ST NICASIUS OF ROUEN, BISHOP AND MARTYR - 11 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER

Saints celebrated on the 11th 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.

ST NICASIUS OF ROUEN, BISHOP AND MARTYR

According to tradition, Pope Saint Clement sent this holy Bishop on his mission. Others consider him a disciple of St Polycarp, these sources assert that he had arrived in Gaul together with St Irenaeus.

St Nicasius is considered the first Bishop of Rouen. 

However, Migne claims that St Nicasius never came to Rouen, but instead preached in Conflans, Andresy, Triel and Vaux. Meulan, Mantes and the village of Monceaux. At Roche-Goyon, moreover, he converted St Pientia, which bears the title "virgin". This public conversion seems to have hastened his martyrdom.

Not far from there the heathen captured St Nicasius and his companions. These were called Quirinus (a priest) and Scubiculus (Subiculus), who was a deacon. 

On the banks of the Epte, where the town of Ecos (Eure) is currently located, they were beheaded and buried on a small island on the river near the village of Gany. 

In 1112 a solemn exhumation took place. St Nicasius is venerated as the first bishop of Rouen because he, in any case, converted a large part of this diocese. 

On October 11, 1863 a chapel was consecrated in his honour in the church of Ecos, which received some of his relics donated by the cathedral. This is part of the diocese of Evreux.

A beautiful painting depicts the martyrdom of the three heroes of faith. The Roman Martyrology gives the place of their martyrdom as Vilcassinum (Vexin?) and states that the praeses under whom they suffered was called Fescennius.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints)