for his sins. 
 Diocletian was struck with amazement at the sight of the 
 man he thought dead, but enraged at his words caused him to 
 be beaten to death with clubs. His body was thrown into the 
 Cloaca Maxima, whence it was rescued by a lady named Lu- 
 cina, and buried in the Catacombs, near SS. Peter and Paul. 
 Prom his connexion with arrows S. Sebastian came to be 
 regarded as the especial patron saint against pestilence, 
 (always symbolized by arrows), and there is a tablet in S. 
 Pietro-in-Vincoli in Rome recording a notable instance of the 
 deliverance by him of that city from the plague. 
 
 S. Secukdus, patron saint of Asti, was one of the Theban Legion. 
 See S. Maurice. 
 
 S. Sexberga. See S. Etheldreda. 
 
 S. Sigismund, a.d. 525, May 1, was Duke of Burgundy at a time 
 when the contentions between the Arians and the Catholics 
 were raging. His father was an Arian, and had murdered the 
 Catholic parents of S. Clotilda, his near relation, but Sigis- 
 mond was a devout Catholic, The false accusation of his 
 second wife having caused him to put to death his eldest son, 
 Sigismond bitterly repented of his crime, and prayed that he 
 might suffer punishment in this world instead of in the next. 
 And so it came to pass ; for his kingdom was invaded by the 
 sons of Clotilda, who imprisoned and then slew him. His 
 body was thrown into a well, but was recovered, and buried in 
 the monastery of S. Maurice. 
 
 SS. Simon and Jude, or Thaddeus, Oct 28. Yery little is known 
 of these saints, as much confusion exists in all histories of 
 
172 
 
 SIR -ST A. 
 
 them. They are generally considered to have been brothers, 
 and, according to some accounts, kinsmen of our Lord ; but 
 according to others they were among the shepherds to whom 
 the angels declared the glad tidings of Christ's birth. They 
 are thought to have preached together in Syria and Mesopo- 
 tamia, and travelling as far as Persia, to have been there taken 
 and martyred, S. Simon being sawn asunder, and S. Jude slain 
 with a halberd. 
 
 S. Smo, or Syhus, fourth century, was the first Bishop of Pavia. 
 He ruled his diocese for fifty-six years, and it is doubtful 
 whether he suffered martyrdom. 
 
 Sleepers oe Ephesus, a.d. 250, June 27, were seven young men, 
 named Maximian, Malchus, Marcian, Dionysius, Serapion, 
 John, and Constantine, who in the persecution under Decius fled 
 for refuge to a cave in mount Coelian. There they fell asleep 
 for 196 years, without knowing it was more than one night. 
 "When they awoke, one of them in fear and trembling ventured 
 into the city to buy food, but was struck with astonishment to 
 find everything changed, and all the people Christian. His 
 strange behaviour aroused suspicion, and he was brought 
 before the bishop, who by questioning him elicited the whole 
 history of the miracle. Now at this time a heresy prevailed 
 denying the resurrection of the dead, and when the Emperor 
 Theodosius with the bishop and many others went to the 
 cave to behold the sleepers, one of them, by the inspiration of 
 God, declared that they had been raised before the day of 
 judgment, that all might henceforward trust in the resur- 
 rection of the dead. And then they once more lay down, and 
 their spirits peacefully departed to God. 
 
 S. Stanislas Kotska, a.d. 1589, Nov. .13, was a young Polish 
 nobleman, who, meeting S. Francis Borgia, was persuaded by 
 him to enter the Society of Jesus. He became noted for his 
 devotion and humility ; and it is said that once while he was 
 
STE—SW1. 
 
 173 
 
 sick at Vienna, in the house of a Protestant, the Blessed 
 Sacrament was brought to him by angels. He died in Borne 
 when only seventeen. 
 
 S. Stephen, Protomartyr, Dec. 26. Nothing is related of S. 
 Stephen beyond what we read in the Acts of the Apostles. 
 There is a legend which tells that, 400 years after his death, 
 Gamaliel appeared in a vision to a priest, and revealed to him 
 that he had buried the body of S. Stephen in his own garden, 
 together with that of Mcodemus and other saints. The relics 
 were found, and attested by many miracles, and those of S. 
 Stephen were brought to Borne and deposited in the sepulchre 
 of S. Laurence. See S. Laurence. 
 
