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December 1
Agericus (Aguy, Airy)
Dec 1
c 521-591. Successor of St Desiderius in Verdun in France He was greatly admired by his contemporaries, Sts Gregory of Tours and Venantius Fortunatus. He was buried in his own home which was turned into a church. The monastery of Saint-Airy later grew up around it.
Ansanus
Dec 1
c 304. Born in Rome he became Orthodox when he was twelve years old, but his own father denounced him to the authorities. The boy contrived to escape and converted so many pagans, first in Bagnorea and then in Siena, that he was called 'the Baptiser'. Finally he was arrested and beheaded.
Candres
Dec 1
5th cent. A bishop who enlightened the Maastricht area.
Castritian
Dec 1
+ 137. The predecessor of St Calimerius as Bishop of Milan. He was bishop for forty-two years.
Constantian
Dec 1
+ 570. Born in Auvergne in France, he became a monk at Micy (Orleans) and founded a monastery at Javron.
Diodorus, Marianus and Companions
Dec 1
+ 283. Martyrs in Rome under Numerian. A whole Christian church was martyred while gathered for prayer in the catacombs, the entrance of which had been blocked up.
Eligius (Eloi, Eloy)
Dec 1
588-660. Born in Limoges in France, he was a skilled metalsmith and examples of his art survived until the French Revolution. He became master of the mint in Paris under King Clotaire II but in 640 became a priest and soon after Bishop of Noyon. He enlightened the areas round Antwerp, Ghent and Courtra in Belgium, and founded the monastery of Solignac and many other monasteries and convents.
Evasius
Dec 1
+ ? 362. The first Bishop of Asti in Piedmont in Italy, from where he was driven out by the Arians and martyred under Julian the Apostate at Casale Monferrato.
Grwst
Dec 1
7th cent. A saint whose memory is recalled by the place-name Llanrwst in Wales.
Leontius
Dec 1
+ c 432. Bishop of Fréjus in France from c 419 to c 432. He was a great friend of St John Cassian who dedicated his first ten Conferences to him.
Lucius, Rogatus, Cassian and Candida
Dec 1
? Martyrs in Rome.
Olympiades
Dec 1
+ 303. By tradition a noble from Rome martyred in Amelia in Italy under Diocletian.
Proculus
Dec 1
+ c 542. Bishop of Narni or Terni in Italy, martyred by Totila, King of the Goths.
Ursicinus
Dec 1
+ c 347. Bishop of Brescia in Italy, he took part in the Council of Sardica. His shrine still exists in Brescia.
December 2
Bibiana (Vibiana, Vivian)
Dec 2
? A holy virgin martyred in Rome.
Chromatius
Dec 2
+ c 406. Bishop of Aquileia near Venice in Italy from 387 to 406. A holy and learned man, he was a friend of St John Chrysostom. We still have part of his commentary on St Matthew.
Eusebius, Marcellus, Hippolytus, Maximus, Adria, Paulina, Neon, Mary Martana and Aurelia
Dec 2
+ 254-259. Martyrs in Rome under Valerian. Eusebius, a priest, Marcellus, his deacon, and Neon and Mary were beheaded; Adria and Hippolytus were scourged to death; Paulina died in a torture-chamber; Maximus was thrown into the Tiber.
Evasius
Dec 2
? First Bishop of Brescia in Italy.
Lupus of Verona
Dec 2
? Bishop of Verona in Italy.
Pontian and Companions
Dec 2
+ c 259. A group of five martyrs who suffered in Rome under Valerian.
Severus, Securus, Januarius and Victorinus
Dec 2
+ c 450. Martyrs in North Africa who suffered under the Vandals.
Silverius
Dec 2
+ c 537. Born in Frosinone in Campania in Italy, he was the son of Pope Hormisdas. He was a subdeacon when elected Bishop of Rome. He was hated by the Empress Theodora for objecting to the Monophysite Bishop Anthimus. Condemned for high treason, he was finally exiled to an island off Naples where he was left to die and perhaps martyred.
December 3
Abbo
Dec 3
+ c 860 A monk and Abbot of St Germain in Auxerre in France. He became Bishop of Auxerre in 857.
Agricola
Dec 3
? A martyr in Pannonia.
Attalia (Attala)
Dec 3
c 697-741. A niece of St Ottilia, she became a nun and Abbess of St Stephen's in Strasbourg in France.
Birinus
Dec 3
+ c 650. Born in Lombardy in Italy, he was consecrated Bishop in Genoa and sent to England. Here he converted Cynegils, King of Wessex, and was given Dorchester in Oxfordshire as his see. He is known as the 'Apostle of Wessex'.
Cassian
Dec 3
+ 298. A court recorder, Cassian was taking down the Acts of the proceedings at the trial of St Marcellus at Tangier in North Africa. Indignant at the injustice done to the martyr, he threw down his pen and declared himself to be Orthodox. He was arrested and a few weeks later he too suffered martyrdom.
