medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (12. May) is the feast day of:
Pankratius (d. 304) A much-beloved saint in Germany, Pankratius' life
seems to be purely legendary. According to the legend, Pankratius was the
son of a pre-eminent pagan Roman of Asia Minor, born in 290. P. converted
while visiting Rome with an uncle on legal affairs, and set out trying to
help his persecuted co-religionists. Because of his youth and nobility,
the 14-year-old P. was brought before Diocletian, who tried to reason him
out of his religious intransigence. When P. refused to cooperate, he was
condemned to death by decapitation. The corpse was left for the dogs to
eat, but a Christian woman secretly buried it in the nearby catacombs. In
c. 500 a basilica was erected at the site (s. Pancrazio fuori le mura),
which has attracted pilgrims for many centuries. P's cult spread
throughout western Europe.
Epiphanios of Salamis (d. 403) Epiphanios was born in Palestine in c. 315,
and became a monk and later abbot of the monastery of Eleutheropolis that
he founded near his home town. His life is most notable for polemical
struggles against Arianism, winning him the nickname "the oracle of
Palestine." In 367 Epiphanios became bishop of Salamis.
Richtrudis (d. 688) Richtrudis was born in Gascony. She and her husband
had four children, all later venerated as saints. After her husband's
death, Richtrudis entered the convent of Marchiennes near Tournai (which
she had perhaps founded), serving as first abbess.
Domingo de la Calzada (d. 1109) The shepherd Domingo was born in Spain in
the mid-eleventh century. He wanted to enter the Benedictine order, but
was rejected several times. So the disappointed Domingo became a hermit
next to the pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela, building there a
bridge and a hostel for pilgrims. (The "calzado" of his name means
"street.") A church was built after Domingo's death on the site of his
hermitage, which in time became the center of the diocese
Calahorra-Sto.-Domingo de la Calzada.
Francesco Patrizi (d. 1328) (blessed) Francesco was from Siena. In c. 1288
he entered the Servite order. His greatest gift was his ability to
reconcile enemies. He was beatified in 1743.
Juana of Portugal (blessed) (d. 1490) Juana, the daughter of Alfonso V of
Portugal, was born in 1452. She entered the Dominican order in 1472, and
became famous for her penitential practices and care for the poor and
slaves. Juana was beatified in 1693; since 1959 a canonization process has
been active.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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