 S. Stephen of Hungary, a.d. 1038, Sept. 2, was the first Christian 
 King of Hungary, and became the apostle and legislator of his 
 country, changing it from savage heathenism to peace and 
 civilization. The Pope sent him the royal crown, which was 
 preserved till a few years ago at Presburg. 
 
 S. Susanna, a.d. 290, Aug. 11, was a noble Roman virgin, related 
 to the Emperor Diocletian, who, as she was remarkable for 
 her beauty and wisdom, desired her to marry his son. She, 
 however, had dedicated herself to God, and refused to comply 
 with the wish of the Emperor, who became so enraged at this 
 opposition that he ordered her to be slain in her own house. 
 
 S. SwidbePvT, a.d. 713, March 1, was a monk in a Benedic- 
 tine monastery in Northumberland, who travelled to Fries- 
 land to preach to the heathen. He converted many, and 
 built a monastery on the Ehine near D usseldorf , where he 
 died. 
 
 S. Swithin, a.d. 862, July 15, was Bishop of Winchester, and pre- 
 ceptor of Alfred the. Great. His charities to the poor were 
 boundless, and when he died he desired to be buried with them 
 outside the church. The clergy, however, desired to inter him 
 in a splendid tomb within the church ; but on the appointed 
 day such torrents of rain fell they were unable to proceed. 
 
174 
 
 SYLVESTER. 
 
 This continued for forty days, and then the clergy accepted 
 the warning, and obeyed the wish of their bishop in leaving his 
 body in a humble grave. 
 S. Sylvester, a.d. 335, Dec. 31, was Bishop of Bome ; but in the 
 persecution under Const antine he fled to a cave on Monte 
 Calvo. Meanwhile, the Emperor fell sick of a terrible leprosy, 
 and was told by Iris priest that only a bath of children's blood 
 could cure him. He therefore ordered it to be prepared ; but 
 on his way the mothers of the three thousand intended victims 
 surrounded him, weeping and imploring mercy. Constantine 
 could not resist them, and released the children, saying he 
 would prefer death to the cruelty of such a remedy. That 
 night SS. Peter and Paul appeared to him in a vision, and to 
 reward him for his good deed, told him to send for Sylvester, 
 who would show him a pool where he might wash and be clean. 
 Then bidding him henceforward worship only the God of the 
 Christians, they vanished. On awaking, Constantine sent for 
 Sylvester, who came gladly, thinking it was to martyrdom. 
 The Emperor conversed with him, and finally was converted 
 and baptized, his leprosy completely disappearing when he 
 emerged from the font. He conferred great benefits on the 
 church; among others, he decreed that the Bishop of Rome 
 should be chief over all others, and laid the foundation of the 
 Basilica of S, JohnLateran. Now the Empress Helena wished 
 her son to worship the God of the Jews, and sent for the most 
 learned among the rabbis to argue with S. Sylvester, but he 
 confounded them all. Then one who was a magician defied 
 Sylvester, saying he knew the name of the Omnipotent, which 
 no creature can hear and live ; and a fierce wild bull being 
 brought in, he whispered the name in its ear, and it fell dead. 
 Sylvester, however, declared that it was not the name of God 
 he had uttered, but of Satan; for God, who made all things alive, 
 did not strike dead ; and he desired the magician to restore the 
 bull to life, but he could not. Then Sylvester, making the 
 
THECLA. 
 
 175 
 
 sign of the cross, commanded it to rise and go in peace, and it 
 immediately obeyed him. All who were present, beholding 
 this wondrous miracle, believed. Soon after, Constantine 
 called upon Sylvester for aid against a terrible dragon, who 
 daily devoured three hundred men, and the bishop completely 
 overcame it, and binding thread thrice round its mouth, de- 
 livered it to the people to be slain. Sylvester once sheltered 
 in his house a man named Timotheus, who was afterwards 
 martyred for the faith. The prefect, believing that Timotheus 
 had left a treasure, threatened Sylvester with torture if he did 
 not give it up to him. The bishop only responded, " Thou 
 fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee and truly, 
 when the prefect was at dinner a fish-bone choked him, so that 
 he died. 
 