Claudius, Crispin, Magina, John and Stephen
Dec 3
? Martyrs in North Africa.
Eloquius (Eloque)
Dec 3
+ c 660. Disciple and successor of St Fursey as Abbot of Lagny in France.
Ethernan
Dec 3
? Born in Scotland, he became a bishop in Ireland, returning to preach the Gospel in Scotland.
Lucius
Dec 3
? + c 200. A noble in Britain. According to tradition, he asked that missionaries be sent to Britain and they founded the dioceses of London and Llandaff.
Mirocles
Dec 3
+ 318. Archbishop of Milan in Italy, he helped develop the Ambrosian liturgy and church singing.
Sola (Sol, Solus, Suolo)
Dec 3
+ 794. A monk and priest from England who followed St Boniface to Germany and lived as a hermit first near Fulda later near Eichstätt. Finally he settled on a piece of land where he founded the monastery called Solnhofen as a dependency of Fulda.
December 4
Ada
Dec 4
End of 7th cent. Niece of Engebert, Bishop of Le Mans in France, she became a nun at Soissons and abbess in Le Mans.
Bertoara
Dec 4
+ + 614. Abbess of Notre-Dame-de-Sales in Bourges in France.
Felix of Bologna
Dec 4
+ 429. A deacon of the Church of Milan in Italy with St Ambrose and later the fifth Bishop of Bologna.
December 5
Basilissa
Dec 5
+ c 780. Abbess of Oehren near Trier in Germany.
Bassus
Dec 5
+ c 250. Bishop of Nice in France. He was martyred under Decius, his body transfixed with two huge nails.
Cawrdaf
Dec 5
6th cent. A noble in Wales, he ended his life as a monk with St Illtyd.
Crispina
Dec 5
+ 304. A wealthy matron in Thebeste in Numidia in North Africa. She was horribly tortured and ultimately beheaded.
Dalmatius
Dec 5
+ 304. Born in Monza of pagan parents he became a Christian and preached in France and Italy until he became Bishop of Pavia. He was martyred under Maximian Herculeus a year later.
Friminus
Dec 5
+ 6th cent. The seventh Bishop of Verdun in France.
Gerbold
Dec 5
+ c 690. A monk at Ebriciacum in France, he later founded the monastery of Livray. Eventually he became Bishop of Bayeux.
John Gradenigo
Dec 5
+ 1025. A nobleman from Venice in Italy who became a monk in Cuxa in the Catalonian Pyrenees in Spain. After many trials, he reposed as a hermit near Montecassino.
Julius, Potamia, Crispin, Felix, Gratus and Companions
Dec 5
+ 302. Twelve martyrs who suffered in Thagura in Numidia in North Africa under Diocletian.
Justinian (Iestin)
Dec 5
6th cent. Born in Brittany, he became a hermit on the Isle of Ramsey off the coast of south Wales, where he was murdered by evildoers and then venerated as a martyr.
Nicetius
Dec 5
+ 566. The last of the Gallo-Roman bishops of Trier in Germany, consecrated in 532. He had been a monk and abbot in his native Auvergne in France. As a bishop he withstood the cruelty of the Franks by whom he was exiled for a time. He restored discipline among the clergy, rebuilt the Cathedral and combatted heresy.
Pelinus
Dec 5
+ 361. A martyr in Confinium, a town in the south of Italy which is now destroyed, who suffered under Julian the Apostate.
Sigiranus (Cyran, Siran, Sigram)
Dec 5
+ c 655 (or 690?). Born in a noble family, he became archdeacon of Tours in France, where his father was bishop. Then he became a monk and founded monasteries at Meobecq and Lonrey. The latter was called Saint-Cyran after him.
December 6
Asella
Dec 6
+ c 406. 'A flower of the Lord', this virgin became a nun in Rome at the age of ten and then lived for many years until she became abbess, 'the mother of many virgins'.
Auxilius, Isserninus and Secundinus
Dec 6
5th cent. Workers with St Patrick in the enlightenment of Ireland.
Dionysia, Dativa, Leontia, Tertius, Emilian, Boniface and Companions
Dec 6
+ 484. Martyrs in North Africa under the Arian Vandal Hunneric. Dionysia, a widow, died at the stake with her little child, Majoricus, and her sister Dativa. Emilian, a doctor, and Tertius, a monk, were flayed alive. The fanatics devised terrible deaths for the others also.
Gertrude the Elder
Dec 6
+ 649. A widow who founded and was the first Abbess of Hamaye (Hamay, Hamage) near Douai in the north of France.
Majoricus
Dec 6
+ 484. Son of St Dionysia, who encouraged him to suffer martyrdom and buried him in her own house. The martyrdom took place in North Africa under the Arian Hunneric the Vandal.
