Little-known Holy Men

Saint Baldomer for the locksmith.

Question: Hello, good evening. I write from Argentina. CONGRATULATIONS! for such a beautiful blog! Today I discovered and filled my day really. My son opened his business (...) locksmith. Some time ago I’m looking for who is the patron saint of locksmiths. I found a place that is Saint Peter, say for carrying keys. But I do not find it anywhere, nor prayers, nor the Ninth to Saint Peter, if this were really the patron saint. I can not find the Ninth to Jesus of Good Hope. If you know these prayers and these novenas, would you kindly send them? Thanks. A warm greeting from my beautiful Argentina.

Answer: Hello! Thank you for your kind words and praise for the blog, just do what I can heartily. I have to apologize for the delay, but the question had gone to spam, do not know why, and just out of view. And I answer, hoping that the business is going well. As you say, though St. Peter and other saints ⁽¹⁾, are also employers locksmiths for keys, the traditional patron of the craftsmen of the keys is:

Saint Baldomer of Lyon, monk and subdeacon. February 27 and December 8 (translation of Savigny).
He lived in the seventh century, in the French city of Lyon, where he was a blacksmith and locksmith. Since young man had taken a vow of chastity, never married and considered the poor and homeless as their own children, even to sell their own tools more than once, to help the poorest. He was much loved and respected for his charity and pious life. On one occasion, while praying in the church of the monastery of Saint Just, saw the abbot Saint Vivencio (July 12), and was charmed and impressed by his modesty, he saw a glow out of it. Spoke to him and noting his holiness and spiritual life level, proposed to enter the monastery as a monk. It went, entered the monastery where he was professed and ordained subdeacon. He lived a pious life in the monastery, exercising the same office that had played out, until February 24, 630 or 650, date of death (due to poor quality of the documents, does not specify the year).

Although this is only what is known of him, the devotion has been steady, thanks to the many miracles that occurred in his grave. The "Acta Sanctorum" gets that from the seventh century, his name is inscribed on the martyrologies and his relics were venerated without interruption until the sixteenth century, when Protestants profane and disappeared, except for an arm that had previously been transferred to church dedicated to him in the Loire, and other relics that had previously been formally transferred to the monastery of Savigny.

According to the Big Book of Saints, Jacques Baudoin, also known as Gaumier Galmier. Lyon is the pattern of locksmiths and blacksmiths. His attributes are typical monastic robes, anvil, hammer, pliers and some keys.

As for the prayers you ask, here you can find some: www.devocionario.com. The subject of sentences, with few exceptions, do not deal here, since there is a devotional blog or pious.

 

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⁽¹⁾
San Benno of Meisen: To prevent the excommunicated emperor enter his cathedral, threw the keys to Elba. Some time later, a fish is the back. June 16.

Santa Lioba of St-Petersberg: was sacristan of his monastery and lost the keys to the choir, so the nuns could not go to pray. Before dawn, a fox came up to her and brought them. To tell Tetta, abbess, had been the demon thief. 23 and 28 (translation of relics) in September.

St. Erwin of Worcester: On certain sins of youth, put shackles for penance and threw the keys into a river. Going to Rome, a fish was caught in the Tiber and was in the keys. January 11.

St. Servatius of Tongeren: his iconography has always key because, according to legend, St. Peter himself appeared and gave him a silver key, a symbol of authority, but in reality is one of the "clavis confesionis" keys. Popes used to give as a prize to bishops or kings, which had alleged filings chains of St. Peter. 13 May.

San Maurilio of Angers: threw the keys to the cathedral to the river when he fled the city and, having caught a fish, he found inside, so he returned to his diocese. 13 September.

San Lolan: was church warden of St. Peter in Rome and one night he went to Scotland to preach. Mysteriously, the doors of St. Peter was not opened to the canons, they heard a voice say: "only he who closed the door, you can open." Sent a deacon and a subdeacon who reached Lolan. This, to know what happened, he cut his right hand, setting up the key and opened the basilica. 22 September.

St. Hubert: St. Peter himself appeared to the saint in his first Mass and gave him a golden key. It’s really another "clavis confesionis", in this case lost. 3 November.

By Ramon Rabre (text) and Marco Antonio Martinez Ruvalcaba (translation)

The child of St. Alto.

Question: Hello, you can tell me why this saint has the baby Jesus in a chalice. Any Eucharistic miracle, perhaps?

Answer: Hello, friend! even though it’s not within the traditional and venerable Eucharistic miracles, especially because it is an isolated incident, to be related to the Eucharist, yes that could be given this title in this event that happened to:

Saint Alto of Altomünster, hermit, founder and abbot.  February 9 & November 5.
There are differences in the origin of Alto, while some do English, others brought in from Ireland, but the name has Germanic origin, so ... The common view is that it was an eighth-century Benedictine monk who, after a while as a hermit, was devoted to pilgrimage to various shrines.

His "life" was wrote by the monk Otloh of the monastery of San Emmeran of Regensburg in 1060, and he´s the one  who says that Alto was a Scottish monk, companion of St. Virgil of Salzburg (November 27). He settled near Augsburg, where he preached the Gospel and created his best work, the monastery that bears his name "Altomünster", or "Monastery of Alto", in Baviera. The origins of the monastery also rub the legend or at least the desire to do so important: According to this, the land was donated by Pepin the brief  and the church was consecrated by St. Boniface (June 5). Other common miracles are therefore the bear that eats the beast of burden and then he  does the work, the scarcity of water and  the saint opens a fountain with  his staff.

