News flash...

... The Saints are taking a break until later in the year.

If you miss them, please let me know!

March 12th: Sant Pol-de-Leon

Pol-de-Leon (aka Paul/Pol Aurélien) is one of the seven founding saints of 'Continental Brittany' and the city of Pol-de-Leon, of which he was the first bishop, is a stage of the medieval pilgrimage now known as the Tro Breizh (Tour of Brittany).

His surname, Aurélien, is said to suggest that he belonged to the same patrician family of which Ambrosius Aurelianus was a member. Also known as Emrys Wledig, Ambrosius was the war-leader who led the defence of the Bretons/Celts of the 'island of Brittany' (i.e. the British Isles) against the Saxons between 470 and 485 C.E. , and who is said to have been the brother of Uther Pendragon, father of Arthur.

Pol/Paul is believed to have been born in 490 C.E. in Glamorgan, Wales. He had nine brothers and three sisters. Their father, Porphino (aka Perphirius or Porphyrius meaning 'clad in purple') was a chieftan of Penychen, who intended Pol to become an arms trader, but, faced with Pol's obstinate rejection of this, he placed him, at the age of nine, in the monastery of Iltud at Llantwit Major, and he then studied with Samson, Brieuc, Malo, and Gildas, on the island of Pyrus, now known as Caldey.

Pol was a vegetarian (hurrah!) and drawn to solitude. At the age of fifteen he was given the abbot's permission to become a hermit in Pen Ohen. He was ordained priest at the age of twenty-two by the Bishop of Winchester, and spent five years in the abbey where his sister Sicofolla was abbess. Prompted by a vision, he then asked, and was granted permission by King Mark, to join his cousin Gwithur in Armorica (Brittany).

Accompanied by 12 others, Pol landed at Porz an Ejen in 517, and settled in Lampaul. During a stay with his cousin Gwither on the Isle of Batz, Pol is said to have 'removed a dragon' from the island, and was given the gift of the island, where he founded a monastery. The Frankish King Childebert 1 (511-558) made him Bishop of Castel-Paol (now Saint-Pol-de-Leon). In 553 he retired to the Isle of Batz, where he died in either in 575 or 594. In 954 his relics were transferred to Fleury-sur-Loire where they were destroyed by the Huguenots around the year 1567. Only a bone of his arm is kept in Saint-Pol-de-Léon.

Below is a photo of his preaching stole.

If Pol belonged to the same family as Ambrosius, uncle of Arthur, was Pol's cousin Gwithur actually Arthur himself? And if so, who (or what) was the dragon?!

While this may be fanciful, it is a fact that Arthurian legends are part of the Breton heritage. Celtic Christians from Cornwall, Wales, and Ireland came to the Armorican peninsula in the 5th century C.E., changing its name into 'Lesser Brittania' as a reminder of, and as a mark of the connection with, 'Greater Britannia' - hence Britain and Brittany. Their leaders were adopted as Breton patron saints: Samson, Malo, Brieuc, Tugdal, Pol, Corentin, and Patern. They brought with them their particular brand of Celtic Christianity, but they also assimilated the local pre-Christian/pagan deities as local holy women and men. They built Mont-St-Michel abbey as a replica of St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, and, of course, they imported the legend of Arthur - the writings of Gildas (see 29th January) are one of the sources for the legend. And it is believed by some that an island off Tregastel is Avalon, where Arthur still sleeps...

Arthur's Prayer

reputed recited by the King when he met with his Knights at the Round Table

May God grant us the wisdom to discover the right,

the will to choose it

and the strength to make it endure.

Amen.

March 3rd - St. Gwenole

Gwenole (aka Guenole, Winwaloe, Winwallus, Winwaloeus)was born around 460 C.E., the third son of Fragan (aka Fracan, a prince of Dumnonia) and Gwenn, born shortly after their arrival in Brittany having fled, with their young twin sons (Guethenoc/Wethenoc and Jacut) from the plague in Wales. His sister Clervie/Creirwy and half-brother Cadfan were born later, while the family were living at Ploufragan, near Saint-Brieuc.

Gwenole was educated by Budoc of Dol on Lavret Island in the Brehat archipelago near Paimpol. As a youn man he is said to have conceived a wish to visit Ireland, to see the remains of St. Patrick who had recently died. However, the saint appeared to him in a dream, and advised him to stay in Brittany and found an abbey. So, with eleven of Budoc's other disciples, he set up a small monastery on the Ile de Tibdy, at the mouth of the river Faou, but, since it was so inhospitable there, he then founded another abbey on the opposite bank of the estuary - Landevennec Abbey. It is said that the local lord, Gradlon/Gralon, fled to Gwenole after the flooding of Is/Ys - see below.

Gwenole died at Landevennec in 532.

Gwenole was venerated as a saint at Landevennec until Viking invasions in 914 forced the monks to flee, with his body, to Chateau-du-Loir, and then Montreuil. His shrine there was destroyed during the French Revolution in 1793.

His name was for a time confused with the word 'gignere' - to beget - and he thus acquired a reputation as a patron of fertility. The feet of his statue in a chapel at Prigny are pierced with needles by girls who hope to thus find their soulmates - although how that works, who knows!

Several churches are dedicated to him in Cornwall and Wales, and small relics are held at Exeter Cathedral, Glastonbury Abbey, Abingdon Abbey, and Waltham Abbey Church.