December 7
Ambrose
Dec 7
c 339-397. Born in France, his father was prefect there. Before he was thirty-five, he was appointed governor of Liguria and Aemilia with his headquarters in Milan. The whole province was rent by the Arian controversy. When the Bishop of Milan died in 374, Ambrose, as governor, went to the Cathedral to ensure peace and order the new election. He himself, though still a catechumen, was elected by acclamation, after a child had been suddenly heard to cry out 'Ambrose for bishop'. Ambrose's objections were overruled and he was consecrated on Dec 7 374. He proved to be a Church Father. He excelled as an administrator, writer, protector of the poor and the 'hammer of Arianism'.. He was outspoken in withstanding the tyranny of Emperors. His courage in reproving Theodosius the Great was a fine example of Orthodoxy. He reposed on Great Friday, April 4 397.
Anianus (Agnan)
Dec 7
5th cent. Fifth Bishop of Chartres in France.
Buithe (Buite, Boethius)
Dec 7
+ 521. After some years in Italy and elsewhere, he returned to Scotland and helped enlighten the Picts. Carbuddo is named after him.
Burgundofara (or Fara)
Apr 3 and Dec 7
+ 657. Blessed by St Columbanus as a child, she became a nun despite her father's opposition, and so began the convent of Brige in France. This was later called Faremoutiers, i.e. Fara's Monastery, where she was abbess for thirty-seven years.
Diuma
Dec 7
+ 658. Born in Ireland, he helped convert Mercia in England as a missionary and bishop.
Martin of Saujon
Dec 7
+ c 400. A disciple of St Martin of Tours, he founded the monastery of Saujon in France.
Servus
Dec 7
+ 483. A layman of noble birth who lived in North Africa. He was seized and tortured to death under the Arian Vandal King Hunneric.
Urban
Dec 7
+ c 356. Bishop of Teano in Campania in Italy.
Victor of Piacenza
Dec 7
+ 375. First Bishop of Piacenza in Italy c 322-375 and a defender of Orthodoxy against Arianism.
December 8
Eucharius
Dec 8
1st cent. First Bishop of Trier in Germany.
Eutychian
Dec 8
+ 283. Born in Etruria or Tuscany in Italy, in 275 he succeeded St Felix I as Pope of Rome. He is venerated as a martyr.
Gunthild
Dec 8
+ c 748. A nun from Wimborne in England who went to Germany, where she became abbess of a convent in Thuringia.
Romaricus
Dec 8
+ 653. A monk at Luxeuil in France, he founded the monastery of Habendum (afterwards called Remiremont, i.e. Romarici Mons, of which he became the second abbot.
December 9
Balda
Dec 9
+ late 7th cent. Third Abbess of Jouarre in France. Her relics were enshrined in the church of Nesle-la-Reposte.
Budoc (Budeaux)
Dec 9
? 7th cent. Born in Brittany, he became Abbot of Youghal in Ireland. Returning to Brittany, he succeeded Sts Samson and Maglorius as Bishop of Dol. Several places in Devon and Cornwall in England are named after him.
Cyprian
Dec 9
+ 586. A monk at Périgueux in France, who ended his life as a hermit on the banks of the Dordogne. St Gregory of Tours wrote the Life of St Cyprian.
Enguerrammus (Angilram)
Dec 9
+ 1045. Of humble family, he became a monk and Abbot of Saint Riquier in France. He was called 'the Wise'.
Ethelgiva
Dec 9
+ 896. The daughter of King Alfred the Great, she became first Abbess of Shaftesbury.
Leocadia (Locaie)
Dec 9
+ c 303. A holy virgin in Toledo in Spain who was condemned to death and died in prison under Diocletian.
Peter, Successus, Bassian, Primitivus and Companions
Dec 9
? Martyrs in North Africa.
Proculus
Dec 9
+ c 320. Bishop of Verona in Italy. He was a confessor during the persecution of Diocletian, but reposed in peace.
Restitutus
Dec 9
? Bishop of Carthage in North Africa.
Syrus
Dec 9
3rd cent? First Bishop and main patron-saint of Pavia in Italy.
Valeria
Dec 9
? By tradition she was converted by St Martial of Limoges in France and beheaded.
Wolfeius
Dec 9
c 1000. A hermit at St Benet Hulme in Norfolk in England.
December 10
Carpophorus and Abundius
Dec 10
+ 290-300. A priest and his deacon who suffered under Diocletian, either in Rome or else in Spoleto in Italy, or possibly in Seville in Spain.
Deusdedit of Brescia
Dec 10
+ c 700. Bishop of Brescia in Italy, he played a leading part in the Councils against Monothelitism.
Eulalia
Dec 10
+ c 304. The most famous virgin-martyr in Spain. Prudentius wrote a long hymn describing her martyrdom and she is mentioned by other writers. Born in Mérida, aged thirteen she was burnt at the stake there under Diocletian.
