ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS HONORED IN THE MONTH OF MAY

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY

May 1 

St. Asaph, 600 A.D. First bishop of Asaph in Wales also called Asa. He is believed to have lived in a hermitage near Tenegel, near Holywell. He is also described in a life of St. Kentigern, or Mungo. While still young, Asaph served Kentigern. Asked to bring Kentigern a piece of wood for the fire, Asaph brought live coals in his apron, an event that alerted Kentigern to Asaph's sanctity. When Kentigern left the area in 573, Asaph was consecrated a bishop. Asaph's relatives, Deiniol, Tysilo, and others were honored as saints.  

St. Brieuc, 510 A.D. Bishop educated by St. Germanus, in Auxerre, France. He is believed to have been born in Dyfed or Cardiganshire, Wales, circa 420. Ordained in France, Brieuc returned to England as a missionary. Known also as Briocus, Briomaglus, or Brioc, he converted his parents and became known for his miracles. He also converted Conan, a local ruler of Brittany, France, and founded a monastery near the present site of the town of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. He remained in Brittany, dying at the age of ninety. Brieuc is venerated in Cornwall, England, and is credited with stopping a plague.  

St. Ceallach, 6th century. Disciple of St. Kiernan, a bishop, sometimes called Kellach or Celsus. He was a bishop of Killala, Ireland, but ended his life as a hermit. Some records list him as a martyr.  

May 2 

St. Ultan, 686 A.D. Benedictine abbot. The brother of Sts. Fursey and Foil Ian, he followed them into the monastic life, entering the community of monks at Burgh Castle, near Yarmouth, East Anglia, England. He subsequently went to France to escape the predations of the Mercians and was greeted with enthusiasm by St. Gertrude of Nivelles. After serving as chaplain to Gertrude's nuns, be became the founding abbot of Fosses Monastery on land given to him by Sts. Gertrude and Ita. He also ruled Peronne.  

St. Neachtian. Irish confessor. He was a friend of St. Patrick, possibly a relative, and was supposedly present when Patrick died.  

May 3 St. Ethelwin, (d. eighth century). Ethelwin, Second bishop of Lindsey, England. He accompanied St. Egbert to Ireland, where he died. Feast day: May 3.  

St. Scannal, 563 A.D. Disciple of St. Columba and an Irish missionary. He was associated with the region of CellColeraine.  

St. Gluvias, 6th century. Monastic founder and brother of St. Cadoc of Llancarfan, Wales. Gluvias labored in Cornwall, England, where he may have started an abbey. He is also called Glywys.  

May 4 

Bl. Carthusian Martyrs, 1540 A.D. English monks of the Carthusian Order put to death by King Henry VIII because of their continued allegiance to the pope and the authority of the Holy See. These martyrs, eighteen in all, were beatified in 1886.  

St. Augustine Webster, 1535 A.D. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized in 1970. Augustine was a Carthusian prior of the Charterhouse at Axholme, England. He was arrested in London and martyred at Tyburn.  

St. John Houghton, 1535 A.D. Protomartyr of the English Reformation. A native of Essex, he served as a parish priest after graduating from Cambridge. He then became a Carthusian and the prior of the Carthusian Charterhouse of London. As an opponent of King Henry VIII’s Acts of Succession and Supremacy, he was arrested with other Carthusian but was released temporarily. He then refused to swear to the Oath of Supremacy, the first man to make this refusal. Dragged through the streets, he was executed at Tyburn with four companions by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. Parts of his remains were put on display in assorted spots throughout London. Pope Paul VI canonized him in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. 

St. John Payne, 1582 A.D. Also John Paine. An English martyr. Payne was born at Peterborough, England, and was possibly a convert. In 1574, he departed England and went to Douai, where he was ordained in 1576. Immediately thereafter, he was sent back to England with St. Cuthbert Mayne. His labors met with considerable success, but he was arrested within a year. Released by English authorities, he departed the island but came back in 1579. While staying in Warwickshire on the estate of one Lady Petre, he was arrested once more after being denounced by John Eliot, a known murderer who made a career out of denouncing Catholics and priests for bounty. Imprisoned and tortured in the Tower of London for nine months, he was finally condemned to death and hanged, drawn, and quartered at Chelmsford. He is one of the Martyrs of England and Wales canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.  

St. Richard Reynolds, 1169 A.D. Brigettine martyr of England and one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was born in Devon, England, in 1492 and was educated at Cambridge. In 1513, he entered the Brigettines at Syon Abbey, Isleworth. When King Henry VIII demanded royal oaths, Richard and others opposed the monarch. They were executed at Tyburn. Richard was canonized in 1970.  