The legend of Ys (aka Is, Ker-Is)

The mystical/mythical city of Ys was built on land reclaimed from the sea in the Baie de Douranenez, by Gradlon (aka Gralon), King of Cornouaille/Kerne on the request of his daughter Dahut (aka Ahes) who loved the sea. To protect the city from flooding, a sea wall was built, with a gate that was opened for ships at low tide. There was only one key that opened the sea gate, and this was in the possession of King Gradlon.

Ys was a city rich in commerce and the arts, one of the most beautiful and impressive cities in Europe. Gradlon's palace was made of marble, cedar, and gold, and he was a pious man, but Dahut his daughter was wayward, and under her influence the people of Ys became corrupt.

Gwenole decried the corruption of Ys, and warned of God's wrath and punishment, but he was ignored by both Dahut and the people. One night Dahut arranged to give a secret banquet for her lover, a knight clad in red (or with a red beard). She stole the key to the sea-gate from her father and opened the gate to let the lover in. It was high tide, and a storm was raging: the waves were as high as mountains - and the entire city was submerged by the sea. Her lover was the devil.

Intuitively aware that the flood was imminent, Gwenole woke the king and commanded him to flee. The king and his daughter mounted his magical horse, Morvarcv'h, but a voice called out: 'Throw the demon thou carriest into the sea, if thou dost not desire to perish!'

Gradlon refused, but, who knows how, Dahut fell from the horse into the sea where she became a sea-morgen/morgan, one of the eternally young water sprites, that, like the sirens, lure men to their death by their beauty and with glimpses of underwater kingdoms.

Gradlon was saved, and, having initially fled to Gwenole at Landevennec, took refuge in Quimper, which became his new capital... but the bells of the churches of Ys are still to be heard when the sea is calm, and legend tells that when Paris (Par-Ys, meaning 'similar to Ys/Is) is' swallowed' (although by what is not told), the city of Ys will rise from the waves...

The Companions of St. Gwenole made a pilgrimage from Cornwall to Landevennec in 2013, including a visit to the Chemin Neuf Community at Abbay de Boquen (near Rennes)  "where Ignatian Spirituality embraces Charismatic Renewal".

Chemin Neuf was founded in 1973 with an ecumenical vocation springing from a prayer group in Lyon, France. It presently has over 900 members in 18 countries. Couples, families, celibate men and women choose to follow the adventure of modern community life, following Christ, poor and humble to serve the Church, the Gospel and the world. Their spirituality is described as beginning at the foot of the cross of Christ.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, made his retreat prior to his episcopal ordination in 2011 at Hautecombe Abbey, the Chemin Neuf International Formation Centre near Lyon.

The Cornish pilgrimage visit in 2013 ended with La Priere pour l’Unite: 

Lord Jesus,
who prayed that we might all be one
we pray to you for the unity of Christians,
according to your will,
according to your means.

May your Spirit enable us
to experience the suffering caused by division,
to see our sin,
and to hope beyond all hope.  Amen.

March 2nd: St. Jaoua

Jaoua's life is only known through the work of Albert the Great: 'Lives of the saints of the Armorica Brittany'.

Also known as Joavan, Joevin, and Jouvin, Jaoua was born in the British Isles, or possibly Ireland, around the year 500, studied in England, rejected marriage in favour of a religious life, and came to Armorica in around 520, either in the company of his uncle, Pol Aurelien (one of the seven founding saints of Britanny) or in order to join him at the monastery Pol had founded on the island of Ouessant. Prevented by a storm from landing there, Jaoua finally landed at Landevennac, where the abbot, Judulus, allowed him to stay as a novice. He was received into priesthood by his uncle Pol, now the Bishop of Leon, and became parish priest at Brasparts, where the population was mainly pagan, and reluctant to convert. Jaoua escaped being killed in an attack by the pagan Lord of le Faou, which killed Tadec and Abbot Judulus. A great legend tells how Jaoua's uncle Pol, moved by pity, saved the pagans from a dragon, sent by God to punish them. They converted to Christianity, founded the Abbey of Daoulas, and Jaoua was appointed its first Abbot. He is said to have subsequently founded two monasteries, at Ac'h and at Plouyen Koz, where there remains a chapel in his name.

In 554 Jaoua interceded on behalf of the people of Brasparts, who were suffering from famine. The sky, we are told, then 'brought back plenty' but Jaoua fell ill and died. Before his death he had ordered that his body be placed on a cart hitched to horses, and that he be buried wherever the horses stopped - which was Porz-ar-Chraz. He was buried there and the Church of Plouvien erected at the site. His tomb was opened in 1897, when fragments of his relics was transported to the Cathedral of Saint Pol-de-Leon, to Brasparts and to Quimper.

Lord, you are our Father,
a loving parent who cares for us, your children.
Here today we are just a few
of your many million precious, loved and valued children.
Help us to recognise the needs of our brothers and sisters -
all made in your image.

Hallowed be your name,
not my name or any other.
May your justice and truth reign on this planet
which is stricken with poverty.
When we ask for your kingdom to come,
we do so laying all our resources at your feet.

Help us, as part of your church,
to be obedient to your call
to look after people in need in your name.
Give us your daily bread,
and help us to share abundantly
the plenty that we have been blessed with.
Amen.

from Peter Shaw, Editor Tear Times and Prayer Diary
www.tearfund.org