Gregory III
Dec 10
+ 741. Born in Syria, he became Pope of Rome from 731 to 741. He was much troubled by Iconoclasm and the raids of the Lombards.
Guitmarus
Dec 10
+ c 765. Fourth Abbot of Saint-Riquier in France.
Hildemar
Dec 10
+ c 844. A monk at Corbie who became Bishop of Beauvais in France in 821.
Julia of Mérida
Dec 10
+ c 304 A martyr together with St Eulalia in Mérida in Spain under Diocletian.
Mercurius and Companions
Dec 10
+ c 300 (?) A group of soldiers told to escort Christian prisoners to their place of execution in Lentini in Sicily. The soldiers were so impressed by the prisoners that they too declared themselves believers in Christ and all of them were beheaded together.
Miltiades
Dec 10
+ 314. Although he had a Greek name, he may have been born in North Africa. He was Pope of Rome from 311 to 314, when the Emperor Constantine granted toleration to the Church. St Miltiades condemned Donatism and was venerated as a martyr on account of his many sufferings during the persecution of Maximian.
Sindulf (Sindulphus) of Vienne
Dec 10
+ c 669. The thirty-first Bishop of Vienne in France.
December 11
Cian
Dec 11
6th cent. A hermit in Wales.
Eutychius
Dec 11
4th cent. A martyr called San Oye either in Mérida or else in Cádiz in Spain.
Fidweten (Fivetein, Fidivitanus)
Dec 11
+ c 888. A monk and disciple of St Convoyon in Redon in Brittany.
Peris
Dec 11
? The patron saint of Llanberis in Wales.
Sabinus
Dec 11
+ 420 Bishop of Piacenza in Italy and a close friend of St Ambrose, who used to send him his writings for revision and approval.
Trason, Pontian and Praetextatus
Dec 11
+ c 302. Martyrs in Rome under Diocletian, put to death for ministering to Christian prisoners awaiting martyrdom.
Victoricus, Fuscian and Gentian
Dec 11
+ c 287. Victoricus and Fuscian are described as early missionaries in France, martyred near Amiens. Gentian was an old man martyred while trying to protect them when they were arrested.
December 12
Abra
Dec 12
c 342-360. Daughter of St Hilary of Poitiers in France. Following his advice she consecrated herself to God as a nun but reposed at the age of eighteen.
Agatha
Dec 12
+ c 790. A nun at Wimborne in Dorset in England and a disciple of St Lioba, she went to Germany to help St Boniface in his missionary work.
Colman of Glendalough
Dec 12
+ 659. Abbot of Glendalough in Ireland.
Columba
Dec 12
+ 548. Born in Leinster in Ireland, he was a disciple of St Finian and Abbot of Tyrdaglas in Munster.
Corentinus (Cury)
Dec 12
+ c 490. The first Bishop of Quimper in Brittany. He had lived as a hermit at Plomodiern.
Cormac
Dec 12
6th cent. An abbot in Ireland and friend of St Columba.
Finian of Clonard
Dec 12
+ c 549. Born in Myshall in Co. Carlow, he became a monk in Wales. After a long stay there, he returned to Ireland and founded many churches and monasteries. Clonard was the greatest and it was here that Finian had as disciples many of the so-called 'Twelve Apostles of Ireland', among whom was St Columba. Finian indeed became known as the 'Teacher of the Irish Saints'.
Gregory of Terracina
Dec 12
+ c 570. A disciple of St Benedict and with his brother St Speciosus, a monk at Terracina in Italy.
Maxentius, Constantius, Crescentius, Justin and Companions
Dec 12
+ c 287. Martyrs in Trier in Germany in the reign of Diocletian.
Synesius
Dec 12
+ 275. A reader in Rome martyred under Aurelian.
December 13
Antiochus
Dec 13
+ c 110. A martyr on Sulci, a small island near Sardinia, under the Emperor Hadrian. The island is now also known as Isola di Sant'Antioco.
Autbert
Dec 13
+ c 669. Bishop of Cambrai-Arras in France, he encouraged monastic life and founded monasteries including that of St Vedast (Saint Vaast) in Arras. Under him Hainault and Flanders became a vast monastic colony.
Edburgh (Edburga) of Thanet
Dec 13
+ 751. A disciple of St Mildred, whom she probably succeeded as Abbess of Minster-in-Thanet in England in 716. She was a friend and correspondent of St Boniface.
Edburgh (Edburga)
Dec 13
7th cent. A nun at Lyminge in Kent in England.
Einhild (Einhildis) and Roswinda
Dec 13
8th cent. Nuns at Hohenburg in Alsace in France with St Ottilia. St Roswinda was probably St Ottilia's sister. St Einhild became Abbess of Niedermünster near Hohenburg.