St. Robert Lawrence, 1535 A.D. One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. After joining the Carthusians, he served as prior of the Charterhouse at Beauvale, Nottinghamshire, at the time when King Henry VIII of England broke with Rome and launched the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Robert went with St. John Houghton to see Thomas Cromwell, who had them arrested and placed in the Tower of London. When they refused to sign the Oath of Supremacy, they were cruelly tortured and executed at Tyburn, making them among the first martyrs from the order in England. Beatified in 1886, Robert was canonized by Pope Paul VI with the other martyrs in 1970.  

The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. A famed group of Catholic martyrs who were put to death for the faith and who received canonization on October 25, 1970, by Pope Paul VI. The saints belonging to this group are covered in individual entries, but the members are: Alban Roe (January 21), Alexander Bryant (December 1), Ambrose Barlow (September 11), Anne Line (February 27), Augustine Webster (May 4), Cuthbert Mayne (November 29), David Lewis (August 27), Edmund Arrowsmith (August 28), Edmund Campion (December 1), Edmund Gennings (December 10), Henry Morse (February 1), Henry Walpole (April 7), John Almond (December 5), John Boste (July24), John Houghton (May 4), John Jones (July 12), John Kemble (August 22), John Lloyd (July 22), John Payne (April 2), John Plessington (July 19), John Rigby (June 19), John Roberts (December 9), John Stone (May 12), John Southworth (June 27), John Wall (August 22), Luke Kirby (May 30), Margaret Clitherow (October 21), Margaret Ward (August 30), Nicholas Owen (March 2), Philip Evans (July 22), Philip Howard (October 19), Polydore Plasden (December 10), Ralph Sherwin (December 1), Richard Gwyn (October 17), Richard Reynolds (May 4), Robert Lawrence (May 4), Robert Southwell (February 21), Swithun Wells (December 10), and Thomas Garnet (June 26).  

St. Conleth, 519 A.D. Irish metalworker and hermit, also called Conlaed. He lived as a recluse at Old Connell on the Liffey, and was a close friend of St. Brigid. In time he served as spiritual director of St. Brigid’s convent at Kildare. A copyist and skilled illuminator of manuscripts, he is noted for the crozier that he fashioned for St. Finbar of Termon Barry.  

St. Ethelred. King of Mercia who resigned his throne to become a Benedictine monk at Bardney, England. He became the abbot at Bardney.  

May 5 

St. Aventinus, 1180 A.D. Hermit and companion of St. Thomas Becket. A hermit in Tours, France, he was ordained a deacon by St. Thomas and accompanied him to the Synod of Tours in 1163. When Thomas was martyred In 1170 Aventinus went to Touraine, France, remaining there until his death.  

Bl. John Haile, 1535 A.D. Martyr of England, a companion in death of St. John Houghton at Tyburn. He was an elderly secular priest, the vicar of Isleworth, Middlesex, when he was arrested by King Henry VIII’s men. John was executed at Tyburn. He was beatified in 1886.  

St. Echa, 767 A.D. Anglo-Saxon priest hermit, also called Etha. He was Benedictine who lived at Crayk, near York, England. Hermits such as Echa served as a link to the early Desert Fathers of Egypt.  

Bl. Edmund Ignatius Rice, 1844 A.D. The founder of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools often called the Irish Christian Brothers. Edmund was born in Wescourt, Ireland, in June, 1762, the fourth of seven sons in a fanning family at seventeen he began working at his uncle’s import-export business in Waterford. He later inherited the business. Married at twenty-five, Edmund lost his wife two years later and was left with a sickly infant daughter. A devout man, Edmund dedicated himself to charitable works. Though he saw how the economic and political storms of the day were impacting Ireland, he desired a religious vocation in the contemplative life. However, the Bishop of Waterford drew Edmund’s attention to the bands of ragged youth in the streets, asking Edmund if he, too, planned to abandon them. Encouraged by Pope Pius VII and Bishop Hussey, Edmund sold his business, arranged for his daughter’s care, and opened his first school in 1802. 

St. Hydroc, 5th century. The patron saint of Lanhydroc Cornwall, England.  

May 6 

St. Eadbert, 698 A.D. Abbot bishop of Lindisfarne, Ireland, successor of St. Cuthbert. He was praised by St. Bede for his learning and knowledge of the Scriptures. Eadbert’s relics were enshrined in Durham, England, circa 875. In some lists he is called Edbert.  

