medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (3. December) is the feast day of:
Claudius, Maurus, and Jason of Rome (d. 284) Claudius and his two sons
were martyred in Rome under Numerian. Dad was drowned in the Tiber; his
sons were beheaded.
Birinus (d. 650) Birinus was perhaps a Lombard, sent to England by
Honorius I. He became the apostle of Wessex in 635. He seems to have been
an independent missionary; there is no evidence that he had any contact
with Canterbury. B. was first bishop of Dorchester, although the see
vanished after 660 and was only revived in the ninth century.
Modestus of Carinthia (d. 772) Modestus was from Ireland; he went to
Salzburg with St. Virgil. But in c. 750 he retired further south, to the
present site of Maria Saal, where he built a church.
Ethernan (9th cent.?) The Scot Ethernan is reported to have studied in
Ireland before becoming a missionary in teh area of Fife.
Francis Xavier (d. 1551) The Basque Spaniard Francis was born in Navarre
and educated at the U. of Paris, where he met Ignatius of Loyola and joined
the nascent Society of Jesus. In 1541 he set out on a missionary
expedition to Goa, with the title of apostolic nuncio to the East. FX is
my candidate for most successful missionary of all time. He worked in
southern India, Sri Lanka, Malacca, the Molucca Islands, and the Malay
peninsula, living as a poor man and attracting large numbers of low-caste
converts. Particularly notable are his enormous efforts to assuage the
worst excesses of European colonialism. In 1549 he made his way to
Japan---where he changed his methods to suit the political climate,
dressing well and presenting himself as a representative of the king of
Portugal. He died while on his way to China. FX's body in Goa was until
recently incorrupt; it hasn't been doing so well lately. He was canonized
in 1622.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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