 S. Thecla, first century, Sept. 23, patron saint of Tarragona, was 
 a virgin, living in Anconium, who, when S. Paul came to preach 
 in that city, spent the whole day at the window listening to 
 him. This conduct so enraged her betrothed that he appealed 
 to the governor, who threw S. Paul into prison ; but S. Thecla 
 bribed the jailors to allow her to enter the dungeon, and 
 receive more teaching from the apostle. "When the governor 
 heard of this, he ordered that S. Paul should be scourged and 
 driven from the city, and that Thecla should be burnt ; but 
 the flames refused to touch her, and she escaped with S. Paul 
 to Antioch. There she was again accused, and cast to wild 
 beasts ; but neither would they harm her, and therefore the 
 people let her go. She once more joined the apostle at Myra, 
 and there preached to the people, performing so many miracles 
 of healing on the sick, that the jealousy and rage of the 
 physicians were excited, and they sent a band of men to 
 attack her. When she beheld them coming, she prayed for 
 
176 
 
 THE. 
 
 deliverance, and a rock opened to receive her, and she was 
 seen no more. 
 
 S. Theodore, a.d. 306, 'Nov. 9, formerly patron saint of Venice, 
 was a Roman officer under Licinins, who suffered martyrdom, 
 after attesting his zeal for the faith by setting fire to the 
 temple of Cybele. 
 
 S. Theonestus, a.d. 286, one of the Theban Legion. See S. 
 Maurice. 
 
 S. Theresa, a.d. 1582, Oct. 17. Patron saint of Spain, and founder 
 of the Scalzi, a reformed Order of Carmelites, was born at 
 Avila, in Castile, of noble parents; and from her earliest 
 childhood diligently studied the lives of the saints and 
 martyrs. These so fired her imagination, that when she was 
 nine years old she, and a little brother a year younger, set off 
 alone to the country of the Moors, hoping there to obtain the 
 crown of martyrdom. They were followed and brought back, 
 and then resolved to become hermits ; but their resolve was 
 again frustrated, They therefore did what they could, spend- 
 ing all their money in almsgiving, and delighting in fancying 
 themselves monks and nuns. However, after the death of 
 her mother, Theresa became drawn into the pleasures of the 
 world, till scarcely any religious principle was left in her 
 mind. Her father, seeing this, placed her in a convent, and 
 all her old enthusiasm for the religious life returned. Yet 
 the struggle between her desire for the security of the con- 
 vent, and her aversion to seclusion, was so great as to throw 
 her into a serious illness. At length she decided to take the 
 vows, and entered the Carmelite convent at Avila at the age 
 of twenty. It was, however, twenty years before she found 
 the peace she had hoped for in the cloister. She has left an 
 account of her struggles, trials, and temptations, from which it 
 appears that the " Confessions of S. Augustine " were her great 
 comfort, and that reading them seems to have been the turn- 
 ing-point of her life. In time she began to occupy herself in 
 
THOMAS. 
 
 17? 
 
 active deeds of charity, and at last entertained the idea of 
 reforming the Carmelite order, which had fallen from the 
 original severity of its rnle. She began with eight nnns only, 
 in a small convent built for her by her own townspeople, 
 which she dedicated to S. Joseph; but in the course of twenty 
 years she accomplished the great work of introducing the re- 
 formed Carmelite rule in the monasteries as well as in the 
 convents. Her main principle was, that they should possess 
 absolutely nothing, and should subsist solely upon charity. 
 She founded seventeen religious establishments for women, 
 and fifteen for men, and spent her last years in visiting and 
 regulating them. All her life she suffered from disease, which 
 greatly increased towards the end, and she died at length in 
 the convent of S. Joseph. She wrote many religious works, 
 and also a history of her own life. 
 S. Thomas, Apostle, Dec. 21, patron saint of Portugal and 
 Parma, also of architects and builders. Besides what we 
 learn from the few notices of S. Thomas in the New 
 Testament, tradition recounts that after the Ascension he 
 travelled to India, where he found the Three Magi, and bap- 
 tized them. He is said to have suffered martyrdom at 
 Meliapore, being pierced with a lance at the foot of a cross 
 he had raised. In the sixteenth century his relics were taken 
 from that city, and deposited at Goa. The following legends 
 are also related of him. Once, when he was at Cas-sarea, it 
 was revealed to him in a vision that he was to go with some 
 messengers sent by Gondoforus, King of the Indies, to search 
 for skilled builders and architects to erect the most splendid 
 palace ever seen. He obeyed, and Gondoforus received him 
 gladly ; and having furnished him with large sums of money 
 to build this magnificent palace, departed for two years. 
 "When he was gone S. Thomas gave away all the treasure in 
 alms to the poor, and the king, on his return, was so enraged, 
 that he cast him into a dungeon, intending to devise for him 
 