Bl. Edward Jones. Blessed Edward Jones and Anthony Middleton, Martyrs Edward Jones from Wales and Anthony Middleton from Yorkshire were both educated at the Douai College in Rheims. They became priests and were sent to the English mission in the time of Elizabeth II. Middleton was the first to arrive in England, in 1586, and pursued the ministry for some time without being discovered, helped considerably by his youthful appearance and slight stature. Jones followed, in 1588, and quickly became known by the English Catholics as a devout and eloquent preacher. The two men of God were hunted down and captured with the aid of spies posing as Catholics, and they were hanged before the very doors of the houses in Fleet Street and Clerkenwell where they were arrested. Their trial is regarded as full of irregularities; the reason for the summary justice dispensed to them was spelled out in large letters: "For treason and foreign invasion." After offering their death for the forgiveness of their sins, the spread of the true Faith, and the conversion of heretics, they died on May 6, 1590.  

Bl. Anthony Middleton, 1590 A.D. An English martyr from Middleton, Yorkshire. Anthony was educated and ordained at Reims, France, and then went back to England to serve the remaining Catholics of that land. Arrested and charged, Anthony was hanged, drawn, and quartered in London.  

May 7 

St. John of Beverly. John was born at Harpham, Yorkshire, England. He studied under Adrian at St. Theodore's School in Kent, and on his return to his native land, became a monk at Whitby. He was named bishop of Hexham in 687 and then transferred to York as metropolitan in 705, succeeding St. Bosa. John was known for his holiness, his preference for the contemplative life, and his miracles, many of which are recounted in Bede's Ecclesiastical History, the author of which he had ordained. In ill health, John resigned the bishopric of York in 717 and retired to Beverly Abbey, which he had founded, and remained there until his death on May 7. His shrine was for centuries one of the most popular pilgrim centers in England. He was canonized by Pope Benedict IX in 1037. 

St. Liudhard, 600 A.D. Bishop and chaplain to Queen Bertha, daughter of King Charibert of Paris, France. When Bertha went to England to marry King Ethelbert of Kent, Liudhard accompanied her. He played an important role in King Ethelbert’s conversion and Baptism by St. Augustine of Canterbury. Liudhard, also called Liphard and Letard, was buried at Canterbury.  

May 8 

St. Abran, 515 A.D. Hermit also called Gibrian. From Ireland, Abran, the eldest of five brothers and three sisters, sailed to Brittany with his siblings. There all of them continued their hermitages and greatly influenced the people of the area. Abran and his brothers and sisters were all declared saints.  

St. Odrian, 5th century. One of the first bishops of Waterford, Ireland. Waterford was part of an ancient deanery system at the time, ruled by abbot bishops. Odrian was a prelate.  

May 9 

St. Beatus, 112 A.D. A monk and hermit called Beatus of Lungern and earlier designated as the Apostle of Switzerland. Baptized in England by St. Barnabas and ordained by St. Peter, Beatus went to Switzerland. He lived and died on Mount Beatenburg above Lake Thun. The cave became a popular pilgrim's destination, the famed site of Beatus' fight with a dragon.  

St. Sanctan, 6th century. Irish bishop. He governed two sees, at Kill-da-Les and Kill-na-Sanctan (modern Dublin). It is possible that he was British by birth.  

St. Gorfor. A saint of Wales, patron of Llanover, in Gwent, Wales.  

Bl. Thomas Pickering, 1679 A.D. Benedictine martyr. Born in Westmoreland, England, he entered the Benedictines as a lay brother at Douai, France, and there took his vows in 1660. Going home to England, he became attached to the Benedictines in the service of the Chapel Royal of Queen Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II (r. 1660-1685). Arrested as part of the "Popish Plot," he was condemned and hanged at Tyburn.  

May 10 St. William of Pontoise, 1192 A.D. English hermit. He resided at Pontoise, in France, having gone there to take up the eremetical life. His hermitage became popular in the region. He may have been Benedictine at St. Martin's Abbey.  

St. Comgall, b.516 A.D., d.601 A.D. Abbot and teacher of St. Columbanus and the monks who evangelized France and central Europe. He was born about 516 in Yester, Ireland, and studied under St. Fintan at Cluain Eidnech Monastery. After living under a harsh rule as a hermit, Comgall founded a monastery in Bangor. He was abbot for eight thousand monks. Comgall also accompanied St. Columba on a mission to Inverness, Scotland, and founded a monastery at Heth. He died at Bangor.  