Judocus (Judganoc, Josse)
Dec 13
+ c 668. A priest, brother of King Judicäel of Brittany. After a pilgrimage to Rome, he left Brittany and lived as a hermit in Villiers-Saint-Josse.
Lucy of Syracuse
Dec 13
+ 304. A virgin-martyr who suffered in Syracuse in Sicily under Diocletian. She is one of the most famous Western virgin-martyrs. Her relics are preserved in Venice in Italy.
Odilia (Otilia, Othilia)
Dec 13
+ c 720. By tradition St Ottilia was born blind and for this reason rejected by her family. She was adopted by a convent where she miraculously recovered her sight. Eventually she founded convents at Hohenburg (now Odilienberg) in Alsace in France and at Niedermünster in Germany.
Tassio
Dec 13
+ c 794. Duke of Bavaria and a great monastic benefactor. After founding many monasteries and churches, he became a monk at Jumičges in France but reposed at Lorsch in Germany.
Wifred
Dec 13
+ 1021. A monk and abbot of the monastery of St Victor in Marseilles in France.
December 14
Agnellus
Dec 14
+ c 596. A hermit and then Abbot of San Gaudioso near Naples in Italy. He is one of the patron-saints of the city and was often seen to free the city from its enemies by the power of the cross.
Fingar (Gwinnear), Phiala and Companions
Dec 14
5th cent. Fingar and Phiala, brother and sister, left their native Ireland and went to Cornwall, but were martyred with their companions in Hayle near Penzance by pagans.
Hibald (Hygbald)
Dec 14
+ c 690. An abbot in Lincolnshire in England to whom several churches are dedicated, notably at Hibaldstow.
Justus and Abundius
Dec 14
+ 283. Martyrs in Spain under Numerian. After a futile attempt to burn them at the stake, they were beheaded.
Matronian
Dec 14
? Born in Milan in Italy, he became a hermit. His relics were enshrined by St Ambrose.
Nicasius, Eutropia and Companions
Dec 14
+ c 407. Bishop of Rheims in France who was martyred with his sister Eutropia and a number of his clergy and faithful.
Pompeius
Dec 14
+ c 290. Bishop of Pavia in Italy.
Venantius Fortunatus
Dec 14
c 530-610. Born near Treviso in the north of Italy, aged thirty he settled in Poiters in France and was ordained. He became known to Queen St Radegunde who befriended him. He was a writer and poet: the hymns Vexilla Regis and Pange Lingua Gloriosa were composed by him. He became Bishop of Poitiers at the end of the sixth century.
Viator
Dec 14
+ c 378. Probably an early Bishop of Bergamo in Italy from 344 to 378.
December 15
Adalbero
Dec 15
+ 1005. A monk at the monastery of Gorze in France, he became Bishop of Verdun but was transferred to Metz.
Faustinus, Lucius, Candidus, Caelian, Mark, Januarius and Fortunatus
Dec 15
? Martyrs in North Africa.
Florentius (Flann)
Dec 15
7th cent. Abbot of Bangor in Ireland.
Maximinus (Mesmin)
Dec 15
+ c 520. First Abbot of Micy near Orleans in France.
Offa
Dec 15
c 709. King of Essex in England, he went to Rome and took up the monastic life
Urbitius (Úrbez)
Dec 15
+ c 805. By tradition he was born in Bordeaux and became a monk in France but became a prisoner of the Saracens and was taken to Spain. He managed to escape and settled as a hermit in the valley of Nocito in the Pyrenees near Huesca.
Valerian
Dec 15
+ 457. Bishop of Abbenza in North Africa who, aged over eighty, was left to die of exposure for refusing to give up the sacred vessels. He died under the Arian Genseric King of the Vandals.
December 16
Adelaide
Dec 16
c 930-999. Daughter of the King of Burgundy in France, she was married to Lothair II of Italy. She was rescued from brutality after his death by Otto the Great who married her. Widowed again, she was maltreated by her son and daughter-in-law. In old age she became the regent of the Empire. At the end of her life she became a nun.
Ado
Dec 16
799-875. Born in Burgundy in France, he became a monk at Prüm near Trier in Germany. From here he travelled to Rome. On his return he became Bishop of Vienne and was an excellent bishop. He is remembered for the martyrology which bears his name.
Africa, Martyrs of North-West Africa
Dec 16
+ 482. A great number of women martyred under Hunneric, Arian King of the Vandals.
Beoc (Beanus, Dabeoc, Mobeoc)
Dec 16
5th (or 6th) cent. Founder of a monastery on an island in Lough Derg in Donegal in Ireland.
Valentine, Concordius, Navalis and Agricola
Dec 16
+ c 305. Martyrs venerated in Ravenna in Italy.
