medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (15. September) is the feast day of:
Nicomedes (1st or 2nd century) Nicomedes was honored in Rome for many
centuries, but little is now known of him. The only certainty is that a
church dedicated to him existed in Rome at least from the seventh century
on. According to legend, Nicomedes was a Roman priest, and was martyred by
being flogged to death.
Niketas the Goth (c. 370) A partly legendary passio reports that Niketas
served in the army of the Arian Gothic King Athanarich. When Niketas
converted to Catholic Christianity, Athanarich had him and other dissenting
Christians executed. A church was dedicated to Niketas in Constantinople
at a very early period.
Oranna (6th century?) According to legend, Oranna was the daughter of a
Scottish king, sent away from her dad because of her deafness. Along with
Wendelin, she is supposed to have come to the Saar-Moselle region, where
she evangelized the region along with a female companion named Cyrilla.
Both women were buried in Eschweiler. In 1488 Oranna's relics were raised.
She is a patron saint of those suffering ear problems.
Notburga of Hochhausen (7th cent.) Notburga is supposed to have been a
hermitess who lived in a cave in Hochhausen in the seventh century; a doe
is supposed to have brought her food every day.
Ludmilla (d. 921) Ludmilla was born in c. 860. She married the Bohemian
duke Borivoj I. Both were baptized by St. Methodius and worked to spread
Christianity in the duchy. Ludmilla raised her grandson Wenceslas as a
Christian, which won the enmity of her non-Christian daughter-in-law
Drahomira. After Ludmilla was widowed, Drahomira arranged the older
woman's murder.
Roland de' Medici (blessed) (d. 1386) Roland lived many years as a hermit
in a forest near Salsomaggiore (not far from Parma). He never spoke and
practiced extremely rigorous asceticism. After his death, there were many
miracles at his tomb, and a vigorous cult developed. He is a patron saint
for those suffering headaches.
Catherine of Genoa (d. 1510) Catherine was born in 1447 in Genoa, to the
noble family of Fieschi. She was married at age sixteen, at first
unhappily. In 1474 she had her first vision, and shortly afterwards her
husband went bankrupt, which he saw as a sign from God and from then on
lived a deeply religious life. Catherine dedicated herself from then on to
the care of the sick in the Pammatone hospital in Genoa, which she also led
from 1490 on. Her dedication, especially during two epidemics of plague,
led people to honor her as a saint. After Catherine's husband died in
1497, she began to commit her mystical experiences to writing. She was
canonized in 1737.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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