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Interim Saints - March 25th THE ANNUNCIATION OF S. MARY "The festival of the Annunciation is at least as ancient as the Council in Trullo (A.D. 680), and is supposed, on the authority of a sermon attributed to S. Cyril, to have been kept in the 5th century . . . The tenth council of Toledo, in 656, ordered that this festival should be solemnized on December 18th, eight days before Christmas, because of its proper day arriving in Lent, and sometimes in Holy Week." But I dare say that members will have something of their own to contribute about the history of this feast. QUIRINUS, martyr (A.D. 269) . . . we know of Quirinus only that he was executed with the sword in prison in 269, and the body was thrown into the Tiber, but was recovered by a priest named Pastor, who buried it in the Pontiani cemetery, whence it was removed in the pontificate of Pope S. Zacharias . . . and it found a shrine and resting-place eventually in the monastery of Tengern-see, in Bavaria. A spring of naphtha rising there goes by the name of Quirinus-oil. IRENĈUS, bishop and martyr (A.D. 304) S. Irenĉus, bishop of Sirmich of Mitrovitz on the Save, in Pannonia, the modern Hungary, died on March 25th, in the year 304 . . . Irenĉus [after refusing to abjure the faith] was then ordered to have his head struck off and his body cast into the river Save. DULA, virgin and martyr (date unknown) Nothing is known of this saint, except that she was a servant or slave-girl - as indeed her name implies . . . CAMIN OF INISKELTRA, abbot (A.D. 653) S. Camin was of the princely house of Hy-kinselogh by his father Dima, a half-brother of Guair, king of Connaught . . . Although of a delicate constitution, he closely applied himself to ecclesiastical studies, and wrote a commentary on the Psalms, collated with the Hebrew text. HUMBERT, priest and confessor (about A.D. 680) This saint was born at Maizières, on the river Oise . . . Humbert seldom left his monastery, except to meet S. Aldegunda, abbess of Maubeuge, with whom he had contracted an intimate union of charity and prayers. ALFWOLD, bishop of Sherborne (A.D. 1075) In the reign of the Confessor, Alfwold, a monk of Wichester, was raised to the bishopric of Sherborne . . . He visited Durham, and opening the shrine of S. Cuthbert addressed him lovingly as a friend, and deposited by his side a token of his regard. WILLIAM, child martyr (A.D. 1144) Another murder attributed to the Jews. It is to Baring-Gould's credit that he treats these legends with the contempt they deserve: "It is impossible to doubt that most of these charges brought against them were invented by their enemies for the purpose of plundering them; and that others had their origin in the imagination of the people, ready to believe anything against those whose strong-boxes they lusted to break open." Oriens. ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%