December 17
Begga
Dec 17
+ 698. Daughter of St Pepin of Landen and St Ida and sister of two other saints. She married Angisilus (Ansegis), son of St Arnulf of Metz. After her husband's death St Begga founded a convent in Andenne on the Meuse in Belgium where she was abbess.
Briarch
Dec 17
+ c 627. Born in Ireland, he became a monk in Wales with St Tudwal, whom he accompanied to Brittany. He built a monastery in Guingamp and reposed in Bourbiac.
Eigil (Aeigilus)
Dec 17
+ 822. A monk at Fulda in Germany, he became Abbot there in 817.
Judicäel
Dec 17
+ 658. King of Brittany, much loved by his people. After a victorious reign he abdicated and spent the last twenty years of his life in the monastery of Gäel near Vannes.
Maxentiolus (Mezenceul)
Dec 17
5th cent. A disciple of St Martin of Tours in France, he founded Our Lady of Cunault.
Sturm (Sturmi)
Dec 17
+ 779. As a child he was entrusted to St Boniface and brought up in the monastery of Fritzlar in Germany. Ordained, he was sent to enlighten the Saxons. He went to find a suitable site for a monastery in central Germany and chose Fulda. Sturm then went to Montecassino and on his return became Abbot of Fulda. Dearly loved by his monks, Sturm is considered as second only to Boniface as Apostle of Germany.
Tydecho
Dec 17
6th cent. Brother of St Cadfan in Wales. He and his sister lived in Gwynedd. Several churches are dedicated to him.
December 18
Bodagisil
Dec 18
+ 588. He founded and was the first abbot of a monastery on the Meuse in Belgium
Desideratus
Dec 18
+ c 700. Son of St Waningus, the founder of the monastery of Fécamp, he became a monk at Fontenelle in the north of France. His relics were enshrined in Ghent in Belgium.
Flannan
Dec 18
7th cent. First Bishop of Killaloe in Ireland, he also worked in the Hebrides and elsewhere. He managed to recite the whole Psalter every day.
Gatian
Dec 18
+? c 337. He was venerated as a disciple of St Dionysius of Paris and the first Bishop of Tours in France.
Moses (Moysetes)
Dec 18
+ c 250. A martyr in North Africa who probably suffered under Decius.
Quintus, Simplicius and Companions
Dec 18
+ c 255. Martyrs in North Africa under the Emperors Decius and Valerian.
Rufus and Zosimus
Dec 18
+ c 107. Citizens of Philippi brought to Rome with St Ignatius of Antioch and thrown to the beasts in the Roman amphitheatre two days before the latter's martyrdom.
Samthan
Dec 18
6th cent. Foundress of the convent of Clonbroney in Co. Longford in Ireland.
Victurus, Victor, Victorinus, Adjutor, Quartus and Companions
Dec 18
? A group of thirty-five martyrs in North Africa.
Winebald
Dec 18
+ 761. Born in England, he was the brother of Sts Willibald and Walburgh. While on pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his brother Winebald, he was taken ill and remained in Rome. Eventually he returned to England and went to Germany where he became Abbot of Heidenheim and then Bishop of Eichstätt.
December 19
Anastasius I
Dec 19
+ 401. Pope of Rome and a man of poverty and the apostolic mind, he stopped the spread of Origenism at a Council held in 400.
Avitus (or Adjutus)
Dec 19
? Abbot of Micy near Orleans in France.
Fausta
Dec 19
3rd cent. The mother of St Anastasia of Sirmium in Dalmatia.
Gregory of Auxerre
Dec 19
+ c 540. The twelfth bishop of Auxerre in France. He was bishop for thirteen years and reposed at the age of eighty-five.
Manirus
Dec 19
? One of the Apostles of the north of Scotland.
Ribert (Ribarius)
Dec 19
+ c 790. Seventeenth Abbot of Saint-Oyend in France. He is venerated in Franche-Comté.
Timothy
Dec 19
+ c 250. A deacon burnt alive in North Africa under Decius.
December 20
Dominic of Brescia
Dec 20
+ c 612. The successor of St Anastasius as Bishop of Brescia in Italy.
Liberatus and Bajulus
Dec 20
? Martyrs venerated in Rome.
Ursicinus
Dec 20
+ c 585. Bishop of Cahors in France. He is often mentioned by St Gregory of Tours.
Ursicinus
Dec 20
+ c 625. Born in Ireland, he was a disciple of St Columbanus. He founded the monastery of St Ursanne from which the town in Switzerland takes its name.
December 21
Baudacarius
Dec 21
+ 650. A monk at Bobbio in the north of Italy.
Bernwald (Beornwald)
Dec 21
8c? A righteous priest in Bampton in Oxfordshire in England.
Honoratus of Toulouse
Dec 21
+ 3rd cent. Born in Spain, he succeeded St Saturninus as Bishop of Toulouse in France.
