Frideswide of Oxford

Frideswide of Oxford ( 650-735)

Those of us connected with Oxford, both Town and Gown will now that October 19th is the feast of our patron saint. Being one who is quite devoted to the cult of this saint, I am asked if there is anything much that we can factually verify about her life. There are two main Latin lives (A and B) written about her, but appear several centuries after her death. Life A c. 1100-30, according to the scholar John Blair, shows evidence based on earlier sources.

Latin Life B is a revised and more elaborate version, probably composed by the prior of St Frideswides (now Christ Church Cathedral), Robert of Cricklade, and a scholarly Augustinian canon who wrote it between 1140 and 1170. Many people distrust such Lives, claiming that most of what is written tends to be fictional material, but this does not do justice to what a hagiography (Life of a Saint) contains. In the case of Frideswide there is more under the surface than at first appears.

Having been installed as an Ecumenical Canon of Christ Church, the first Catholic priest since the Reformation, I am discovering the call of Frideswide. Part of my mission and ministry for the Cathedral is to 'recover' her presence and meaning for our contemporary world, not simply seeking to discover different sources from writings but also material culture, but also finding out why people have been, and still are, very drawn to her shrine and are fascinated by her story.

We believe in the 'communion of saints' so for Catholics, Orthodox and many Anglicans, the presence of Frideswide poses little problem. The basic format of her life tells us that somebody called Peace-Strong (Frithuswith) lived and founded a Christian Community of women very near the place where her shrine still stands. She was and is associated with healing, particularly for women, but also for those who have mental or head problems. For centuries her shrine drew pilgrims and still does.

My journey of recovering her story is fascinating, I firmly believe that she is one of those Saints who draw people to herself, and around her shrine there is a very palatable sense of presence. These ancient saints of our lands speak very much to circumstances like our own, of a Christianity that was one faith amongst many, of a richer spiritual place for women and men working and praying together. Of links with the universal Church long forgotten, such as Fridewides' connection with the eastern Saint Catherine of Alexandria or Rome's virgin martyr Saint Cecilia. These are hints and guesses of a richer story of pilgrims and pilgrimage. At the heart of it shines out the light of Christ calling us through the story, not of a lady of greatness or grandeur, but of humility and loving kindness.

Fr Robin Gibbons is an Eastern rite Catholic Chaplain for the Melkites in the UK. He is also an Ecumenical Canon of Christ Church Oxford