178 
 
 THOMAS. 
 
 some horrible death. But just theu the brother of Gondo- 
 forus died, and four days after appeared to the king, telling 
 him that he had been shown by angels the glorious palace 
 of gold and silver that Thomas, the servant of God, had 
 built for him in heaven. Then Gondoforus hastened to the 
 prison and released S. Thomas, who told him that those who 
 would possess heavenly things must care little for the things 
 of this world; and that though his riches might prepare him 
 such a palace they could not follow him thither. It is with 
 reference to this legend that S. Thomas is represented with 
 the builder's rule. Another legend, known as that of the 
 " Madonna della Cintola," relates that S. Thomas, being 
 absent at the ascension of the Blessed Virgin to heaven, 
 doubted the fact of her ascension, and desired to look into 
 her tomb. It was found empty, and moreover the Yirgin, 
 in pity for his want of faith, dropped her girdle down to him 
 to assure him of the truth; ami this girdle has ever since 
 been preserved as a relic in the Cathedral of Prato. 
 S. Thomas Aquinas, a.d. 1274, March 7. This saint, known as 
 the " Angelical Doctor," was born in Calabria, of a noble 
 family, and was related to many of the crowned heads of 
 Europe. He was early noted for his piety, and gentleness 
 and sweetness of temper, and when only seventeen entered 
 the Dominican Order at Naples. His family were so enraged 
 at this step that they seized and carried him home; but 
 his resolution was not to be moved, and he converted his 
 two sisters, who helped him to escape. He returned at once 
 to his convent, where he concealed his great learning from 
 a sense of humility, so that it was long unsuspected, and 
 he was even nicknamed " Bos," the ox, for his apparent 
 dulness. However, he gradually gained a reputation, which 
 steadily increased, and he became the greatest theologian 
 of his age. Yarious high offices were offered him, but he 
 refused them all. He died at the Cistercian convent of 
 
THO — TBO. 
 
 179 
 
 Fossa-Nova, spending his last strength, in an effort to finish 
 his Commentary on the Song of Solomon. His theological 
 works are very numerous, and of great value. 
 
 S. Thomas a Becket of Canterbury, a.d. 1170, Dec. 29, is the 
 most popular of English saints ; but his life is too well 
 known from English history to need repetition here. 
 
 S. Thomas of Villanueva, a.d. 1555, Sept. 17, was born of a 
 noble Spanish family. His parents, though poor, gave all 
 they could spare in charity, and Thomas followed their good 
 example, even from a child giving his clothes and food to 
 the poor. When he was thirty he entered the Augustine 
 Order, and became remarkable for the power of his preaching. 
 The Emperor Charles Y. highly esteemed him, and often 
 took his advice on ecclesiastical matters. S. Thomas was 
 at length made Archbishop of Valencia, but he retained the 
 same simple habits as before his elevation. His appearance 
 was so poverty-stricken that the Chapter once presented him 
 with a large sum of money to purchase a fresh supply of 
 clothes, but he gave it all to an hospital. Almost his entire 
 revenue he devoted to works of charity, carefully organized 
 by himself. His extraordinary generosity to the poor earned 
 for him the surname of " the Almoner." 
 
 S. Tokpe or Tropes, a.d. 70, May 17, patron saint of Pisa, was a 
 noble Roman, who served in the army under Nero. Having 
 been converted by S. Paul, he suffered martyrdom by being 
 beheaded. There is a tradition that, at the time of a great 
 drought at Pisa, the head of £L Torpe was carried in procession 
 through the streets, when by the prayer of the saint such tor- 
 rents of water rushed down the bed of the river that the head 
 itself was swept away. In the midst of the profound grief of 
 the people two angels rescued the sacred relic, and restored it 
 to the Archbishop. 
 
 S. TEOPHiMTJSof Aries, first century, Dec. 29, was an Ephesian, the 
 disciple of S. Paul, whom he accompanied on his journeys 
 
 n 2 
 
180 
 
 ULE—UES 
 
 (Acts xx. 4). It was his supposed presence in the Temple that 
 caused the tumult related in Acts xxi. 27. The apostle was 
 obliged to leave him at Miletum, sick (2 Tim iv. 20), but 
 he afterwards followed him to Rome. He was sent thence to 
 preach at Aries, and became first bishop of that city. 
 