John Vincent
Dec 21
+ 1012. Born in Ravenna in Italy, he became a monk at St Michael in Chiusa and then a hermit on Monte Caprario. Finally he became bishop nearby.
John and Festus
Dec 21
? Martyrs honoured in Tuscany in Italy.
Severinus
Dec 21
+ c 300. Bishop of Trier in Germany.
December 22
Amaswinthus
Dec 22
+ 982. Monk and abbot for forty-two years at a monastery in Silva de Málaga in Spain.
Demetrius, Honoratus and Florus
Dec 22
? Martyrs in Ostia in Italy.
Flavian
Dec 22
+ 362. An ex-prefect of Rome, branded on the forehead as a slave and exiled to the village of Acquapendente in Tuscany in Italy by Julian the Apostate. He reposed there while in prayer.
Hunger
Dec 22
+ 866. Bishop of Utrecht in Holland from 856. During the Norman invasion he fled to Prüm in Germany where he died.
Rome (Martyrs of)
Dec 22
+ c 303. A group of thirty martyrs who suffered in Rome under Diocletian and were buried on the Via Lavicana.
December 23
Dagobert II
Dec 23
+ 679. The King of Austrasia in the east of France, he was exiled to a monastery in 656, recalled in 675 and martyred by the tyrant Ebroin
Frithbert
Dec 23
+ 766. The successor of St Acca as Bishop of Hexham, where he served for thirty-four years.
Mazota
Dec 23
? 8th cent. The leader of a group of nineteen holy virgins who went from Ireland to Scotland and founded a monastery at Abernethy on the Tay.
Migdonius and Mardonius
Dec 23
+ 303. High officials at the imperial court in Rome. When persecution broke out under Diocletian in 303, they refused to renounce their Faith. Migdonius was burnt at the stake and Mardonius drowned in a well.
Servulus
Dec 23
+ c 590. A righteous man who was a cripple and used to beg for alms at the door of the church of St Clement in Rome, sharing what he received with other beggars.
Victoria and Anatolia
Dec 23
+ 250. Two sisters martyred in Rome for refusing to marry pagans.
Vintila
Dec 23
+ 890. A monk who reposed as a hermit in Pugino in Galicia in Spain.
December 24
Adela
Dec 24
+ c 730. Daughter of Dagobert II, King of the Franks. In her widowhood she founded and became the first Abbess of Pfalzel near Trier in Germany.
Alberic (Albert)
Dec 24
10th cent. A monk at Gladbach in Germany.
Bruno
Dec 24
+ c 1050. A holy man at the monastery of Ottobeuren in Bavaria in Germany.
Caranus
Dec 24
7th cent. A saint of the east of Scotland.
Delphinus
Dec 24
+ 404. Bishop of Bordeaux in France. He is helped convert St Paulinus of Nola and was an untiring opponent of Priscillianism.
Gregory of Spoleto
Dec 24
? A priest martyred in Spoleto in Italy under Maximinian Herculeus.
Irmina
Dec 24
+ 708. Given in marriage at the age of fifteen. Her betrothed died on her wedding day,. She then persuaded her father, Dagobert II, to build for her the convent of Oehren near Trier in Germany. She also built the monastery of Echternach for St Willibrord (698). She reposed at the monastery of Weissenburg.
Lucian, Metrobius, Paul, Zenobius, Theotimus and Drusus
Dec 24
? Martyrs in Tripoli in North Africa.
Tarsila
Dec 24
+ c 581. An aunt of St Gregory the Great, sister of St Emiliana and niece of Pope Felix. She led a life of seclusion and asceticism in her paternal home.
Venerandus
Dec 24
+ 423. Born of a senatorial family in Clermont in Auvergne in France, he became bishop there (385-423).
December 25
Adalsindis
Dec 25
c 715. One of the daughters of Sts Adalbald and Rictrudis, she became a nun at Hamay-les-Marchiennes near Arras in France under her own sister St Eusebia.
Alburgh (Alburga)
Dec 25
+ c 810. Sister of St Egbert of Wessex in England and wife of Wulstan of Wiltshire, she founded a convent in Wilton near Salisbury, where she became a nun in her widowhood.
Anastasia
Dec 25
+ c 304. According to her Life, she suffered in Sirmium in Dalmatia, her relics were taken to Constantinople and veneration spread to Rome, where a basilica is dedicated to her.
Eugenia
Dec 25
+ ?257. A virgin-martyr in Rome under Valerian, she was buried in the cemetery of Apronian on the Via Latina.
December 26
Amaethlu (Maethlu)
Dec 26
6th cent. Llanfaethlu, a church founded by him in Anglesey in Wales, is named after him.
Dionysius
Dec 26
+ 268. A priest chosen as Pope of Rome in 259, he restored the Roman Church after the persecution of Valerian, opposed Sabellius and condemned Paul of Samosata.
