Today, 16 May, is the feast of ...
Peregrine, bishop of Auxerre, martyr (261) - The first
bishop of Auxerre.
Possidius, bishop of Calama (440) - It is said that
Augustine of Hippo died in Possidius's arms. Possidius
himself died in exile driven out of Calama by the Arian
Genseric.
Germerius, bishop of Toulouse (560) - A great lover of the
poor, he appointed almoners whose special work it was to
assist the needy.
Brendan, abbot of Clonfert (577 or 583) - Any experts on
the *Navigatio* out there?
Domnolus, bishop of Le Mans (581) - He built several
churches and a hospice on the Sarthe for poor pilgrims.
Carantoc, or Carannog, abbot (sixth century) - Cult was
widespread in Brittany, although he spent a lot of time in
Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall.
Honoratus, bishop of Amiens (600) - His cult became
widespread in France in 1060.
Ubald, bishop of Gubbio (1160) - Ubald often defended his
people in public dangers. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
had sacked the city of Spoleto and threatened to do the
same to Gubbio. Ubald met Frederick on the road and
diverted the emperor from his purpose.
Simon Stock, Carmelite (1265) - Last year Richard Copsey supplied us with
much insight into the real Simon Stock:
Leaving aside the pro and contra polemics through the centuries, a local
cult of Simon Stock appears to have originated in Bordeaux around his
tomb.
Independent documentary evidence from necrologies tells us that Simon was
an English Carmelite prior general (some time between 1254-65) and died
whilst visiting the Carmelite province of Gascony.
Around 1400, a catalogue of Carmelite saints was written which introduced
the story of a "holy Simon" who had a vision of the Virgin Mary and she
gave him a scapular promising that whoever wore it would never go to hell.
(Almost certainly part of a Carmelite response to similar claims from the
other mendicant orders). This story got attached to the Simon Stock cult
and was propagated by the Carmelites. The wearing of the scapular achieved
enormous popularity among lay people from around 1500 onwards and spread
rapidly throughout Europe and overseas - up to today.
(Last year Richard Copsey gave a paper on Simon Stock at the Leeds
conference. Have you published this paper Richard? If not please tell us
more about Simon!)
John Nepomucen, martyr (1393) - Killed by King Wenceslaus
IV.
Carolyn Muessig
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