Saint George

His life

+ Best known as the “Slayer of Dragons,” Saint George was a genuine martyr who died in Lydda (modern-day Lod in Israel) around the year 303. No other details of his life have survived.

+ In the Middle Ages, Saint George became one of the most popular saints and devotion to him is especially strong in the Eastern Church, where he is honored as “the Great Martyr.”

+ Saint George is also honored in the Islamic tradition as prophet.

+ Honored as the patron saint of England, Russia, Lithuania, Portugal, and Ethiopia, Saint George is also a patron saint of soldiers and of the Boy Scouts.

+ Saint George is among a group of saints that became known as the “Fourteen Holy Helpers.” Devotion to these “auxiliary” saints became popular during the Middle Ages and the saints were often invoked for protection against the plague and other illnesses.

For prayer and reflection:

“Come, you blessed of my Father;
receive the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world, alleluia.”

—Entrance Antiphon for Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

Prayer

O God, who gladden us year by year
with the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection,
graciously grant,
that, by celebrating these present festivities,
we may merit through them to reach eternal joys.
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: Collect for Wednesday of Octave of Easter)

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