ST ANSUERUS AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

ST ANSUERUS AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS - 15 JULY

SAINT ANSUERUS AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

Ansuerus (Answerus) is an Old German name meaning comrade-in-arms.

Saint Ansuerus came from a noble family in Schleswig. Oswald, who was lord of Schleswig, was his father, and a certain Agneta (or Agnes) was his mother. At the age of 15 he left his father's house and joined the monastery of Saint George (Sankt Georg) in Ratzeburg in Mecklenburg, where he was so distinguished by his zeal in the sciences and his piety that he was elected abbot.

But it was not enough for him to serve God in solitude; he also wanted to actively be of service to his fellow human beings. Therefore he went out with his brothers to preach the gospel in the same region, which was still deeply immersed in paganism. His efforts were met with great success, but aroused the anger of the idolaters, who instigated a terrible persecution of the Christians. The older historians, such as Adam of Bremen etc. report that in the 11th century many Christians were martyred and killed for the sake of their faith by the pagan peoples of the Slavs and Wends out of deadly hatred against Christianity in the Ratzeburg area. Among these were Saint Ansuerus and 30 (other sources state 28) monks. In 1066, he and his companions were seized and stoned to death. The body of Saint Ansuerus was first interred in the crypt at Saint George; but when a blind man was restored to sight at the tomb, Bishop Evermod had the martyr's remains translated to the cathedral of Ratzeburg.

After he was canonised by Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg with the consent of the Pope, an arm of this saint was venerated at the Church of the Blessed Virgin in Stade, where it was kept for a long time. The relics perished during the Reformation.

Ansuerus was included in the Schleswig and Ratzeburg Breviaries, but since the Reformation he is remembered only in monastic martyrologies. A cross near Ratzeburg and a painting in the cathedral there remind of him.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1858, p. 239)

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Ansuerus and Companions 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.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org

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