BL. ENGELMAR, HERMIT AND MARTYR

BL. ENGELMAR, HERMIT AND MARTYR - 14 JANUARY

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY
Saints celebrated on the 14th of January

WELCOME!

BLESSED ENGELMAR, HERMIT AND MARTYR

Engraving of Bodenmais and the Arber Mountain,
Bavarian Forest, 1846

Blessed Engelmar (B. Engelmarus) was a Bavarian by birth and of peasant stock, likely hailing from the region of Passau. Even as a young man, he turned his heart toward heavenly things, zealously striving to amass treasures against which neither rust, nor moth, nor thief could prevail. Having renounced worldly affairs, he chose the life of a hermit under the guidance of an Armenian bishop named Gregory, who - out of a love for solitude - had left his see and settled not far from Passau. After Gregory’s death on October 23, 1093, Engelmar travelled with a companion to the region of the Bavarian Forest - an area that now bears his name - and built himself a hut there. He served God through night vigils and prayer, while the labour of his hands provided his daily sustenance. The pious hermit was held in high esteem throughout the region, a fact that aroused the envy of his companion. One day, like another Cain, the companion approached Engelmar while he was deep in prayer, slew him, and covered his body with snow and brushwood. This occurred on January 14, 1100 - the first Sunday after Epiphany - and it was not until the week following Pentecost that God guided a priest to the spot where the pious recluse’s body lay unburied and, with the snow now melted, had become visible.

This priest buried him on that very spot and arranged for the construction of a chapel over the grave of the pious man, who - according to an old manuscript - is said to have been beatified in the year 1188. The body remained there until after 1125, the year the Premonstratensian monastery of Windberg (near Straubing) was founded. Rupertus, the monastery's first superior - filled with deep reverence for this blessed man, whom God had glorified in various ways - commissioned a magnificent monument that better honoured Engelmar's sanctity; the body was solemnly transferred to it, and the construction of a church over the site was also begun. This church was completed in 1130 and consecrated by Bishop Cuno I of Regensburg. Following the church's construction, settlements soon sprang up around it, gradually forming a sizable village - also named Engelmar - which, together with other nearby localities, was raised to the status of a parish entrusted to the care of Windberg Monastery.

In 1717, the remains of the Blessed Engelmar were placed in a glass case above the tabernacle for veneration. The Blessed One is depicted in a seated position, wearing a red velvet robe embroidered with gold. He is venerated as a special intercessor against cattle plagues and for the preservation of crops. We have drawn these details largely from the Sulzbach Calendar for Catholic Christians for the Year 1857 (pp. 76 - 83), whereas the accounts of the Bollandists* contain a number of inaccuracies and errors.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, pp. 66-67)

*A hagiography source used by the authors

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Blessed Engelmar 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

BL. RICHARD NEWPORT, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 30 MAY

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY Saints celebrated on the 30th of May WELCOME! BLESSED RICHARD NEWPORT, PRIEST AND MARTYR Richard Newport, alias Smith , was born in Northamptonshire and performed his studies abroad, partly in the college of Rheims (if he be the Richard Smith whom I find in the Douay diary sent to Rome in 1586) and partly in that of Rome, where he was made priest. From thence he was sent upon the English mission, and behaved himself in such a manner as justly to acquire the character of a laborious missionary; being withal remarkably successful in bringing home many strayed sheep to the fold of Christ, to which his apostolical way of living did not a little contribute. He was several times apprehended and cast into prison, and twice banished. His name occurs amongst those who were transported in 1606; at which time, we are told, he took that opportunity of making a pilgrimage to Rome, there to pour forth his prayers at the tombs of the apostles, in behalf of thi...

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