Bl. Damien de Veuster, 1889 A.D. The Leper Priest, the Hero of Molokai. Born in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840, he joined the Sacred Hearts Fathers in 1860. He was born Joseph and received the name Damien in religious life. In 1864, he was sent to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was ordained. For the next nine years he worked in missions on the big island, Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the leper colony on Molokai, after volunteering for the assignment. Damien cared for lepers of all ages, but was particularly concerned about the children segregated in the colony. He announced he was a leper in 1885 and 

continued to build hospitals, clinics, and churches, and some six hundred coffins. He died on April 15, on Molokai. Slandered by a Protestant minister, Mr. Hyde, Damien was defended by Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote an impassioned defense of Damien in 1905. He was declared venerable in 1977. Pope John Paul II declared him beatified on June 4, 1995.  

May 11 

Bl. John of Rochester, 1537 A.D. Carthusian martyr of England who died with Blessed James Walworth. He was born in Terling, Essex, and became a monk in the London Charterhouse. John was implicated in Blessed James Walworth’s correspondence with the duke of Norfolk. He and James refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and were martyred at York and beatified in 1886.  

St. Tudy, 5th century. Abbot also called Tegwin and Tudinus. A native of Brittany, France, he became a disciple of St. Brioc and embraced the erernetical life. Eventually, he served as abbot of a community of monks near Landevennec, Brittany. Later, he journeyed to England and preached in Cornwall.  

May 12 

Saint Pancras, (Pancratius). He was born at the end of the third century and brought up by an uncle in Rome after the death of his parents. Both he and his uncle became Christians. Pancras was beheaded in 304 during Diocletian's persecution. He was only 14 years old. Pancras is especially venerated in England because Augustine of Canterbury dedicated his first church to Pancras and his relics were presented as a gift to the king of Northumberland. A district in London is named St. Pancras after him.  

In His Footsteps: What do you know about the faith of teenagers? Whatever age you are, check into your parish youth group or a youth service organization to find out more and perhaps join or help out.  

Prayer: St. Pancras, pray for all teenagers that their faith may be as strong as yours, strong enough to lead them through all the trials of their life. 

St. Diomma, 5th century. Patron saint of Kildimo County, Limerick, in Ireland. He taught St. Declan of Ardmore and other Irish evangelists.  

St. Dionysius, 304 A.D. Martyr and uncle of St. Pancras. An Asiatic by birth, Dionysius brought St. Pancras to Rome, where they became Christians. Dionysius died in a Roman prison.  

St. Etheihard, Archbishop of Canterbury, England, after Pope Leo III restored the primacy of that see, also called Aethelhard. He had to go into exile until Lichfield was abolished as a metropolitan see.  

May 13 

St. Abban. Irish hermit whose life is largely undocumented. Born in Ireland, Abban resided in Abingdon, England before the era of St. Patrick. Abban is part of the great panorama of early Irish Christians who served as models for European monasticism and faith. He is especially revered in Abingdon, England. Bl. Juliana of Norwich, 1423 A.D. Benedictine English mystic, sometimes called Julian. She was a recluse of Norwich, living outside the walls of St. Julian’s Church. In 1373, she experienced sixteen revelations. Her book, Revelations of Divine Love - a work on the love of God, the Incarnation, redemption, and divine consolation - made her one of the most important writers of England. She wrote on sin, penance, and other aspects of the spiritual life, attracting people from all across Europe. She is called Blessed, although she was never formally beatified 

St. Mael. A hermit of Wales sometimes called Mabel. He was a disciple of St. Cadfan, whom he accompanied from Brittany, France, to Wales and then to the island of Bardsey.  

St. Merewenna, 970 A.D. Abbess of Romsey, in Hampshire, England. She is also called Merwenna and Merwinna. King Edgar the Peaceful of England restored Merewenna abbey.  

St. Abban. Irish hermit whose life is largely undocumented. Born in Ireland, Abban resided in Abingdon, England before the era of St. Patrick. Abban is part of the great panorama of early Irish Christians who served as models for European monasticism and faith. He is especially revered in Abingdon, England. 

May 14 

St. Carthach the Younger, 637 A.D. Irish hermit and bishop, also called Carthage, Cuda, or Mochuda. Originally a swineherd, Carthach was ordained and then became a hermit about 590 in Kiltulagh and then in Bangor, under St. Comgall. Carthach traveled to Offaly, where he founded a monastery, ruling more than eight hundred monks. He wrote a rule for the monastery in metrical verse, a document that is extant. He is believed to have served as the bishop of Fircall until he and his monks were expelled by some local lord. Carthach founded another monastery at Lismore on the banks of the Blackwater, and lived in a nearby cave. He died on May 14.  

