ÁED MAC BRICC (AEDH MACBRICC), (Sixth Century), as there is no contemporaneous information on the great saint Áed mac Bricc, we are left with a brief Life in the Codex Salmanticensis (probably eighth-century), and the seventeenth-century Martyrology of Donegal as the main sources of knowledge about him. According to the Life in the Codex Salmanticensis, St. Áed served as Bishop of Rahugh and Killare in present-day Co. Westmeath; later Sliabh Liag (Slieve League) on the south-west coast of present-day Co. Donegal, was placed under his omophorion as well. The Codex Salmanticensis Life also highlights St. Áed’s wonderworking, especially in the healing of headaches. However, the Martyrology of Donegal does not mention Rahugh.

When St. Áed was quite young he came upon SS. Brendan of Birr (29th November) and Kenneth of Kilkenny (11th October). Though the saints were deep in conversation, they saw the boy approaching and St. Brendan rose and greeted him with immense joy. St. Kenneth upbraided St. Brendan for rising for the boy. St. Brendan asked St. Kenneth “Do you not see what I see?” St. Kenneth replied “No”; St. Brendan said, “Why wouldn’t I rise? Look! Angels of God come towards us, for an army of angels accompanies him”. As a young adult St. Áed met St. Illadan of Rathlihen (10th June), Abbot-Bishop of Rathlibthien in present-day Co. Offaly, and soon became his disciple. In time, St. Áed founded a church at Rahugh, present-day Co. Westmeath, about 7km / 4mi to the east of Durrow Abbey, in present-day Co. Offaly.

According to the legends collected by Historian, Church of England Deacon, Chaplain and Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Charles Plummer (†1927) and the noted 17th century hagiographer and historian John Colgan O.F.M. (†c. 1657), St. Áed was best known for his ability to cure headaches. At birth, his head struck a stone and an indentation was left in the stone which then collected rainwater. This water was said to cure all ailments, and even today bullaun stones (Irish: bullán; from a word cognate with “bowl”) have wonderworking qualities. According to the Life of St. Brigid of Kildare St. Áed cured St. Brigid’s (1st February) headache while they were separated by some distance. St. Áed is also said to have been able to miraculously take on the pain of a man who was suffering greatly from a headache. An eighth century hymn of supplication which originated at an abbey at Lake Constance in present-day Germany to “St. Aid mechprech”, who has been identified as St. Áed Mac Bricc, sought his intervention for those afflicted by headaches.

Áed Mac Bricc reposed in 588, and is commemorated in the Félire Óengusso thus:

And in the early seventeenth-century Martyrology of Donegal as follows:

ELAETH the KING, (Sixth Century), St. Elaeth was a king or chieftain, in the north of England, who was deposed by the Picts. Seeking refuge in Anglesey northern Wales, he received monastic tonsure from St. Seiriol (1st February) at Penmon Priory. St. Elaeth was known for his religious poetry and the authorship of two poems is attributed to him in the twelfth century Black Book of Carmarthen. St. Elaeth is also credited with the founding of St. Eleth’s Church, Amlwch on Anglesey, where there was a nearby holy well known as “Ffynnon Elaeth” (Elnath’s Well) known for its healing qualities. The exact years he flourished are unknown, beyond evidence that he lived during the sixth century.

GUEREMBALDUS, a monk at Abbey of SS. Peter and Paul (Kloster Hirsau) at Calw in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. When St. Guerembaldus was offered the Bishopric of Speyer (Spires) in the present-day German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg, claiming to be unworthy, refused the honour. St. Guerembaldus reposed in 965.

HADELIN (ADELHEIM), a monk and later Abbot of the Abbey of Anisole (later Saint-Calais) east of Le Mans (north-western France). St. Hadelin was consecrated Bishop of Séez in Normandy (north-western France) circa 884 and served that See until his repose circa 910.

JUSTUS of CANTERBURY, nothing of St. Justus’ life prior to his arrival in England is known. St. Bede the Venerable’s (25th May) eighth-century Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People) is the main source of information on St. Justus’s life in England. The Vita S. Iusti by eleventh century Benedictine hagiographer Goscelin († after 1107) is of limited use, and the additions to the information on his life made by later mediaeval historians, such as the distinguished twelfth century English historian, man of letters, and monk, William of Malmesbury (†c. 1142), or fifteenth century English historian and Prior of Lenton Abbey, Thomas of Elmham (†c. 1427), add nothing to St. Bede the Venerable’s account that can be considered historically accurate.

