Today, 6 November, is the feast of ...
* Leonard of Noblac (sixth century?)
- supposedly converted by St Remigius, with Clovis as godfather; later,
thanks to Leonard's prayers that enabled wife of Clovis to give birth
safely, Clovis gave Leonard as much land as he could ride around in
a night on a donkey; founded a monastery on this land
- widespread devotion to him in north-west and central Europe in the
later Middle Ages
* Melaine, bishop of Rennes (c. 530)
- succeeded Amand as bishop; played leading role at Council of Orleans in
511
* Illtud or Illtyd, abbot (sixth century)
- ordained by St Germanus of Auxerre, he was renowned for his wisdom and
learning; spent much time Wales
- attempts have been made to identify him with the Galahad of Arthurian
legends; no mention of him in pre-11th-century liturgical texts
* Winnoc, abbot (717?)
- although Winnoc spent little time in Britain, he is commemorated in
nearly all English calendars of tenth and eleventh centuries
* Demetrian, bishop of Khytri (c. 912)
- after 40 years as a monk, he was elected bishop; he fled and hid in a
cave, but his 'friend' who had previously helped him told the
authorities where they could find the fugitive; regarded as one of the
greatest bishops and saints of Cyprus
* Barlaam of Khutyn, abbot (1193)
- born into a wealthy family, he sold all he had, gave it to the poor and
lived as a solitary on the banks of the Volga; here, due to the constant
stream of admirers, he founded the monastery of the Transfiguration
* Christina of Stommeln, virgin (1312)
- an extraordinary case: at 13 became a beguine at Cologne; had many
visions (e.g. Satan, disguised as St Bartholomew, tried to get her to
kill herself)
- her biographer, Peter of Dacia, witnessed many incidents (such as her
stigmata that bled profusely during Holy Week, and showers of filth that
poured down 'from nowhere' on her and her visitors)
- after Peter left town, Christina still corresponded with him through
the parish priest, who sometimes added to her dictation comments of his
own; this priest died in 1277, and was succeeded by a schoolmaster, whose
accounts are the most extreme of all; not for the faint of stomach!
* Jeanne Marie de Maille, widow (1414)
- lived in chaste marriage for 16 years; her husband then went to war and
was captured, so she sold everything to raise the ransom but he escaped
with the help of a miracle of the Virgin
- eventually, she became completely destitute, sleeping with pigs and in
dog-kennels; however, at age 57 she started to live in a tiny room of a
church in Tours, where she worked many conversions and miracles
* Nonius (1431)
- born in Lisbon in 1360, as a young soldier he helped establish Portugal
as a distinct state from Castile; later, he entered a Carmelite friary he
had founded
* Margaret of Lorraine, widow (1521)
- a noble widow, influenced by Francis of Paola, she founded a convent
under the rule of the Poor Clares at Argentan
* * * * * * * *
Carolyn Muessig
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