Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days

Did you know that the Netherlands first learned Christianity from a Yorkshireman?  Willibrord (658 – 739) was born to devout parents, and joined the Benedictines.  In 678 he went Ireland to study at the Abbey of Rathmelsigi (a centre of European learning in the 7th century).  12 years later, in 690, Willibrord felt God had...

Has your boss ever tried to get you to do something that is against your Christian faith?  If so, here are some saints for you.   They chose to make a Christian ‘stand’ at work, even though it really irritated their boss. Claudius, Nicostratus, Simpronian and Castorius were simple stonemasons in early 4th century Rome.  They...

How do you think of Jesus? As the Lord of lords in glory? Or as a human baby soon to be born in Bethlehem? November brings the glorious climax of the church year with the Sunday of Christ the King at the end of November – only to begin a new ‘year’ a week later,...

Does this sound familiar?  An Archbishop of Canterbury tries to bring unity and calm to a Church split down the middle over seemingly irreconcilable differences, and all the while to promote the Gospel to the wider non-Christian society, in the face of widespread ignorance and even hostility towards Christianity. This isn’t Justin Welby, though. It...

This winter, when you next see someone who looks both poor and cold, think of Martin of Tours.  This monk bishop, born in Pannonia (now Hungary) became one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. Martin’s father was a pagan officer in the Roman Army, and Martin was intended for the army as...

In late 1914, WW1 erupted across Northern France and Flanders. Great swathes of previously green fields and forests were blasted and bombed, leaving them bleak and barren, with seemingly every living thing destroyed. But then in the Spring of 1915, something beautiful began to come out of all the destruction. Tens of thousands of bright...

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on America 20 years ago this autumn, many Americans were seen to be ‘saintly’ in their brave attempts to help save lives.  But Frances (1850 – 1917) was the first citizen of the United States to be officially canonised as a saint – by Pope Pius XII in...

Some women have power, and some women are good. When a woman with power is also good, she can achieve an astonishing amount. Margaret of Scotland has been called ‘The Pearl of Scotland’, but she began life in Hungary about 1045. She was born to the expatriate English prince Edward the Exile, and so was...

Danger of torture, assassination, lootings, floods, famines and epidemics… life in France in the 6th century was as turbulent and violent as many of the world’s hot spots are today.  In the midst of all this Gregory (539 – 94) was born into a senatorial family who lived in the Auvergne.  He grew up seeing...

Here is a saint for any young person who has a generous heart and a desire to please God, but who gets rather badly used by adults who should know better. Elizabeth was born in 1207, a princess in the kingdom of Hungary. When she was four, she was sent to the court of the...

Hilda played a key role in the early English Christian church, and she may even have been the first to encourage the writing of Christian poetry. She was born a princess, into the Deiran (Northumbrian) dynasty, and her sister became Queen of the East Angles, with whom the Deiran had connections. In those days East...

If you are going to any concerts before Christmas, spare a thought for St Cecilia (2nd century) – the patron saint of musicians. Cecilia is one of the most famous of the Roman martyrs of the 2nd century.  As far as is known, she was born a noble lady of Rome who, despite her vow...