 S. Ulrich, a.d. 973, July 4, patron saint of Augsburg, was born of 
 a noble family, and was made Bishop of Augsburg at an early 
 age. Many miracles are related of him, among others, that 
 he once converted flesh into fish that his people might not 
 break a fast. He was buried in the church of S. Afra, at 
 Augsburg, and his shrine became a favourite resort of pilgrims. 
 
 Se Umilta. See S. Humility. 
 
 S. Urban, Pope. See S. Cecilia. 
 
 S. TJHSULA AND THE ELEVEN THOUSAND YlRGINS, A.D. 237, Or 383, Or 
 
 451, Oct 21. S. Ursula is the patron saint of girls, especially 
 schoolgirls, and women occupied in the education of their own 
 sex. She was the daughter of the King of Brittany, and the 
 fame of her beauty and learning spread so far that many 
 princes desired to marry her ; but she rejected them all. Among 
 her suitors was Conon, son of the King of Britain, to whom she 
 sent a message that under three conditions only would she 
 accept him ; first, that he must be baptized ; secondly, that he 
 would give her as companions ten of the noblest ladies of his 
 kingdom, each with a thousand virgins as attendants, and a 
 thousand also for herself ; thirdly, that they should spend three 
 years in visiting sacred shrines, She thought that her demand 
 was impossible, or, if by any means it could be fulfilled, eleven 
 thousand virgins would be saved. The messengers took back 
 such an account of Ursula's wisdom and beauty, that Conon 
 did not rest till he had gathered together eleven thousand vir- 
 gins, and brought them to Brittany. Then S. Ursula assembled 
 
URSULA. 
 
 181 
 
 them in a green meadow, and there preached to them so 
 eloquently, that they were all converted, and received baptism 
 in a stream flowing near. A large fleet of ships was prepared 
 to take the virgins on their voyage. Accounts differ as to 
 whether Conon accompanied them or remained in Brittany, 
 but many bishops went with them. They had no sailors, the 
 virgins themselves managing the vessels with the greatest skill ; 
 yet by some mistake they sailed north instead of south, and 
 were driven up the Rhine as far as Cologne. Here it was 
 revealed to S. Ursula that she and her companions should 
 suffer martyrdom on that spot, and they all rejoiced greatly. 
 They then proceeded up the river, and having crossed the Alps 
 by the miraculous aid of ' angels, at length reached Rome. The 
 Pope Cyriacus was much amazed at beholding such a company; 
 but, when Ursula explained the cause of their coming and im- 
 plored his blessing, he received them gladly. Now Conon, 
 impatient at the absence of his bride, had followed her by a 
 different route, and arrived in Rome the same day. He knelt 
 with Ursula before the Pope, and received baptism at his hands, 
 after which he no longer desired to marry her, but only to 
 share her crown of martyrdom. Having performed their 
 devotions at the shrine of SS. Peter and Paul, the whole com- 
 pany set out to return home. But at Cologne a tribe of Huns, 
 instigated by some wicked officers, who feared that the whole 
 Roman army in Germany would become converted, fell upon 
 the virgins and slew them all. They met their fate without 
 resistance, and rejoicing at their martyrdom. The King of the 
 Huns was greatly struck by the noble bearing of S. Ursula, 
 and wished to make her his wife ; but she rejected him with 
 scorn. This so enraged the barbarian that he bent his bow 
 and pierced her with three arrows. Thus she died, and her 
 spirit was born by angels to heaven. 
 
182 
 
 VAL—VIC. 
 
 S. Valerie, or Valere. See S. Martial. 
 
 S. Vekdiana, a.d. 1242, Feb. 1, was a poor girl, who being adopted 
 by a rich relation to wait upon his wife, made herself beloved 
 and trusted by all. She became remarkable for the extent 
 of her charity, and one day during a severe famine in Florence 
 she gave away a large box of beans to the poor. When her 
 master heard it he was very angry, but the next day the box 
 was found miraculously replenished. At length she obtained 
 her relation's consent to her retiring into a Yallombrosan con- 
 vent, where, by her own request, she was walled up in her cell, 
 and food was lowered to her through a little window. Daily 
 two snakes crawled into this cell, and at first Yerdiana was 
 filled with repulsion at the sight of them ; but she determined 
 to conquer the dislike, and always shared her scanty portion of 
 food with them. After many years of solitude and penance 
 she was one morning found dead in her cell, by some peasants 
 who came to provide her with food. 
 