Marinus
Dec 26
+ 283. The son of a senator in Rome, he was martyred by beheading under Numerian.
Tathai (Tathan, Tathaeus, Athaeus)
Dec 26
Early 6th cent. A hermit who settled in Glamorgan in Wales where he founded a monastery called St Athan's.
Theodore the Sacrist
Dec 26
+ 6th cent. A holy man and contemporary of St Gregory the Great in Rome.
Zosimus
Dec 26
+ 418. A Greek Pope of Rome.
December 27
Fabiola
Dec 27
+ 399. A patrician in Rome who married and divorced. She married again, causing scandal. After the death of her second husband, she repented and devoted her wealth to the care of the sick in a hospital which she established. She also founded a hostel for pilgrims in Rome and was greatly venerated.
December 28
Antony of Lérins
Dec 28
+ c 520. Born in Lower Pannonia, he served God as a hermit in several places north of the Alps until he found rest for the last two years of his life as a monk at Lérins in France.
Castor, Victor and Rogatian
Dec 28
? Martyrs in North Africa.
Domnio
Dec 28
4th cent. A righteous priest in Rome.
Maughold (Maccaldus)
Dec 28
+ c 488. A former brigand in Ireland, he was converted by St Patrick and sent to the Isle of Man, where his episcopate was very fruitful.
Romulus and Conindrus
Dec 28
+ c 450. Two of the first people to preach Orthodoxy on the Isle of Man, they were contemporaries of St Patrick.
December 29
Albert of Gambron
Dec 29
7th cent. A courtier who became a hermit and later founded the small monastery of Gambron-sur-l'Authion in France.
Callistus, Felix and Boniface
Dec 29
? Martyrs in Rome.
Dominic, Victor, Primian, Lybosus, Saturninus, Crescentius, Secundus and Honoratus
Dec 29
? Martyrs in North Africa.
Ebrulfus (Evroult)
Dec 29
626-706. Born in Bayeux in France, he became a monk at the monastery of Deux Jumeaux, and later founded a monastery at Ouche and also other smaller monasteries.
Girald (Girard, Giraud)
Dec 29
+ 1031. A monk at Lagny in France and later Abbot of Saint-Arnoul, he became Abbot of Fontenelle where he was murdered.
Trophimus
Dec 29
+ c 280. First Bishop of Arles in France.
December 30
Egwin
Dec 30
+ 717. Consecrated to God in his youth, he eventually became the third Bishop of Worcester in England in 692 and may have founded the monastery of Evesham.
Eugene
Dec 30
? Bishop of Milan in Italy.
Liberius
Dec 30
+ c 200. Bishop of Ravenna in Italy, venerated as one of the founders of that diocese.
Sabinus, Exuperantius, Marcellus, Venustian and Companions
Dec 30
+ 303. Sabinus is described as a bishop who was martyred near Spoleto in Italy. Venustian and his family were converts of Sabinus, while Exuperantius and Marcellus are said to have been his deacons.
Sebastian
Dec 30
+ c 1036. A monk who became Archbishop of Esztergom (1002) and Primate of Hungary in the time of St Stephen.
December 31
Barbatian
Dec 31
5th cent. A priest from Antioch who went to Rome and there attracted the attention of the Empress, Placidia Augusta. through his wise counsel. She encouraged him to live in Ravenna in Italy near the imperial court, where a monastery was built.
Columba of Sens
Dec 31
+ 273. Born in Spain, she left her country to avoid being denounced as a Christian. She went to France with other Spanish Christians, but all of them were martyred near Meaux under Aurelian. Her shrine was in Sens.
Donata, Paulina, Rustica, Nominanda, Serotina, Hilaria and Companions
Dec 31
? A group of Roman women martyred in one of the early persecutions. Their relics were enshrined in the catacombs of the Via Salaria.
Melania the Younger and Pinian
Dec 31
c 383-438. Melania was the granddaughter of St Melania the Elder. Born in Rome, she married a man called Pinian. They had two children who died young. About the year 410 they left Rome, the former entering a monastery and the latter a convent in Jerusalem.
Peter of Subiaco
Dec 31
+ 1003. The twenty-second Abbot of Subiaco in Italy. For defending his monastery, he was blinded and died in prison.
Sabinian and Potentian
Dec 31
+ c 300. Sabinian is honoured as the first Bishop of Sens in France. Potentian was perhaps his successor. Both were martyred.
Silvester
Dec 31 (In the East Jan 2)
+ 335. Silvester came from Rome and served the Church as Pope from 314 to 335, helping convert St Constantine. Most of his relics are enshrined in San Silvestro in Capite in Rome.
Stephen, Pontian, Attalus, Fabian, Cornelius, Sextus, Flos, Quintian, Minervinus and Simplician
Dec 31
? Early martyrs in Catania in Sicily.
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