St. Engelmund, 739 A.D. Benedictine abbot, companion of St. Willibrord. He was born in England where he ruled an abbey. Then he went to Friesland. 

May 15 

St. Britwin, 733 A.D. Benedictine abbot of Beverley, England, and friend of St. John of Beverley, who became the bishop of York. Britwin did much too foster monasticism and culture in England.  

St. Gerebrand, 7th century. Martyred Irish priest, companion of St. Dymphna. He was quite elderly when he went with St. Dymphna to Belgium, where they were slain by pagans. Gerebrand, sometimes called Gerebern, is patron of a Rhineland area.  

May 16 

St. Simon Stock. Although little is known about Simon Stock's early life, legend has it that the name Stock, meaning "tree trunk," derives from the fact that, beginning at age twelve, he lived as a hermit in a hollow tree trunk of an oak tree. It is also believed that, as a young man, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where he joined a group of Carmelites with whom he later returned to Europe. Simon Stock founded many Carmelite Communities, especially in University towns such as Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and Bologna, and he helped to change the Carmelites from a hermit Order to one of mendicant friars. In 1254 he was elected Superior-General of his Order at London. Simon Stock's lasting fame came from an apparition he had in Cambridge, England, on July 16, 1251, at a time when the Carmelite Order was being oppressed. In it the Virgin Mary appeared to him holding the brown scapular in one hand. Her words were: "Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel.  

He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection." The scapular (from the Latin, scapula, meaning "shoulder blade") consists of two pieces of cloth, one worn on the chest, and the other on the back, which were connected by straps or strings passing over the shoulders. In certain Orders, monks and nuns wear scapulars that reach from the shoulders almost to the ground as outer garments. Lay persons usually wear scapulars underneath their clothing; these consist of two pieces of material only a few inches square. There are elaborate rules governing the wearing of the scapular: although it may be worn by any Catholic, even an infant, the investiture must be done by a priest. And the scapular must be worn in the proper manner; if an individual neglects to wear it for a time, the benefits are forfeited. The Catholic Church has approved eighteen different kinds of scapulars of which the best known is the woolen brown scapular, or the Scapular of Mount Carmel, that the Virgin Mary bestowed on Simon Stock. 

St. Brendan, 583 A.D. St. Brendan died in 583. Born possibly in Tralee, Ireland, and educated by St. Ita and ordained by Bishop Erc, he became a monk and founded a large monastery at Clonfert. Many fantastic details have been added to this brief knowledge usually based on the fictional "Navigation" in which he is described as searching for the Isles of the Blessed, touching the Canaries, and even discovering America. It is possible that he actually made visits to Scotland and Wales 

St. Carantac, 5th-6th century. Welsh abbot and monastic founder, also called Carannog. Carantac founded a church at Llangrannog, Wales, spent time in Ireland, and upon returning to Wales founded a monastery at Cernach. He is associated with Crantock in Cornwall, and Carhampton in Somerset, England. He is also venerated in Brittany, France. He is sometimes identified with a Welsh prince, Carantac, an aide to St. Patrick.  

May 17 

St. Cathan, 6th or 7th century. Bishop of the isle of Bute, in Scotland, called Kil-Cathan in his honor. A tomb bearing his name was found near Londonderry, Ireland, but Scottish scholars claim his remains are at Kil-Cathan.  

St. Madern. Hermit of Cornish descent also called Maden and Madron. Nothing is known of his life, but he was of Cornish descent and connected with Brittany, France. Numerous churches in England bear his name, and the reputed site of his hermitage, St. Madern’s Well, is still popular.  

St. Maiduif. Irish abbot and founder of Malmesbury Abbey in England. He trained St. Aldhelm there.  

May 18 

St. Feredarius, 863 A.D. Irish abbot of lona, Scotland, in 863. He moved the relics of St. Columba to Ireland because of Danish raids.  

St. Merililaun, 8th century. Martyred pilgrim. He was from England, journeying to Rome, when he was slain at Reims, France, under circumstances that warranted his being considered a martyr.  

