ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER Saints celebrated on the 26th of October WELCOME! SAINT ALFRED THE GREAT Saint Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, was born around 849 - the fifth son of the king. Having become king himself on April 23, 871, Danish invaders posed a severe threat, but he managed to establish Saxon supremacy. Alfred improved the quality of life of his subjects: he issued laws, restored and founded monasteries, including Shaftesbury Abbey. His work as a patron of the arts, literature, and especially the Church made him a popular king. His wife, Edelwida , whom he married in 868, bore him five children, St Ethelgiva of Shaftesbury was one of them. He translated Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy into Anglo-Saxon, as well as Bede’s Ecclesiastical History and the Pastoral Rule and Dialogues of Pope St Gregory the Great. St Alfred also bore the cross of poor health - he suffered from Crohn's Disease. He died on October 26, 899. PRAYER: O God, ...