Saints

Called the 'Man of God'. According to a contemporary account, he was a nameless man who died at the hospital of Edessa in Mesopotamia in 430. Later poems in Greek and Latin call him Alexis. He had lived by begging and shared the alms he was given with other poor people. He is also said to have performed many healings. After his death it was learned that he was the son of a Roman patrician who h... Read More

This is the patronal feast of the Carmelites. The Order of Carmelites takes its name from Mount Carmel in Israel, which was the first place dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and where a chapel was erected in her honour. 16 July is also the feast of the 'Scapular of Mount Carmel'. On that day in 1251, tradition says the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Simon Stock, General of the Carmelites at Cam... Read More

There were two early English saints with this name. St Edburga of Bicester died around 650. She was a nun and probably an abbess. The base of a shrine dedicated to her can still be seen in the church at Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshire. Her namesake, St Edburga of Winchester, lived 300 years later. She was a daughter of Edward the Elder, King of Wessex and grand daughter of King Alfred the Great.... Read More