ST ANGADRISMA, ABBESS - 14 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER

Saints celebrated on the 14th of October

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 ANGADRISMA, ABBESS

Saint Angadrisma (French Ste-Angadrème) was the daughter of Count Robert, Major domus of King Clotair III. She was born around the year 614 in what is now Beauvais (Bellovacum) in France. 

The love of religious virginity was the reason for St Angadrisma's ardent wish to live in eternal chastity. However, her parents wanted her to get married to Saint Ansbert (who subsequently became Archbishop of Rouen). The parents had already made arrangements for her betrothal. 

But God sent St Angadrisma a disease from which she was restored, but yet remained so disfigured that her parents felt compelled to give up the idea of their daughter's marriage.

Recognising a special disposition of divine goodness in this incident, she sacrificed herself entirely to the Lord and, with the consent of her parents, went to Rouen, where she received the veil from the hands of St Audonus.

She was appointed abbess to the monastery d'Oroir, which was near Beauvais and had been founded by her family. St Angadrisma led this community until the end of her life. She died at the end of the seventh century. 

The story tells of her two wonderful incidents: On the day she entered the monastery, glowing coals were found in her clothes which did not harm her in the least. Later she also quenched the fire of a St Mary's Church by holding up saint's relics. 

During the Norman invasions, her mortal remains were brought to Beauvais and stored in the Church of St Michael, where they are still resting. She is venerated in this city as patroness. Several excellent miracles received from God are ascribed to her intercession.

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