May 19 

Bl. Alcuin, 804 A.D. Benedictine scholar and counselor to Charlemagne, sometimes called Alcuin of York. He was born in York, England, circa 735 and became a monk in the Benedictine Order in York. Ordained a deacon, Alcuin became headmaster of the cathedral school. He went to Rome and then met Charlemagne at Parma. Charlemagne invited Alcuin to become the minister of education for the Frankish court. Alcuin also founded a school and tutored the emperor. Upon retiring from the court, he became the abbot of St. Martin of Tours Monastery, reforming the house with St. Benedict of Aniane. Alcuin was listed in martyrologies as a Blessed. He was known for his holiness and scholarly wisdom, writing theological and liturgical treatises, and for his contributions to the so called Carolingian Renaissance.  

St. Dunstan, Patron of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewelers. Born of a noble family at Baltonsborough, near Glastonbury, England, Dunstan was educated there by Irish monks and while still a youth, was sent to the court of King Athelstan. He became a Benedictine monk about 934 and was ordained by his uncle, St. Alphege, Bishop of Winchester, about 939. After a time as a hermit at Glastonbury, Dunstan was recalled to the royal court by King Edmund, who appointed him abbot of Glastonbury Abbey in 943. He developed the Abbey into a great center of learning while revitalizing other monasteries in the area. He became advisor to King Edred on his accession to the throne when Edmund was murdered, and began a far-reaching reform of all the monasteries in Edred's realm. Dunstan also became deeply involved in secular politics and incurred the enmity of the West Saxon nobles for denouncing their immorality and for urging peace with the Danes.  

When Edwy succeeded his uncle Edred as king in 955, he became Dunstan's bitter enemy for the Abbot's strong censure of his scandalous lifestyle. Edwy confiscated his property and banished him from his kingdom. Dunstan went to Ghent in Flanders but soon returned when a rebellion replaced Edwy with his brother Edgar, who appointed Dunstan Bishop of Worcester and London in 957. When Edwy died in 959, the civil strife ended and the country was reunited under Edgar, who appointed Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury. The king and archbishop then planned a thorough reform of Church and state. Dunstan was appointed legate by Pope John XII, and with St. Ethelwold and St. Oswald, restored ecclesiastical discipline, rebuilt many of the monasteries destroyed by the Danish invaders, replaced inept secular priests with monks, and enforced the widespread reforms they put into effect. Dunstan served as Edgar's chief advisor for sixteen years and did not hesitate to reprimand him when he thought it deserved. When Edgar died, Dunstan helped elect Edward the martyr king and then his half brother Ethelred, when Edward died soon after his election. Under Ethelred, Dunstan's influence began to wane and he retired from politics to Canterbury to teach at the Cathedral school and died there. Dunstan has 

been called the reviver of monasticism in England. He was a noted musician, played the harp, composed several hymns, notably Kyrie Rex splendens, was a skilled metal worker, and illuminated manuscripts.  

Bl. Peter Wright, 1651 A.D. Jesuit martyr in England. Born in Slipton, Northamptonshire, England, Peter converted to Catholicism and was given preparation for the priesthood in Ghent and Rome. Entering the Jesuits in 1629, he ministered to English soldiers in Flanders and accompanied Sir Henry Gage back to England. He also served as a chaplain to the Royalist army during the English Civil War. After the war, he was arrested at the home of the Marquis of Winchester during the oppression of Catholicism by Oliver Cromwell and was put to death at Tyburn.  

May 20 

St. Ethelbert, 794 A.D. Martyred king of East Anglia, England. When Ethelbert, the son and heir of Ethelred, went to Mercia to ask for the hand of a princess, he was murdered by her mother, Queen Cynethryth. He was especially venerated in Hereford.  

May 21 

St. Barrfoin, 6th century. Irish missionary, possibly a bishop, and friend of Sts. Columba and Brendan. Barrfoin took charge of a church founded by St. Columba in Drum Cullen, Offaly. He lived at Killbarron. He also journeyed to spread the faith. Barrfoin repeated his adventures on a voyage to the Americas to St. Brendan the Navigator.  

St. Constantine the Great, 337 A.D. Junior Emperor and emperor called the “Thirteenth Apostle” in the East. The son of Constantius I Chlorus, junior emperor and St. Helena, Constantine was raised on the court of Co-Emperor Diocletian. When his father died in 306, Constantine was declared junior emperor of York, England, by the local legions and earned a place as a ruler of the Empire by defeating of his main rivals at the battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312.  

St. Gollen, 7th century. Welsh saint also listed as Collen or Colan. He gave his name to Llangollen, in Clwyd, Wales, and he is associated in legend with Glastonbury, England, and Rome.  

May 22 

St. Boethian, 7th century. Benedictine martyr and a disciple of St. Fursey. An Irishman by birth, Boethian built the Pierrepoint Abbey near Laon, in France. He was murdered there by rebellious monks.  

