ST SIGFRID, ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH - 22 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 22nd of August

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.

SAINT SIGFRID, ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH 

Saint Sigfrid [Siegfried] died on August 22, 688. Nothing has been handed down to us about the early life of St Sigfrid. He was known for his knowledge of Scripture, his temperance, and obedience.

HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS KNOWLEDGE OF SCRIPTURE, HIS TEMPERANCE, AND OBEDIENCE

During Benedict's absence on his fifth visit to Rome, St Esterwine died. St Ceolfrid and the other monks elected the deacon-monk Sigfrid to take Esterwine's place as coadjutor abbot of Jarrow and abbot of Wearmouth in 686. 

BOTH SAINTS FELL ILL

Both saints fell deathly ill upon Benedict's return to Jarrow. Knowing that their earthly lives were about to end and wanting a final meeting to inquire about the welfare of each other and their monks, Sigfrid, suffering from a lung disease, was carried on a stretcher to Benedict's cell. They were both too weak to even embrace one another unaided. 

BENEDICT AND SIGFRID DIED THE SAME YEAR

After consulting Sigfrid, Benedict sent for Ceolfrid and appointed him abbot over both monasteries. Benedict and Sigfrid died the same year. Sigfrid was buried by St Ceolfrid in the abbey-church of St Peter next to his master, St Benedict, and his predecessor, St Esterwine. 

St Bede the Venerable testifies to the date of his death and the development of a cultus at Wearmouth and Jarrow

(Information from The Oxford Dictionary of Saints - 📷 Jarrow Abbey, West Wall)