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St. Chad (Oh, you're just not going to believe this)
My friend's brother Kevin is a Franciscan priest and administrator at the Order's headquarters in Rome. (I believe Father Kevin wrote the "Proposal to the Subjects of the British Monarchy" I posted here last week.) In any case, he emailed my friend with the bizarrely ironic tale of St. Chad:
"No, I am NOT making this up.
"Chad was born in ancient Britain, probably about 620, to Saxon parents. His people had been pagan, but his parents were baptized by St. Aidan. Thus he represents the Celtic, rather than the Roman stream of Christianity.
"As a youngster he was sent to the bishop of Northumbria to be educated. Later, he seems to have gone to the Irish monastery-schools established by St. Patrick, and then to Iona, where he was ordained priest, and, after the death of two of his brothers in a plague, eventually became head of a small abbey near Whitby.
"Chad is perhaps best known for NOT being Archbishop of York.
"In mid-life he returned to Northumbria, being called by its king to be chief bishop there (and thus, Archbishop of York).
"He was elected and duly installed, but various persons raised objections on the grounds that his consecrators were bishops who followed the Celtic church calendar and customs rather than the customs then being imported from the continent and from Rome.
"Not wishing to cause division in the Church, Chad withdrew (nota bene!) in favor of another candidate! The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was greatly impressed by Chad's humility, subsequently consecrated him bishop of Litchfield, in Mercia, where he worked for the remainder of his life.
"St. Chad, pray for us!
"Looking for references? Sure enough, there are plenty. Here are a few:
http://www.saintchads.org.uk/stchad.htm http://users.erols.com/saintpat/ss/0302.htm http://www.britannia.com/bios/saints/chad1.html http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03470c.htm
"So, between St. Chad and St. Jude (Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases), maybe we can get some relief."
Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net
[This message has been edited by paulcs (edited 05 December 2000).]
"No, I am NOT making this up.
"Chad was born in ancient Britain, probably about 620, to Saxon parents. His people had been pagan, but his parents were baptized by St. Aidan. Thus he represents the Celtic, rather than the Roman stream of Christianity.
"As a youngster he was sent to the bishop of Northumbria to be educated. Later, he seems to have gone to the Irish monastery-schools established by St. Patrick, and then to Iona, where he was ordained priest, and, after the death of two of his brothers in a plague, eventually became head of a small abbey near Whitby.
"Chad is perhaps best known for NOT being Archbishop of York.
"In mid-life he returned to Northumbria, being called by its king to be chief bishop there (and thus, Archbishop of York).
"He was elected and duly installed, but various persons raised objections on the grounds that his consecrators were bishops who followed the Celtic church calendar and customs rather than the customs then being imported from the continent and from Rome.
"Not wishing to cause division in the Church, Chad withdrew (nota bene!) in favor of another candidate! The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was greatly impressed by Chad's humility, subsequently consecrated him bishop of Litchfield, in Mercia, where he worked for the remainder of his life.
"St. Chad, pray for us!
"Looking for references? Sure enough, there are plenty. Here are a few:
http://www.saintchads.org.uk/stchad.htm http://users.erols.com/saintpat/ss/0302.htm http://www.britannia.com/bios/saints/chad1.html http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03470c.htm
"So, between St. Chad and St. Jude (Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases), maybe we can get some relief."
Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net
[This message has been edited by paulcs (edited 05 December 2000).]
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