Bl. John Forest, 1538 A.D. Martyr of England, the confessor of the first wife of King Henry VIII, Queen Catherine of Aragon. He became a Franciscan at Greenwich at the age of seventeen and studied at Oxford. John opposed Henry’s divorce and the suppression of religious orders. Because of this he was arrested at Newgate and ordered to agree to the Oath of Supremacy. Refusing, John was dragged on a hurdle to Smithfield and then burned to death at the stake. A wooden statue of St. Derfel was burned with John. He was beatified in 1886.  

St. Conall, 7th century. Abbot of Inniscoel Monastery in County Donegal, Ireland. A holy well there is named after St. Conall.  

May 23 

St. William of Rochester, Patron of adopted children.  St. William of Rochester is the patron saint of adopted children. William was a well-to-do burgher at Perth, Scotland. He went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his adopted son David who murdered him near Rochester, England. When a mentally deranged woman found his body and cared for it, she was miraculously cured of her mental problems. Reportedly miracles occurred at his grave, and it is said that he was canonized by Pope Alexander IV in 1256, though there is no record of such a canonization. There is a shrine dedicated to William at Rochester Cathedral.  

St. Goban, 6th or 7th century. Abbot also called Gobhnena. He is believed to be the Goban mentioned in the life of St. Laserian. Goban served in Tascaffin, County Limerick, Ireland. 

May 24 

St. David, 1153 A.D. King of Scotland, the son of King Malcolm III and St. Margaret, born in 1084. He was sent to the English Norman court in 1093, and he married Matilda, the widow of the earl of Northhampton, becoming an English baron in 1113. David succeeded his brother, Alexander I, as the king of Scotland in 1124. Years of Struggle against King Stephen ended in 1139 when they made peace. David founded dio-ceses and monasteries in Scotland, instituted Norman law, started the office of chancellor, and conducted many charitable projects. He died in Carlisle, Scotland, May 24. He was never formally canonized.  

May 25 

Venerable Bede. Bede was born near St. Peter and St. Paul monastery at Wearmouth-Jarrow, England. He was sent there when he was three and educated by Abbots Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrid. He became a monk at the monastery, was ordained when thirty, and except for a few brief visits elsewhere, spent all of his life in the monastery, devoting himself to the study of Scripture and to teaching and writing. He is considered one of the most learned men of his time and a major influence on English literature.  

St. Aldhelm, 709 A.D. Bishop and abbot, also called Adelemus, Athelmas, Adelnie, Eadelhelm, Aedelhem. Born about 639, and a relative of King Ine of Wessex, he received his early education at Malmesbury, in Wiltshire, England. There he was trained by an Irish teacher, Maildubh, and by Adrian, a native of Roman Africa. Adrian arrived in England with Bishop Theodore and was made abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. After his training in Malmesbury, Aldhelrn was named abbot of Malmesbury, where he practiced great austerity. During his term in office the abbey prospered, and he also founded St. Lawrence monastery, in the area of Bradfordon-on-Avon. Aldhelm went to Rome to represent Malmesbury before Pope Sergius. He also counseled the Wessex Synod. In 705, Aldhelm succeeded Hedda as bishop of Sherborne, Hedda's original diocese being divided. He died only four years later. A silver shrine was erected at Malmesbury in 857 by King Ethelwulf. The shrine honored not only the 

saint's holiness but his extraordinary and long-lasting impact on English scholarship. He was the first Englishman to promote classical learning in the isles. Some evidence of his own remarkable literary skills is extant.  

St. Dunchadh, 717 A.D. Abbot of lona, in Scotland, from 710 until his death. Roman liturgical customs were adopted in Scotland in his time.  

May 26 

St. Becan, 6th century. Irish hermit in Cork. Becan lived in the time of St. Columba and was known for his sanctity.  

St. Dyfan. Missionary to the Britons. He was sent by Pope St. Eleutherius when a local Briton king requested missionaries from the pope. Dyfan is remembered with a church at Merthyr-Dyfan, Britain. He is also called Deruvianus and Damian.  

Sts. Fugatius and Damian, 2nd century. Reportedly missionaries sent by Pope St. Eleutherius to Britain. They are also listed as Phaganus and Diruvianus Fagan and Deruvian, or as Hager and Dyfan. 

St. Oduvald, 695 A.D. Scottish abbot. A native of Scotland, he entered the monastic life and became abbot of Melrose, which was then a great spiritual center of the era.  

