St. Alphege

Facebook Delicous MySpace

Twitter Stumble Digg

More Destinations

All
Wikipedia
Video
Comments

Feastday: April 19
Patron of Greenwich; Solihull; kidnap victims
954 - 1012

Archbishop and "the First Martyr of Canterbury." He was born in 953 and became a monk in the Deerhurst Monastery in Gloucester, England, asking after a few years to become a hermit. He received permission for this vocation and retired to a small hut near Somerset, England. In 984 Alphege assumed the role of abbot of the abbey of Bath, founded by St. Dunstan and by his own efforts. Many of his disciples from Somerset joined him at Bath. In that same year, Alphege succeeded Ethelwold as bishop of Winchester. He served there for two decades, famed for his care of the poor and for his own austere life. King Aethelred the Unready used his abilities in 994, sending him to mediate with invading Danes. The Danish chieftain Anlaf converted to Christianity as a result of his meetings with Alphege, although he and the other chief, Swein, demanded tribute from the Anglo-Saxons of the region. Anlaf vowed never to lead his troops against Britain again. In 1005 Alphege became the successor to Aleric as the archbishop of Canterbury, receiving the pallium in Rome from Pope John XVIII. He returned to England in time to be captured by the Danes pillaging the southern regions. The Danes besieged Canterbury and took Alphege captive. The ransom for his release was about three thousand pounds and went unpaid. Alphege refused to give the Danes that much, an act which infuriated them. He was hit with an ax and then beaten to death. Revered as a martyr, Alphege's remains were placed in St. Paul's Church in London. The body, moved to Canterbury in 1023, was discovered to be incorrupt in 1105. Relics of St. Alphege are also in Bath, Glastonbury, Ramsey, Reading, Durham, Yorkminster and in Westminster Abbey. His emblem is an ax, and he is depicted in his pontifical vestments or as a shepherd defending his flock.

from Wikipedia

Previous Saint
< St. Alphius

Next Saint
St. Alphege of Canterbury >

Saint of the Day

Learn about the lives of the saints and other saint resources, including a calendar, over 5,000 saint biographies, our most popular saints, and a list of patron saints. 7 days / week. See Sample

E-mail: Zip Code:

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Find Saint: Products | Books | Prayers | Saint of the Day

Search Saints:

Rate This Saint

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Was this helpful to you? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

1 - 8 of 8 Comments

Raj Ambrose
1 month ago
Dear Saint,

Enlighten the bishops and priests of the catholic church to defend the faith as you had done. Enable them to care for the poor rather than serve the wealthy and the powerful in the society. Let the imitate our Lord Jesus Christ who lived and died possessing nothing. Inspire them to long for eternal life in the next rather than the perishable comforts with its deadly vanities for few years on this earth. Encourage them to teach the faithful the consequences of sin, that is hell. Motivate them to pray unceasingly so that they will be able overcome the temptations of this world. Help them to Love God and Love Him without any measure. Amen.
Mona
1 month ago
Please pray for Gwen, Michelle, Jacob and all cancer patients especially the children. Dear Lord, thank you for Gwen surviving the surgery and for making me cancer free.
peter elphick
1 month ago
yes it was 1000 years ago .. 1001 and one today friday the 19th of april 1012 that he passed away.. for the people of this country. my name sake.. thank you..
christopher antony
1 month ago
St.Alphege i pray 2 you in great faith please help me in my work
i pray 2 you for Gods Blessing i pray for my family and friends
God bless you and all of us
Amen
Joseph Mathew
1 year ago
Dear St. Alphege, Being the first martyr of Caterbury, you paved the way to right worship of God and defended the chuch against pagan values, by sacrificing your life. Please pray for me.
christie
1 year ago
St. Alphege, faithful servant of God pray for us, in our daily pilgrimage on earth. May we always focus on the love, compassion and mercy of Jesus. Holy Mother Mary and St. Joseph pray for us. The first reading of the day advises us to be obedient to God than to man. Bless us that we may be so.Amen
Joseph Mathew
2 years ago
Dear St. Alphage,
Your life and martyrdom are inspiring and very relevant! Please do pray for me.
Martin
2 years ago
Waking up to these powerful stories of our Martyrs is an incredible way to start a day. God bless all.

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment

Previous Saint
< St. Alphius

Next Saint
St. Alphege of Canterbury >

Find Saints

Catholic Online offers the largest searchable database of Catholic Saints on the internet.

Browse Saints by Alphabet	A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Patron Saints by Alphabet	A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z