According to St. Bede the Venerable, St. Justus was a member of the second group of missionaries sent in 601 by Pope St. Gregory the Dialogist (3rd September) to reinforce St. Augustine’s mission. And that St. Justus arrived with a gift of books and “all things which were needed for worship and the ministry of the Church, viz., sacred vessels and vestments for the altars, also ornaments for the churches, and vestments for the priests and clerks, as likewise relics of the holy apostles and martyrs”. Several of these books are still extant:

In 604 St. Æthelberht (24th February), King of Kent (r. 560–616) created a second Kentish See at Rochester and St. Augustine of Canterbury (27th May) consecrated St. Justus its first Bishop. Though at the time, Rochester was a small town with but one street, it was a fortified town and important politically.

As Bishop of Rochester, St. Justus, together with St. Mellitus of Canterbury (24th April)—who was still Bishop of London at the time—signed a letter authored by St. Laurence of Canterbury (2nd February), in his capacity as Archbishop of Canterbury addressed to the Irish bishops urging them to adopt the Roman method of calculating the date of Easter (vide Paschal Controversy). The letter is no longer extant; though St. Bede the Venerable quotes parts of it in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.

St. Mellitus reposed in 624 leaving the See of Canterbury vacant. St. Justus was translated there, assuming the episcopal throne as fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. In the letter accompanying the pallium, which is still extant, Pope Boniface V (r. 619–615) praised St. Justus’ apostolic labours and the considerable number of souls which he had brought to God. Extolling his patience and zeal, Boniface reminded St. Justus “…that the unspeakable rewards of the eternal kingdom are reserved for those who labour for Almighty God…” and exhorted him to persevere to the end.

One of St. Justus’ notable acts as Archbishop was consecrating St. Paulinus of York (10th October) as Bishop of York. As Bishop, St. Paulinus baptised St. Eadwine (12th October), King of Northumbria (r. 616–633), as well as a substantial number of his subjects, including the future St. Hild of Strensall–Whitby (17th November). St. Paulinus also oversaw the building of several churches in Northumbria. These events were instrumental to the Christianisation of the north of England. St. Justus’ other significant act as Archbishop was his consecration of Romanus as his successor at Rochester. Little else is known of St. Justus’ short episcopacy.

According to St. Bede the Venerable, St. Justus reposed on 10th November, however, he omits the year. St. Justus most likely reposed in 627, since his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury is said to have lasted three years. St. Justus was buried in the porch of St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Monastery (later St. Augustine’s Abbey), Canterbury. In the late eleventh century, his relics were translated to a shrine beside the high altar of St. Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury.

Icon of Pope St. Leo the Great

LEO the GREAT, a Roman aristocrat from Tuscany (central Italy), our father amongst the saints Leo the Great was the 45th Pope of Rome, a renown theologian, defender of Orthodoxy, and the first Pope of Rome to be called 'The Great'. As Archdeacon of Rome under Popes SS. Celestine (6th April) and Sixtus III (28th March), St. Leo was well enough respected throughout the Church that St. John Cassian (23rd July) prefaced De Incarnatione Domini contra Nestorium with a letter of dedication to St. Leo. Following the repose of Pope St. Sixtus III in 440 St. Leo was unanimously chosen to be his successor. At the time of his Papacy, the Church was beset by many heresies particularly Eutychianism and Nestorianism. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, St. Leo's illustrious Tome, which set forth the Orthodox belief in the Two Natures and One Person of Christ, was unanimously affirmed by the bishops present, and subsequently Eutyches was excommunicated. Without a doubt, the most famous act of St. Leo was his meeting in 452 with Attila, King of the Huns (r. 434–453) outside the gates of Rome, resulting in Attila sparing Rome from the sack. St. Leo the Great reposed in 461.

MONITOR of ORLÉANS, documents of, and relating to, the Diocese of Orléans (north-central France), list, St. Monitor, the 12th Bishop, as a saint, though there is no other extant information on him. St. Monitor reposed circa 490.

PROBUS, the sixth Bishop of Ravenna (northern Italy), and known as a wonderworker. St. Probus reposed circa 175 and his relics were later enshrined in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Cattedrale metropolitana della Risurrezione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo) in Ravenna.

TIBERIUS of AGDE, MODESTUS of AGDE, and FLORENTIA of AGDE, Martyrs of Agde, martyrs at Agde (southern France) during the Diocletianic Persecution (303–313). It is possible they were part of a larger group, and only the names of these three have survived.