May 28 

Bl. Thomas Ford, 1582 A.D. Martyr of England. He was born in Devon and educated at Oxford. There he converted and set out for Douai, France. Ordained a priest in 1573, he was sent back to England three years later. Thomas labored in Oxfordshire and Berckshire until his arrest. He was martyred on May 28 at Tyburn by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. He was a companion of St. Edmund Campion, and he died with Blesseds Robert Johnson and John Shert. Thomas was beatified in 1882.  

Bl. Robert Johnson, 1582 A.D. English martyr. Born in Shropshire, England, he was a servant before he went to study at Rome and Douai, France, receiving ordination in 1576. Returning to the English mission, he served in the area of London for four years, until his arrest. Robert was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn with Blesseds Thomas Ford and John Short. Robert was beatified in 1886.  

St. Augustine of Canterbury, 605 A.D. At the end of the sixth century anyone would have said that Augustine had found his niche in life. Looking at this respected prior of a monastery, almost anyone would have predicted he would spend his last days there, instructing, governing, and settling even further into this sedentary life. But Pope St. Gregory the Great had lived under Augustine's rule in that same monastery. When he decided it was time to send missionaries to Anglo-Saxon England, he didn't choose those with restless natures or the young looking for new worlds to conquer. He chose Augustine and thirty monks to make the unexpected, and dangerous, trip to England. Missionaries had gone to Britain years before but the Saxon conquest of England had forced these Christians into hiding. Augustine and his monks were to bring these Christians back into the fold and convince the warlike conquerors to become Christians themselves.  

Bl. John Shert, 1582 A.D. English martyr. He was born at Shert Hall, near Macclesfield, Cheshire, and educated at Oxford. Converting to the Church, John studied at Douai and Rome. Ordained in 1576, he went to England three years later, working only two years before his arrest. John was martyred at Tyburn with Blessed Thomas Ford and Blessed Robert Johnstone by being hinged, drawn, and quartered. Pope Leo XIII beatified him in 1886.  

Bl. Margaret Pole, Martyr of England. She was born Margaret Plantagenet, the niece of Edward IV and Rich-ard III. She married Sir Reginald Pole about 1491 and bore five sons, including Reginald Cardinal Pole. Margaret was widowed, named countess of Salisbury, and appointed governess to Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon, Spain. She opposed Henry’s mar-riage to Anne Boleyn, and the king exiled her from court, although he called her “the holiest woman in England.” When her son, Cardinal Pole, denied Henry’s Act of Supremacy, the king imprisoned Margaret in the Tower of London for two years and then beheaded her on May 28. In 1538, her other two sons were executed. She was never given a legal trial. She was seventy when she was martyred. Margaret was beatified in 1886.  

May 29 

Bl. Richard Thirkeld, 1349 A.D. English martyr, also listed as Thirkild. Born in Durham, England, he studied at Oxford and was said to be quite old when he left the isle to receive preparation for the priesthood at Reims and Douai, France. Ordained in 1579, he went back to England and served the Catholics in the area around Yorkshire until his execution for being a priest on May 29 at York.  

May 30 

Bl. William Filby, 1582 A.D. Martyr of England. Born in Oxfordshire, he studied at Oxford. After graduation, William was converted to Catholicism and went to Reims, France, where he received ordination as a priest in 1581. He returned to England immediately and was arrested with St. Edmund Campion. William was executed at Tyburn with three companions on May 30. He was beatified in 1886.  

Bl. Thomas Cottam, 1582 A.D. English martyr. Born at Dilworth, Lancashire, England, in 1549, he was raised as a Protestant and studied at Oxford University before undergoing a conversion to Catholicism. Leaving England to prepare for ordination at Douai and Rome, he was ordained and joined the Jesuits. going home in 1580. Arrested at his landing at Dover, he was taken to the Tower of London and eventually hanged, drawn, and quartered with three companions.  

St. Walstan, 1016 A.D. Penitent and model of charity. Born at Bawburgh, near Norwich, England, he was renowned for his charity and intense personal goodness, spending his life in prayer. Wealthy, he gave away his goods and worked as a farmhand at Taverham and Costessey. Walstan became a popular saint in the area of Norwich and became the hero of various legends. His shrine at Bawburgh was much visited until the English Reformation of the sixteenth century when it was destroyed.  

Bl. Lawrence Richardson, 1582 A.D. Martyr of England. He was born in Great Crosby, Lancashire, England, and was educated at Oxford. Converting to the faith, Lawrence went to Douai, France, and was