St Drogo

Hermit, ca. 1118-1189

His life

+ Drogo (or Dreux) was born into a noble Flemish family in Épinoy, France. His father died before his birth and his mother died in childbirth. As a youth, Drogo blamed himself for his mother’s death and suffered from depression and feelings of guilt. In time, Drogo found healing in God’s mercy.

+ At age 18, Drogo became a pilgrim and eventually settled in Sebourg, France, where he worked as a shepherd.

+ Early accounts of Drogo’s life claim that he was capable of bilocation; people claimed to see him attending Mass while he was also said to be working in the fields.

+ After six years, Drogo became a pilgrim again and traveled to Rome nine different times.

+ He spent the remainder of his life living as a hermit in a small hut attached to the wall of a church in Sebourg. He also suffered great pain because of a severe hernia.

+ Drogo was honored as a saint immediately following his death in 1189 and his tomb in the church of St Martin in Sebourg became a popular place of pilgrimage. He is honored as one of the patron saints of shepherds and those who suffer from hernias.

Spiritual bonus

Easter Sunday marks the beginning of the Octave of Easter (which ends with Divine Mercy Sunday on April 23 this year) and the Easter Season ends with the Solemnity of Pentecost on May 4. These days are a time for us to pray for those who were received into the Church through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil and to reflect on our own baptismal promises, which we renewed on Easter Sunday.

Quote

I have risen, and I am with you still, alleluia.
You have laid your hand upon me, alleluia.
Too wonderful for me, this knowledge, alleluia, alleluia.

–Entrance Antiphon for Easter Sunday

Prayer

O God, who on this day,
through your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death
and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant, we pray, that we who keep
the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection
may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit,
rise up in the light of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Collect for Easter Sunday)

~

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.