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Today, 21 May, is the feast of ... Godric, pilgrim and hermit (1170): Born in Walpole in Norfolk, Godric came from a poor family. In his youth he dabbled in piracy. After a trip to Lindisfarne, however, his travels were devoted to pilgrimages. He went to Jerusalem, Compostela, Rome and to the shrine of St Giles in Provence. He returned to England and bought a Psalter which became his most treasured possession. Next to the river Wear three miles from Durham, he spent the rest of his days, living the austere life of a hermit. Though he wanted to live in silence and seclusion, the prior of Durham would often send strangers to be edified by his conversation. Among his visitors were Aelred of Rievaulx and Robert of Newminster. Godric had the gift of prophecy. He foretold the exile, return and martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Four songs that Godric sang have been preserved. Godric claimed that he learned them from the Virgin Mary and his dead sister. According to Butler, these songs are of great interest since they are the oldest pieces of English verse of which the musical setting has survived, and among the oldest to show rhyme and measure instead of alliteration. Benvenuto of Recanati, Franciscan tertiary (1289): Lived with the Franciscan Conventuals of Recanati and did all the cooking. Often when he had received communion, he would fall into ecstasy. From one of these trances he awoke to realise that it was almost time for the evening meal to be served and had not prepared anything. He quickly ran to the kitchen where he was greeted by an angelic chef who was busily chopping vegetables. Miraculously, all the friars who ate the meal said that they had never tasted better food. Carolyn Muessig [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%