MARTYRS OF CARDEÑA - 6 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 6th 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.

THE MARTYRS OF CARDEÑA 

The monastery of St Peter of Cardeña, Burgos, Spain, which today is a thriving monastery sustaining itself by wine and liqueur production, was founded, according to tradition, during the lifetime of St Benedict (in A.D. 534), who sent monks from Monte Cassino.  

LOCAL FAITHFUL BURIED THEM

There is, however, no reliable documentary evidence for this. The first historical witness dates to 889, when two hundred monks and their abbot Stephen were martyred by invading Muslim Saracens. Local faithful buried them in the grounds of the local church.

ALL WERE BEATIFIED

All were beatified through a cultus confirmation by Pope Clement VIII in A.D. 1603. They are mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on August 6.

(📷 The monastery today. Website: www.cardena.org - external link)