 S. Veronica was, according to some accounts, the daughter of 
 Salome, and niece of Herod ; according to others she was the 
 woman healed of the issue of blood by touching the hem of 
 Christ's garment. When Jesus was on His way to Calvary, 
 she gave Him a handkerchief to wipe His face, and ever after 
 the representation of His features remained impressed upon 
 it. Many cures were said to have been wrought by the 
 sacred cloth in later years. S. Veronica was sent for to 
 Borne to heal the Emperor Tiberius with it of a terrible 
 disease, but he died before her arrival. She, however, remained 
 in Rome with SS. Peter and Paul, and suffered martyrdom 
 under Nero. 
 
 S. Victor of Marseilles, a.d. 303, July 21, was a soldier in the 
 Eoman army under Diocletian. During the great persecution, 
 when commanded to sacrifice to Jupiter, he not only refused, 
 but overthrew the altar and dashed the idol to pieces. He 
 then underwent terrible tortures without flinching, and after 
 
VIC—VIN. 
 
 183 
 
 being crushed with a millstone was finally beheaded. When 
 he died angels were heard singing "Vicisti, Yictor beate, 
 vicisti." 
 
 S. Yictor of Milan, a.d. 303, May 8, was a Mauritanian, serving 
 in the Roman army. While it was quartered at Milan he 
 was accused as a Christian, and put to the severest torture, 
 even being thrown into a heated oven. He finally suffered 
 martyrdom by being beheaded. 
 
 S. Yin cent, a.d. 304, Jan. 22, patron saint of Lisbon, Valencia, 
 Saragossa, Milan, and Chalons, was a native of Saragossa. 
 He was ordained deacon before he was twenty; and when the 
 persecution under Diocletian broke out he was denounced as 
 a Christian, together with his Bishop, Valerius. Now Valerius 
 was so aged that his voice was inaudible ; therefore Vincent, 
 having obtained his leave to speak for both, spoke, pro- 
 claiming the faith and defying torture. The proconsul, en- 
 raged, banished Valerius, and inflicted the most horrible 
 torture on S. Vincent, tearing his flesh with forks, and then 
 casting him into a dungeon strewed with potsherds. But 
 angels came and strengthened him, and his gaolers heard 
 their songs and beheld the dungeon full of light, and were so 
 filled with wonder that they fell down and worshipped God. 
 Then the proconsul resolved to try another course, and had 
 him laid on a soft bed covered with rose-leaves, and allowed 
 all his friends to come and see him. But immediately he was 
 placed there, his spirit, " as if disdaining such indulgences," 
 departed peacefully. His body was cast out to the wild 
 beasts, but a raven came and guarded it. Then it was thrown 
 far out to sea attached to a millstone ; but when those who had 
 taken it out rowed back to land, they found the body already 
 lying on the shore, and this wonder so alarmed them that 
 they fled. Then the waves hollowed a grave in the sand, where 
 the body lay, unknown, for many years, till the place of its 
 burial was revealed to some Christians, who transported the 
 
184 
 
 VINCENT 
 
 remains to Valencia. In the eighth century, when the Chris- 
 tians were driven from Valencia by the Moors, they took the 
 body of S. Vincent with them, and fled to a certain promon- 
 tory, which has ever since been known as Cape S. Vincent. 
 Here again ravens guarded the remains of the saint ; and 
 when, four hundred years later, the King of Portugal trans- 
 lated the relics to Lisbon, two ravens sat on either end of the 
 ship arjd guided it to its destination. The body of S. Vincent 
 finally reposed in the Cathedral at Lisbon, the crows remain- 
 ing always near it, till in the course of years they multiplied 
 to such a large number that special sums of money had to be 
 devoted to their support. 
 S. Vincent Ferraris, a.d. 1419, April 5, was born at Valencia, 
 and having entered the Order of S. Dominic in his eighteenth 
 year, became one of its most celebrated preachers. He 
 travelled through almost every country in Europe, preaching 
 and working miracles, and though he could only speak his 
 native language, he was everywhere understood. He died at 
 Vannes in Brittany, where he spent the last two years of his 
 life. 
 