The monastery lived boom times in every way: artistic, pastoral, economic, political, until he began to relax and plummet. According to some chronicles of the monastery, in 1000, San Alto appeared to the Duke of Bavaria, commanding restore the monastery. Brigidine nuns currently are the tennnts from Since 1487.The cult to St. Alto was initially limited to Altomünster, Weingarten (these sites are relics from him) and Freising, it extended to all Baviera, celebrating its feast on 9 February. In writing this "life" and give foreign origins, became a figure in Scottish and Irish martyrologies marks the 5th of November.

Otloh is the one referred to (and finally got to the point) than in the opening Mass of the monastery, raising the chalice and host, this became a beautiful child in the eyes of Alto, a fact that has become his primary attribute. It’s a miracle that often read of other saints.

By Ramon Rabre (text) and Marco Antonio Martinez Ruvalcaba (translation)

St. Richard Reynolds, the Angel of Syon.

Today I want to bring the figure of a little-known holy martyr, who, to make matters worse, was long held as belonging to another religious order:

St. Richard Reynolds, brigidine martyr. May 4.
Richard was born into in 1490 in Devon, England. It was an excellent student of Arts and Philosophy of Cambridge , outstanding student and emeritus member of Corpus Christi College, where he graduated BA in Theology. From the studies, he went to the monastic life at the Abbey of Syion, from the Order of the Holy Saviour, founded by St. Bridget. It is considered one of the most brilliant theologians of the sixteenth century. It was a great preacher and wrote (though not preserved) a lot of sermons and theological treatises.

In 1534, when Henry VIII separated the Church, some of the monks of Syon were in favor of the separation, supporting the English king was the visible head of the Church of England. In other abbeys some priors forced all the monks and other monasteries to accept the idea of submission to the king. Others, loyal to the Church, refused to recognize the new title of king among them was from the beginning Richard, who used his word and pen to defend the faith. As a result, and reports of their brothers of the monastery, the King fixed his attention on the Syon Abbey and Richard.

In Syon Richard organized a meeting between Saint Thomas More (June 22), the leading opponent of the king on his assumption of the Supreme Governor of the Church, and Elizabeth Barton, the "Holy Maid of Kent", an English mystic known for its revelations and writings, convicted of "conspiring" against the king (apparently would have predicted the separation). Shortly before Thomas Cromwell, King’s minister, had visited Syon for accepting the oath of the Royal Supremacy of the monks (the king was very much interested by the prestige of the abbey), but a monk faithful to the Catholic faith slammed doors and not let them pass. Cromwell left two guards at the door of the monastic complex, to convince the monks and nuns, especially the Abbess ⁽¹⁾. But none succeeded. Had to send the bishop of London, an enthusiast for the cause of Henry VIII to two clerics to convince the monks and nuns.

The more coherent monks were Richard and two others, whose last name where Whitford and Little. One of the guards of Cromwell blackmailed the first, saying that he would reveal he´s confidences with their penitents and flirting (fake, of course) with several ladies, but the monk did not backed. Knowing that his confession and spiritual direction monks were telling the faithful and the nuns who remain in the Catholic faith and did not obey the royal order, Cromwell sent to shut the confessional grille ⁽²⁾.

Being apart the nuns, would be easier to convince, so gathered in the chapter, with the presence of the Bishop of London and its clerics were asked to leave those who opposed the king’s supremacy, and to stay those who accepted . They all stood seated, which meant acceptance. And is that the nuns had been coaxed with the promise that if they agreed, they could continue the monastic life without problems. Only one nun named Agnes Smythe resisted and tried to convince the nuns do not accept, preventing men of Cromwell took the stamp of the abbess to seal the declaration of acceptance of the Royal Supremacy over the Church. Finally, all signed, except Richard Reynolds and monks previously mentioned, Whitford and Little, who we do not know his whereabouts. Richard was taken to Tyburn Tree, in London. Were he was imprisoned with : St. John Houghton, St. Robert Lawrence and St. Augustine Webster (the three on 4 May and 16 July), priors of the London Charterhouse, and Axholmey-Beauvalle respectively. For this reason it has long been held as a Carthusian, until the investigations deepened enough to clarify that it was Brigidine ⁽³⁾. With them there was also martyred, the priest of Isleworth, St Alexander Hailes (May 4).

They were dragged through the streets of London, hanged and the body of San Richard was shattered and pieces hanging from various parts of the city, as a warning. San Richard beatified on 1929 and in 1970 by Paul VI, along with other martyrs of England and Wales, and her feast is set for 4 May.

By Ramon Rabre (text) and Marco Antonio Martinez Ruvalcaba (translation)

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⁽¹⁾ The Brigidine monasteries were mixed and both monks and nuns were subject to the Abbess, who represented Christ. should have twelve Priests brothers, like the apostles and 72 members, including nuns and monks, like the disciples. It is clear that this numbering was symbolic and not always achieved, either by default or by excess.

⁽²⁾ The common use in this type of abbeys was that the confession was a hole in the wall with a grid, to supply two areas separate. On one side the monks, other nuns, and other holes to the church, the faithful external field.

⁽³⁾ Interestingly, the Blesseds Brigidines, Ana Maria Erraux and Lilvina La Croix, martyrs of the French Revolution, in Valenciennes, were taken as the Ursulines nuns, for this same reason. Held on 23 October.