ST GOHARD AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS - 25 JUNE

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JUNE

Saints celebrated on the 25th of June

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST GOHARD AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

Saint Gohard, a man described as “innocent and filled with all piety”, was bishop of Nantes, France, when in 843 Vikings raided the city.

THEY FLOCKED TO THE CATHEDRAL

Upon their approach on June 24, monks from abbeys outside Nantes fled into the city and joined other refugees packed within the walls of Nantes’ Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

There Gohard celebrated Mass for the Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist.

"LIFT UP YOUR HEARTS"

The Vikings entered the city and stormed the cathedral, breaking down its doors and smashing the windows. The bishop was beginning the Preface before the Eucharistic Prayer with the words, “Sursum corda” (“Lift up your hearts”), when the Vikings slew him in the sanctuary.

MARTYRDOM

The pagan invaders proceeded to massacre a large number unarmed of priests, religious and laity within the cathedral.

“May God bring you finally to himself, who is himself that very life everlasting.” (St Augustine)