ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 2nd of September
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SAINT AGRICOLA, BISHOP OF AVIGNON
The name Agricola (Agricolus, Agricol) is derived from the Latin: "Tiller of the soil," "Farmer."
Saint Agricola was born in Avignon in the year 630; his father was Saint Magnus - who later became the bishop of that city - and his mother was Gandaltruda (or Austadlala). In his childhood, Saint Agricola was entrusted for his education to the fathers of the renowned monastery of Lérins; there, as he grew into a young man, he gave such extraordinary proofs of holiness and virtue that he already commanded the admiration of all. After spending sixteen years in monastic solitude - "as a zealous cultivator of his heart" (agrum cordis strenuus Agricola perpetuo excolens) - he was made Archdeacon of the Church of Avignon (against his will). Later, when his father, Saint Magnus (who had meanwhile been raised to the episcopal see of that city), was nearing the end of his life, Agricolus was sought by clergy and people alike as his successor; he did indeed succeed his father in the year 660.
After wielding the shepherd's staff for the salvation of his people for forty years, he died in the year 700 at the age of seventy and was buried in the Church of St Peter, which he himself had founded. Chroniclers record four translations of his holy relics: the first took place in 1321, the second in 1458, the third in 1539, and the fourth in 1612. The first two involved a change of location, whereas the last two consisted merely of moving the holy body from one altar to another within the same church; however, we have found no record of specific feast days being established for these translations. According to our sources, the records concerning this saint date from the late 16th century and are of no particular value - partly due to their late origin and partly because of the many obscurities regarding chronology found within them. A certain Saint Agricola is generally regarded as the patron saint of village stork nests, as storks used to gather peacefully around him. However, we cannot determine whether our Saint Agricolus is the patron of the storks or whether it was another holy person - perhaps one who led the life of a hermit - though we have been unable to find any trace of another Saint called Agricola.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1858, p. 88)
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Agricola 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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