Saint of the Day: St. Polycarp

Bishop and Martyr (d. ca. 152)

His life

+ Polycarp was born around the year 69 and, according to tradition, he was a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist.

+ When Saint Ignatius of Antioch visited the city of Smyrna in 107, Polycarp was serving as the city’s bishop.

+ Polycarp wrote several pastoral letters, but most of these have been lost.

+ Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, who knew Polycarp, recalled how Polycarp “spoke of his intercourse with John and with the others who had seen the Lord; how he repeated their words from memory; and how the things that he had heard them say about the Lord, his miracles and his teachings… were proclaimed by Polycarp in complete harmony with Scripture.

+ During a visit to Rome, Pope Anicetus honored Polycarp by asking him to preside at the celebration of the Eucharist. This was a great sign of respect for one who was already honored as an “Apostolic Father.”

+ Saint Polycarp was later arrested and burned at the stake by Roman authorities on February 23, around the year 152. The account of his death, The Martyrdom of Polycarp, is one of the oldest and most authentic accounts of martyrdom from the early church.

For prayer and reflection

“May his fidelity to Christ unto martyrdom stir in each one of you the desire to follow the Divine Master, generously cooperating in his work of reconciliation and peace.”—Pope Francis, General Audience of February 23, 2022

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember the abbess Saint Milburga. The daughter of the King Merewalh of Mercia and Saint Ermenburga, she became a nun like her sisters Saint Mildred and Saint Mildgytha. Milburga established Much Wenlock Abbey in Shropshire, England, and served as the community’s leader. Saint Milburga died around the year 715 and her intercession was often sought to protect crops from damage by birds.

Prayer

God of all creation,
who were pleased to give the Bishop Saint Polycarp
a place in the company of the Martyrs,
grant, through his intercession,
that, sharing with him in the chalice of Christ,
we may rise through the Holy Spirit to eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

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