Saint of the Day: St. Leander of Seville

Bishop (d. ca. 600)

His life

+ Leander was born in Cartagena, Spain. His younger brothers, Isidore and Fulgentius, and his sister, Florentina, are also honored as saints. His family settled in Seville, Spain, when he was a young man.

+ Around the year 575, Leander became a monk but was eventually elected bishop of Seville. He was later exiled to Constantinople because of his opposition to the Arian heresy. While there, he became close friends with Saint Gregory the Great. Gregory later dedicated his commentary on the Book of Job to Leander. When Gregory became pope, he sent a pallium to Leander to show his strong connection to the papacy.

+ After returning to Spain, Leander became a champion of the Catholic Faith. He convoked a council in Toledo which defended the Doctrine of the Trinity and Leander ordered that the Nicene Creed be recited by all Catholics at Mass each Sunday as a way to reinforce the Catholic Faith. This became a universal custom and is still part of the Sunday Mass up to the present day.

+ Leander is remembered as a gifted author, but only two of his writings survive: a homily “On the Triumph of the Church” and a monastic rule written for his sister, Florentina.

+ Saint Leander died on March 13, 600, and is buried with his brother Isidore in the cathedral of Seville, Spain.

+ Leander’s younger brother Isidore—who is honored as a Doctor of the Church—praised his brother as having been “a man of suave eloquence and eminent talent” who “shone as brightly by his virtues as by his doctrine.”

For prayer and reflection

“This is the steward, faithful and prudent, whom the Lord set over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time.”—Entrance Antiphon from the Mass for the Common of the a Bishop

Spiritual bonus

On March 13, we also remember Saint Grace, a single laywoman who was martyred in Zaragosa, Spain, in 304.

Prayer

Lord God, who graciously imbued blessed Leander with heavenly doctrine, grant, through his intercession, that we may keep that same teaching faithfully and express it in what we do. 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: Common of Pastors—For a Bishop)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.