medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Appropriate that this arrived today (but feast day April 19?) when I have a deadline!
The second story below is the sort that would be invented, if it did not already exist.
How far back can veneration of this saint actually be traced, in written or artistic sources?
Meg
________________________________
From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture on behalf of Paul Chandler
Sent: Tue 5/15/2012 04:35
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [M-R] Saint Expeditus
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
19 April was the feast of Saint Expeditus, who is invoked against procrastination. I meant to mention this last month.
... The most popular legend surrounding the saint says that the day when he decided to become a Christian, the Devil took the form of a crow (a snake in some versions of the legend) and told him to defer his conversion until the next day, but Expeditus stamped on the bird and killed it, declaring, "I'll be a Christian today!"
Many stories commonly circulated about the saint's origin say the cultus of Expeditus began when a package marked expedite arrived with unidentified relics or statues. The recipients assumed that the statuary or relics belonged to a Saint Expeditus, and so veneration began. One of these stories is set in 1781, when a case containing the relics of a saint who was formerly buried in the Denfert-Rochereau catacombs of Paris arrived at a convent in the city. The senders had written expedite on the case, to ensure fast delivery of the remains. The nuns assumed that "Expedite" was the name of a martyr, prayed for his intercession, and when their prayers were answered, veneration spread rapidly through France and on to other Roman Catholic countries...
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expeditus>
Expeditus is usually depicted stomping on a crow that is crying "cras", while he holds a cross inscribed "hodie":
<http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/CLI/17413~Heilige-Expeditus-Posters.jpg>
--
Paul Chandler, O.Carm.
Holy Spirit Seminary | PO Box 18 (487 Earnshaw Road) | Banyo Qld 4014 | Australia
office: (07) 3246 9888 | home: (07) 3246 9894
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