SAINTS DAYS FOR MARCH
1 March St David (before 500 -589), Patron Saint of Wales. There is no
contemporary account of his life. He is said to
have been the son of Prince Sandda (Saint)
and St Non. His father dreamed that he would
receive 3 gifts: a stag, a fish and a swarm of
bees, representing the son’s power, his
abstinence and his holiness. David was
ordained priest and founded many
monasteries, settling finally in Pembrokeshire,
where his community lived in severe austerity,
based on the practices of monks in the desert.
His monastic rule was ascetic, demanding vegetarianism. His symbol is the
leek, which is part of his legend, but largely comes from Shakespeare Henry V.
He is said to have given the plant to Welsh fighters against the Anglo Saxons to
distinguish them from the enemy by their clothing. The Daffodil is used today
instead of the leek, because it has a similar flower.
St David is also depicted with a dove after a miracle at the Synod of Brefi, where
he preached against the Pelagian heresy. He died on March 1, aged 100 and
was buried at St David’s Cathedral. Music from his ‘Office’ has been edited and
inspired modern choral works.
17 March St Patrick (died 17 March 493), Patron Saint of Ireland. He was a
Romano- British missionary, born at Bona Venta Berniae (which may be
Ravenglass in Cumbria), his father was a deacon, his grandfather a priest. Aged
16 he was captured in Wales by Irish Raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave.
He came home after 6 years and entered the Church, returned to Ireland as an
ordained Priest. The dates of his life are not
certain, now accepted as late 5 th century.
Some traditions attached to Patrick belong to
Palladius, who was sent to Ireland by the
Pope to suppress the heresy of Pelagius. Two
letters of Patrick exist and tell of his difficult
position as a foreigner in Ireland, being
accused of financial improprieties, tried and
put in prison. He is said to have been buried in
Down Cathedral (Downpatrick) alongside St Brigid. There is a modern visitor’s
centre.
Legends have it that he banished all snakes from Ireland (his staff morphed into
a snake like Moses’), that he used the shamrock as a symbol for the Trinity,
although it is also a Celtic symbol for rebirth and picture of the triple goddesses.
St Patrick’s Bell, the reliquary now in Dublin Museum as an example of Celtic
Art, was part of his relics. He was never formally canonised.
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