ST DATIUS, BISHOP OF MILANO - 14 JANUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 14th of January

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 DATIUS, BISHOP OF MILAN

Saint Datius, Bishop of Milan, also called Dacius or Dasius, came from a very noble family. He was successor to St Magnus in the episcopal chair.

HE SUCCEEDED ST MAGNUS

When this city was snatched from the general Belisarius by the Goths, St Datius escaped by flight according to some, taken prisoner according to others, but was freed again by his friend Cassiodorus. 

HE WAS DRIVEN INTO EXILE

At a later stage, he was driven out by King Totilas. Afterwards, he went to Constantinople and died there in 552.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)