ST MANUEL, BISHOP AND MARTYR - 22 JANUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 22nd 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.

SAINT MANUEL, BISHOP AND MARTYR

Saint Manuel, bishop and martyr, is commemorated on January 22 and January 20. 

He was archbishop of Hadrianople (Adrianople), which is why he is also called the "very holy metropolitan". The more recent works of the Bollandists confirm the numerous conversions effected by him and his comrades. 

NUMEROUS CONVERSIONS

In the persecution aroused by the Bulgarian king Crumnus they were arrested and kept in prison. Their actual execution took place under his successor.

HIS DEATH

According to Migne, his death was very cruel, in that both his hands were first cut off, but then his body was split in two and thrown to the wild beasts. The Bollandists, however, believe that he was beheaded. His death took place around the year 820. 

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Manuel 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.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints)

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