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ST THORLAK THORHALLSON, BISHOP - 23 DECEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN DECEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 23rd of December

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SAINT THORLAK THORHALLSON, BISHOP

The Church was established in Iceland by the time of Saint Thorlak's birth in 1133. A very pious and bright farmer's son, St Thorlak received extensive religious instruction from a local priest. 

HE STUDIED THEOLOGY IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND

He was sent to study theology in France and England and was himself ordained a priest at a young age. During the time abroad he vowed to live by the monastic rule of St Augustine. This rule committed a priest not only to celibacy, but also to a life in community without personal possessions, after the manner of the apostles in the Church's earliest days.

HE FOUNDED A MONASTERY IN ICELAND

Upon his return to Iceland he founded a monastery according to the Augustinian rule, which became renowned as a place of prayer and study.

Several years after the founding of the monastery, the Norwegian Archbishop Augustine Erlendsson ordained St Thorlak bishop of the Icelandic diocese of Skalholt. He was bishop of Skalholt from 1178 until his death in 1193. 

HE WAS ORDAINED BISHOP

As a bishop, St Thorlak was dedicated to implementing Pope Gregory VII's reforms: a strict discipline of clerical celibacy,  and, in particular, the independence of the Church against intrusion by secular authorities. 

St Thorlak died in the Lord on December 23, 1193. His relics were translated to the cathedral of Skalholt in 1198. Today, St Thorlak's former diocese of Skalholt is a part of the Diocese of Reykjavik. 

Pope John Paul II confirmed him as patron of Iceland in January 1984. Efforts and private initiatives are underway to have St Thorlak proclaimed patron saint of people with autism.  

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Thorlak may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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