 S. Vincent de Patjle, a.d. 1660, July 19, founder of hospitals 
 for deserted children, and of the Order of Sisters of Charity, 
 was born in Gascony, and entered the Franciscan Order at 
 the age of twenty. He was once taken by pirates, and 
 obliged to labour two years at Tunis as a slave, but at the 
 end of that time he converted his master and his wife, and 
 they all escaped together. Eemembering all the suffering he 
 had witnessed during his captivity, he set himself earnestly 
 to do good to all prisoners, both to their bodies and souls, 
 preaching to them, and endeavouring to ameliorate their con- 
 dition. He did not rest here, but, filled with pity for the 
 deserted children he found in the streets, he established a 
 home for them called the " Maison des Enfants trouves," and in- 
 stituted the Order of Sisters of Charity to take care of them, and 
 
VIT—WAL. 
 
 185 
 
 for other works of mercy. S. Vincent de Paule was a friend 
 of Cardinal Richelieu and Lonis XIII., and attended the 
 latter on his death-bed. He himself died at S. Lazare, having 
 won the title of " Pere des Pauvres," and the good works 
 founded by him remain to the present day. 
 
 S. Vital is, first century, April 8, patron saint of Ravenna, was a 
 soldier in the Boman army under Nero, and together with his 
 two sons, SS. Gervasius and Protasius, was converted to the 
 Christian faith by S. Peter. Having supported one of the 
 martyrs during his sufferings, and afterwards buried his body, 
 S. Yitalis was accused as a Christian, and after undergoing 
 cruel torture was buried alive. 
 
 S. Vitus, a.d. 303, June 15, patron saint of Bohemia, Saxony, and 
 Sicily, of dancers and actors, and those who find a difficulty 
 in early rising, was a young Sicilian nobleman, secretly con- 
 verted to the Christian faith by his nurse. His father, who 
 was a heathen, was so incensed when he heard of his son's 
 conversion that he scourged him, and cast him into a dungeon. 
 But angels came, and danced in the prison in the midst of 
 dazzling light, and when the father of S. Vitus looked in and 
 beheld this he was struck with blindness. The prayers of the 
 saint restored his sight ; but as he did not cease to persecute 
 him, S. Vitus and his nurse fled to Italy. There, however, he 
 was denounced as a Christian, and thrown into a cauldron of 
 boiling oil. After his death a wolf guarded his body, till it was 
 found and buried by the Christians. 
 
 S. Walbuega, a.d. 728, May 1, was the niece of S. Boniface, whom 
 she accompanied on his mission to Germany. She became 
 abbess of a Benedictine convent at Heidenheim, which she 
 governed so well that a community of monks was also put 
 under her care. She was well versed in the study of medicine, 
 and performed many wonderful cures. She was buried at 
 Eichstadt, and a stream of oil issued from the stone near her 
 
186 
 
 WEN—ZEN. 
 
 tomb, which the people called " Walpurgis oil and so many 
 miracles of healing were wrought by it that it became a great 
 resort of pilgrims, and a church was built over the spot. 
 S. Wenceslaus, or Wenzel, a.d. 938, Sept. 28, was Duke of Bohe- 
 mia, and was converted to the Christian faith by his grand- 
 mother, S. Ludmilla. As his mother and brother, Boleslaus, 
 remained heathen, war broke out between the two parties. S. 
 Wenceslaus was protected in battle by angels ; but his mother 
 having induced him to visit her, Boleslaus murdered him at 
 the foot of the altar. There is a familiar legend of S. Wen- 
 ceslaus, that one cold winter night when he went out, as his 
 custom was, to carry food and fuel to the poor, his aged servant 
 who accompanied him was so overcome by cold that he felt he 
 could go no farther ; but the saint bade him set his feet in 
 the footprints he made going before, and when the old man 
 did so, warmth came from them and revived him, so that he 
 could aid S. Wenceslaus in his good works without danger 
 from the cold. 
 
 S. Webjberga, a.d. 708, Feb. 3, patron saint of Chester, was niece 
 of S. Etheldreda, by whom she was brought up in the convent 
 at Ely. She founded many convents, and became Abbess of 
 Bepandum, where she had monks as well as nuns under her 
 rule. 
 
 S. William of Aquitaine, a.d. 812, was Duke of Aquitaine, and 
 noted for his bravery and wisdom. Having been converted by 
 S. Benedict of Aniane he retired to a monastery built by him- 
 self, where he died not many years afterwards. 
 
