SAINTS COMMEMORATED IN NOVEMBER
1 November – Solemnity of All Saints
On this day the Church venerates all those, known and unknown, whose
virtues and efforts in this life are considered to be an example to us all. The
Church gives thanks for their lives and glorifies God through those who have
gone before us. The feast includes great saints and lesser ones who have
no days to remember them. In the early church martyrs only were venerated
as saints; a feast of ‘Martyrs of all the Earth’ was celebrated in Syria by the
4th century, usually on our Trinity Sunday. The first mention of 1 November
comes from England, and by the 8th century Alcuin of York, then abbot of
Tours, wrote of the feast which was preceded by three days of fasting. The
date was formally fixed by Pope Gregor IV (827-44) because the summer
months were difficult for the many pilgrims attending in Rome, since the
‘Roman fever’ was a great killer in the hot months. The traditional English
name is ‘All Hallows’ which produced the feast of Halloween, more
appropriate to the commemoration of the dead at ‘All Souls’.
11 November St Martin of Tours (336-397)
One of the most popular medieval Saints, he was born of pagan parents in
Hungary and became a soldier like his father. When he was posted to
Amiens, France one of the most famous episodes in Christian history
occurred: Martin sharing his cloak with a beggar, who later appeared to him
as Christ. After that he wanted to be a ‘soldier of Christ’ and refused to fight,
which led to imprisonment. He founded the first monastic community in Gaul
at Marmoutier, a centre for mission. He became bishop of Tours and
travelled all over his diocese on foot, was involved in theological disputes
and fought paganism by destroying temples and building chapels in the
ruins. His life was written by Sulpicius Severus, a contemporary, and
became the pattern for most saints’ lives. His grave in Tours became one of
Europe’s most popular pilgrimage destinations.
16 November St Margaret of Scotland (about 1045 to 1093)
Her biography was written by somebody who knew her well, commissioned
by her daughter from her confessor, Turgot, prior of Durham and bishop of
St Andrews. She was the youngest of 4 children of Edward, king of Wessex,
who had taken refuge in Hungary from Danish invaders. In 1057, Edward the
confessor of England summoned her father back, but the Norman Conquest
made life unsafe for Margaret and she followed her brother to Scotland. She
married King Malcolm III Canmore in 1070. She promoted adoption of
Roman practices in matters of Lent and Easter. Revived the monastery of
Iona and built shelters for pilgrims. She developed the priory of Dunfermline
which became the royal burial place. When Dunfermline was sacked, her
body was taken to the Escorial in Spain. She was made Patron Saint of
Scotland in 1673
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