 S. Zeno, a.d. 380, April 12, patron saint of Verona, was born in 
 Africa, but having come to Italy was made Bishop of Yerona, 
 where he made himself remarkable for his good works, and his 
 wise rule of his diocese. Legends differ as to the manner of 
 his death, but he is generally considered to have sulfered 
 martyrdom under Julian the Apostate. 
 
zenobio. 
 
 187 
 
 S. Zenobio, a.d. 417, May 25, was a noble Florentine, who, having 
 been commissioned by the Pope to quell the religious conten- 
 tions that distracted Florence, was elected Bishop of that city, 
 and worthily filled his high office, converting many to the faith 
 by his miracles and his example of devotion. He restored to 
 life a man killed by falling from a precipice when on his way 
 to bring relics to Florence from S. Ambrose. Moreover, a 
 child who had been confided by his mother to the care of S. 
 Zenobio while she made a pilgrimage to Bonie, died during her 
 absence. She laid him at the feet of S. Zenobio, and the 
 saint's prayers restored him to life. When Zenobio was beiug 
 carried to his grave in the Cathedral of Florence, such crowds 
 of people surrounded him to touch his garment for the last 
 time, that the body was pushed aside against a tree near the 
 Baptistery, and the tree, though old and withered, at once put 
 forth fresh leaves. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Notes on the Monastic Orders, and the Habits by which they 
 are distinguished. 
 
 The oldest and most important Order is that of— 
 
 The Benedictines, 
 founded by S. Benedict, and distinguished by a habit entirely 
 black. This Order, having been reformed at different times, 
 embraces the following branches : — 
 The Gamaldolesi, founded by S. Eomualdo. 
 The Carthusians, founded by S. Bruno. 
 The Cistercians, founded by S. Bernard of Clairvaux. 
 The Olivetani, founded by S. Bernard dei Tolomei. 
 The Oratorians, founded by S. Philip ISTeri. 
 The Vallombrosans, founded by S. John Gualberto. 
 Of these the Camaldolesi, the Carthusians, the Cistercians, and the 
 Olivetani are habited in white ; the Oratorians in black ; and 
 the Vallombrosans in light grey. 
 
 The Augustine Order, 
 claiming S. Augustine as its founder, comprises the minor Orders 
 of— 
 
 The Brigittines, founded by S. Bridget of Sweden : habit, black. 
 The Tremonstratesians, founded by S. Norbert : habit, black or 
 
 brown, with a white cloak. 
 The Servi, founded by S. Philip Benozzi : habit, black. 
 The Trinitarians, founded by S. John de Matha : habit, white, 
 
 with a blue and red cross on the breast. 
 
190 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Order of Mercy, founded by S. Peter ISTolasco : habit, white, 
 with a badge of the arms of the King of Aragon. 
 
 The Carmelites 
 claim as their founder the prophet Elijah, but were first definitely 
 formed into an Order by S. Albert of Yercelli. The habit of 
 the Order is dark brown with a long scapnlary, and a white 
 mantle. The reformed branch, known as — 
 The Scalzi, or barefooted Carmelites, was founded by S. Theresa. 
 
 The Dominican Order, 
 founded by S. Dominic, is distinguished by a white habit under a 
 long black cloak with a hood. 
 
 The Franciscan Order, 
 founded by S. Francis of Assisi, and distinguished by a brown or 
 grey habit bound by a knotted cord, embraces the following 
 reformed branches : — 
 The Capuchins, dark brown habit, with a long pointed hood. 
 The Cordeliers, brown habit. 
 
 The Minimes, founded by S.Francis de Paula: brown habit, short 
 scapulary with rounded ends, and a knotted cord. 
 
 The Observants, founded by S. Bernardino of Siena : grey habit, 
 and cord. 
 
 The Poor Clares, Franciscan nuns, founded by S. Clara: grey 
 or brown habit, and cord. 
 
 The Jeronymites 
 claim S. Jerome as their founder. 
 
 The Jesuits, 
 
 founded by Ignatius Loyola, are distinguished by a straight 
 black cassock and square cap. 
 
 The Order of the Visitation oe S. Mary 
 was founded by S. Francis de Sales and S. Jeanne Francoise de 
 Chantal. 
 
■ 
 
 • ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ i^m. i 
 
 I • • 1 1 1 I I I I ifr I t ■ I ,